Hudson Park were pushed hard by Cambridge for large parts of their schools rugby clash at Hudson on Saturday before establishing their supremacy in the second half to transform a 10-7 halftime deficit into a 36-12 victory.
Using the tactic of turning their opponents with contestable kicks in the first half, Cambridge stayed in the game and showed their intent by crossing for the first try through Sivuyise Salman as they capitalised on a Hudson error.
They were able to add a second try by Sibabalwe Salman after a breakout from their own 22 by Teagan Hardnick, but Hudson gradually began to impose themselves on the game.
Keeping the ball in hand, they forced Cambridge onto the defensive and this allowed them to find their rhythm as they finally ran out as convincing winners.
In Gqeberha, Pearson made it a match to remember in their 100th anniversary year when they registered a rare win over a tough Selborne College outfit in their clash on the Hannes Strydom Field at Pearson on Saturday.
It was a game of missed chances for the visitors, who did not have the precision to finish off some moves close to their opponents’ line. Pearson, however, must take full credit for a committed defence, which saw them register their fourth straight victory this year.
In contrast, their ability to attack when deep in Selborne territory paid off handsomely as they won 22-5 after leading 15-5 at the break.
The East London team were first to cross the whitewash when Iviwe Kabale scored a try in the corner, only for Pearson to bounce back soon afterwards when some classy distribution in the backline saw big centre Henrico Ferreira dummy his way through the defence to crash over.
Pearson underlined their determination to build pressure when they took the lead (8-5) through a penalty by Keano Beling.
Then came a flash of quick thinking by nuggety scrumhalf Kadin Kretzmann, when he took a tap from a five-metre penalty and darted over for a crucial score five minutes before half-time. Beling added the conversion to make it 15-5.
It was followed by a period when Selborne should have capitalised, camping on the Pearson line for several minutes before the break, but being unable to get through.
In the second half, the visitors continued to challenge the Pearson defence, especially when the home side were down to 13 men through two yellow cards at one stage. But commitment in the tackle and a few Selborne errors — they were over the line twice but the referee ruled knock-ons — saw Pearson hold out.
Eventually Pearson put further space between the two sides when flank Henrico Bodenstein charged through for a try under the posts that virtually sealed the victory with just over 10 minutes remaining.
The in-form Graeme College side continued to impress, with a runaway victory against Port Rex in East London, with wing Asakhe Ranuga scoring a hat-trick as they crossed for eight tries overall.
The Graemians set the tone early on by scoring from the first play of the game and, while Port Rex were full of fight throughout, they were unable to contain the slick running of the visiting team. Graeme led 24-10 at the break.
At Stirling, Queen’s produced a solid performance to defeat the home side 27-17.
Daily Dispatch