Aloys v. Knox
by “Elfster”
St Aloysius hosted Knox at Willoughby on a wintery day. Though the morning rain had passed, it was still cold, windy and showers threatened. Still, the game between the two winning sides from the previous week promised much.
Knox seems to struggle there, and Aloys always put up as enthusiastic display at home. However the morning rain had made the surface greasy, and the cricket pitch had turned into a muddy morass.
First half
The first half saw Knox running into the sun, but it was the spirited play of Aloys that unsettled them. Aloys started with great determination and seemed more focused than Knox. Knox looked distracted, perhaps it was the cold, but they looked hesitant.
St Aloysius were also well directed by their 10 Dainton who showed some good tactical kicking and drove play into the Knox half. A penalty soon followed and Dainton took the kick. From my angle the kick looked good, and to most it did. But not the ref.
To their credit Aloys seemed not to care, but continued attacking. Soon Aloys won a tighthead and they spun the ball wide. Crisp passing and running onto the ball against a disjointed Knox defence saw Vevers (13) score a good try in the corner.
This woke Knox up, and they tightened their play and started getting both possession and territory. Knox got an easily kickable penalty, but opted for a lineout. From this Van Zyl (6) crashed over.
Knox started clicking into form. Watson (10) saw a gap, went through it, beat a few players before feeding Basson(4) in support and Knox scored a 6o-metre try.
It was soon followed up by another long distance effort, in which Watson was on the receiving end of a good break by Bosch (11). This was converted and Knox lead 21 to 5. In the space of around five minutes Knox had scored three tries and looked good.
However Aloys displayed admirable spirit, perhaps a bit too much as one of their players (11) was sin-binned due to a tip tackle.
I didn’t see malice in the tackle as such, rather an indication of the determination and passion the Aloys boys were displaying against their more favoured opponents.
This was reflected in the numerous turnovers they won, the odd line-out against the throw and their capacity to retain possession and attack. Dainton was feeding good passes and the side was full of running.
Yet full credit to the Knox defence which was quite impervious. For the second week in a row they stopped tries over the try line and started wearing down the Aloys attack.
The Aloys’ kicking game was better than that of Knox, it was finding space and the side line. However Aloys attack was missing something. They may have needed an additional big forward to straighten, or a back to change angles, but it struggled breaking Knox’s line.
As the half came to an end, Aloys were behind, but had most territory and possession. They were unsettling the Knox side, but weren’t beating them.
The Knox ability to offload, support with depth and pace to create and utilise opportunities was telling. Watson was also creating problems with his passing and running.
However not all of Knox’s tries were well executed team work. Late in the half saw Widders-Leece get the ball just over the 22 and trundled over for his 14th try of the season. His run combined the speed and guile of a back and the power of a forward.
The first half ended with Knox leading 26 to 5.
Second half
The game ‘fizzled’ a bit in the second half. The intensity came off and more errors came into play.
Knox did score three good tries, with Van Zyl and Widders-Leece showing great speed and power and Watson some sublimely deceptive pace and agility. I though he looked injured, but his try presumably proved me wrong.
Knox left a few tries on the field due to some basic errors and rushing things. At times Aloys looked broken, but they kept trying.
The Aloys forwards did well at the breakdown with numerous wins. However injuries disrupted their play. They also needed an additional x-factor in attack. Though I liked the way they did try different tactics, a few chip kicks and the like.
One reason for the second half would have been the cold. And the playing conditions weren’t the best. Cold, windy and the surface was quite poor – especially the cricket pitch area. Both sides had issues playing there, with players slipping and the mud covered ball adversely affected handling.
Final score: Knox 45 – Aloys 5.
The players
Knox
Watson looks good at 10. He always threatened and controlled the backs well. The other dual try scores, Widders-Leece and Van Zyl, were also prominent. Number 5 Swinton was visible and Basson showed good pace.
Aloys
Full credit to their forwards who tried hard and were at least the equals of the Knox pack. They were probably a tighter unit which showed in the scrum and tight stuff.
Number 5 Nowlan had some good wins in the line out. Vevers looked good running, scored a good try, but had issues breaking the Knox defence as regularly as one thought he would. Dainton (10) had a strong game.
Wrap up
Considering the slippery surface the game was an open affair and generally played with good spirit.
The Aloys boys would have felt let down by the final score with the effort they put in, but they put in a determined effort.
Knox were polished and did what they needed to do. Their defence under pressure was remarkable and they utilised their opportunities effectively. They were too good for Aloys.
Knox versus Cranbrook next week should be a good one.
Scoring details
Knox 45 ( J Widders-Leece 2, B Van Zyl 2, C Watson 2, M Basson tries; L Bosch 5 cons) def St Aloysius 5 ( R Vevers try)
See next page for a report of Baker v Waverley.
