The St Marks (Alicedale) First team ended their EPRU Grand Challenge Shield B rugby season on a high with a dominant 41-0 win over Booysens Pride from Port Elizabeth in Alicedale on Saturday 18 August. St Marks also earned a crucial bonus point in the end for scoring 4 or more tries.
The home side ran in six unanswered tries as they dominated all facets of the game. From the outset, it was apparent that St Marks would dominate and as a result, they enjoyed both territory and possession. A large crowd came out in their numbers on a perfect sunny day for rugby and was not disappointed.
St Marks young and speedy backs were running the ball from within their own half and caused major headaches for their opponents on attack. The scrums were evenly matched as the visitors won a few turnovers. Booysens Pride’s unpredictable backs looked dangerous at times with ball in hand and missed a few scoring opportunities. Brian Buys, Anton Botha and Kido Alexander scored tries for the hosts in the first half, while Ettienne Blou slotted one conversion to make it 17-0 at the break.
It was one way traffic in the second half as the home side opened the floodgates and scored a further four tries through Buys, Eldean Sias, Siwe Ndlatjeni and Cameron Jewel. Blou and Apollis Sulliman Fritz converted one each. The big, mobile and powerful 130kg prop forward, Brian Buys, was voted Man of the Match for his brilliant all round performance. He scored two bulldozing tries and were unstoppable with ball in hand.
Elsewhere over the weekend, Motherwell were crowned the Eastern Province Rugby Union (EPRU) Grand Challenge Shield B winners after they defeated Glen Roses 34-3 on Saturday. They will most likely be joined by Kwaru (as the two top teams on the log) in the quarter-finals.
Other Grand Challenge Shield B Results:
Zwide 21-16 Kwaru
St Marks PE 28-0 Rhodes (Soft points)
Photo: Supplied
