False Bay Rugby triumphs over St George's with an 85-14 victory

Motorvaps False Bay struck back from a spirited start by their opponents and swept a hapless St Georges RFC of Strand aside at Constantia on Saturday. The Bay put last week's 36-12 defeat against Villager behind them, to score fifty unanswered points in the second half, the final score being 85-14.

The match day programme included the women’s contest between the two clubs, the only match on the day in which the visitors were not on the losing side. The spoils were shared 15-15 in that encounter.

In the Second XV match, “Franco-Saffer” Elio Dawson led his team to a resounding 42-12 victory. Dawson’s father, Murray played for Natal against Western Province in the 1984 Currie Cup Final and then went to France, playing for Racing of Paris. Elio wanted to explore his roots and former False Bay coach; ruby personality Nick Mallett suggested the Bay. Young Elio now finds himself captaining the Bay’s ever-performing second-stringers.

False Bay’s First XV took to the pitch well-prepared, with an expansive game plan on the whiteboard in the cloak rooms. With the confidence and exuberance of support players being given the stage to strut their stuff, the Constantia team was full of running from the outset.

They struck early, in fact twice, with two well-worked tries, the second particularly impressive, starting in their own half and finishing with flank Mitch Laberte hitting the afterburners for a twenty-meter touchdown. Flyhalf Ewan Adams converted both.

It is apt at this stage to refer to the corresponding fixture of SLA2024. Played at the end of July in the Strand, the match took place despite heavy rainfall in the build-up, resulting in a waterlogged pitch with torrential rains and gale-force winds sweeping the region.

It was a match which should have been postponed but after a safety inspection by match officials, both teams agreed to play. It was a decision that cost the Bay dearly. St George’s are a different team at home and in the build up to that fixture, they had already collected the scalps of a few confident visiting teams.

Wet pitches and inclement weather are great levellers of any ruby contest, traditional advantages such as power play and pace reduced to minor influences as teams attempt to execute their play without too much interference, underfoot conditions negating pace and footwork.

The Bay struggled under the atrocious conditions and fell to an 8-7 loss, a defeat which ultimately meant the difference between a sixth or seventh position finish in the round robin stages of the Super League A. The Constantia club’s seventh place finish meant that they ended their season short of the objectives.

Coach Ashley Wells probably still flinches when he thinks of that day and its fallout and there was no way he was going to allow a repeat. After the two early Bay tries, the result appeared obvious, the visitors drew level with two goals of their own.. One was a particularly attractive effort, a 70-meter counterattack, the ball being carried by a variety of hands, with scrumhalf Jody Halford scoring under the crossbar.

 The end of the first quarter approaching, the scores even. Was it to be a repeat of Gustrouw Park 2024?

As it turned out, those concerns were unfounded. It was to be the last occasion on which the score alongside the visitors’ name was to change. The same did not apply to the digits alongside that of the hosts. St George’s, perhaps obviously in hindsight, wilted and wilted badly.

Spearheaded by the performances of some individuals, the entire Bay squad got in on the demolition act. Centre Josh Florence, forced to kick his heels on the bench after a suspension was a man possessed. He was an eighty-minute threat to the defensive lines of the visitors, but his real impact was in the first half where he cut and sliced the St George’s line to smithereens, feeding runners hovering around him a la Damien de Allenda or simply powering over the advantage line or even the try line at will.

Upfront, eighth man Khanya Nkusane reveled. His blistering pace and ability to change direction or pivot on a dime, befuddling the defensive soldiers. Lock Andrew Good won lineout possession at will, young Under 20 prop Ben Matthews impressed against his bulkier, more experienced opponent. In the middle of the front row, hooker Khamva Mgwali was again impressive. It may be apt to mention how this likeable, happy fellow has worked tirelessly on his game, improving his areas of focus to the point of now being a strength.

 At the back scrumhalf Matthew Damonz again did what was required and far more, confident in the knowledge that the full eighty minutes of game time belonged to him. Wing Peter Williams is slotting into his role and delivered a high-quality performance.

In all, False Bay scored thirteen tries. Admittedly but for the first half hour, the game was very loose, but in that context, discipline in execution was maintained and tries followed. All too often total dominance deteriorates into untidy, white-line fever play by individuals with a decadent squandering of scoring opportunities spoiling the performance. This was not the case for the Constantia side.

The top nine teams on the SLA2025 table now appear to be jostling for a Top Six finish. Although only about halfway through the competition (a number of teams have games in hand), this doesn’t mean that only those nine teams are in contention for the knockouts. No, outside of that zone still lie Maties and a very impressive SK Walmers.

It continues to be one of the most exciting Super League A competitions in several years and every weekly episode is as enthralling as the last.

• False Bay host Brackenfell at Constantia on Saturday. Five matches, including that of the Women’s Rugby clash are slated for the day. First matches start at 1.25 and the main event kicks off at 4pm. Scholars under 18 enter free of charge.
• Jon Harris is a member of False Bay RFC