24-06-2025
Oli Johns shines for St Andrew's in hard win over Dale
Skilful flyhalf Oli Johns proved to be the catalyst as St Andrew's took control of their schools rugby match against Dale College in Qonce on Saturday to set up a 33-21 win after they trailed 8-7 at halftime.
With nothing between the sides after the first 35 minutes, Johns set up a brilliant try by flank Luca Nigrini and then sliced through the defence for a score of his own to take the visitors out to a 26-11 lead with 20 minutes remaining.
Though Dale hit back in the final stages of the game with unconverted tries by Azola Sodlaka and Mahle Mehlomane, St Andrew's added a fourth second-half try by wing Qhawe Madikizela to secure a hard-earned victory against perennially tough opponents.
St Andrew's were the aggressors from the start, camping in the Dale 22 and testing the home defence to the full.
The Dalians stood up well to this examination, but eventually the gaps showed and in the 14th minute St Andrew's centre Aphindile Ngcuka went through a gap for a try which Johns converted.
Dale came back with a penalty by Soso Dyani and then they took the lead in the 26th minute when an attacking move by St Andrew's ended up at the opposite end of the field as fullback Inga Mafanga snaffled an intercept and sprinted away untouched for a try.
Johns, though, was quick to put St Andrew's ahead early in the second half.
Receiving the ball near his own 22, he beat some defenders and then sent the ball to the left where Nigrini took the final pass to scorch his way 60 metres downfield for a thrilling try.
A little more than 10 minutes later, Johns was again in the thick of things and this time his nimble footwork saw him thread his way through the Dale defence for another converted try.
While Dale showed courage to hit back late in the game, St Andrew's had built up enough of a cushion to maintain their winning form this season.
In Graaff-Reinet, Union High produced one of their best performances of the season to defeat Graeme College 19-14 after leading 5-0 at the break.
Though the visitors hit back strongly after halftime to score two tries for a 14-5 lead, Union High kept their composure and crossed the line twice more to secure a memorable victory. — Additional reporting by
The Herald
