Bishops OD's Vs Bosch Old Boys Match Report

Bishops OD’s vs. Rondebosch Old Boys
August 24, 2007

On cloudy but warm Friday afternoon, a light-hearted Old Boys Clash was played between the Bishops OD’s and Rondebosch Old Boys on The Avenue fields at Diocesan College in what proved to be quite an entertaining game with the Rondebosch Old Boys winning convincingly 25-5.

The afternoon event had a very relaxed atmosphere, as many old boys, who came either to play or to enjoy a drink or five with friends, congregated at the Bishops fields. What was immediately apparent, however, was that the Rondebosch Old Boys came better organized, with their side sorted with substitutions and all. The game was delayed, as Bishops were one man short of a front row (As well as a full substitution-bench short of, well, a substitution-bench!).

Luckily, Blake Péngallo-Sanchez (Bishops Matriculant ’92) had come to watch the game, having landed in Cape Town the day before for a break from work in Dubai, and was more than eager to jump in at hooker, and the side were more than happy to have him play. It was a pleasure to see boys from as far back as ’92 eager to play. He proved to be as fit (if not fitter) than most of other boys on the field!

The game started at quite a furious pace, with some hard tackling and hard running from both sides, with Bishop OD’s looking very strong in the opening exchanges. It was the Bishops OD’s who would get the scoreboard ticking, as Justin Rhodes-Harrison ran at the Rondebosch Old Boy’s defensive line on their 22, chipping over the advancing line and collecting with no opposition in sight to score relatively unopposed. With no conversions being taken in the old boys’ game, the score stood at 5-0 to the Bishops OD’s.

However, it did not take the Rondebosch Old Boys’ long to respond. Off a scrum inside the Bishops OD’s half, Andrew Deacon sent the ball blindside to the flyhalf, who drew his man and passed the ball to Chad Williams, who had the space on the outside (as well as the pace) to run in the Rondebosch Old Boy’s first try, and draw level with the OD’s at 5-5. It became apparent as the first half progressed that, although many of the guys playing were fit and may still be playing, there were one or two (or three) that hadn’t done a lot of physical activity in a while, let alone play a game of rugby. Watching some players take a breather, possibly look around at the old school grounds, and take water breaks while the game was still going, proved to be as entertaining as the game itself!

The Rondebosch Old Boys’ pack managed to gain a substantial share of the possession in the first half, and just before the half-time break, the Rondebosch backline managed to find space out wide, with the one of the outside backs going a for a corner-flag finish. The Bishops defence managed to cover, but in the ensuing ruck, one of the Rondebosch players managed to pick up and push over for a try.

The Rondebosch Old Boys’ went into the half leading 10-5.


The Second half saw the Rondebosch Old Boys’ doing most of the playing, which was largely due to their side having substitutes to keep the side going. The ball was sent down the line, with Chad Williams chipping over the Bishops wing and fullback, and in the scramble for the ball Lloyd Anderson dotted the ball for the Rondebosch Old Boys’ third try. Not long after that score, The Bosch Old Boys’ were on the Bishops line again after a solid line break by one of the centres, and Tim Rawbone-Viljoen picked up the ball and pushed over to take the score to 20-5. The final score of the game came as the Rondebosch boys had an overlap to the right, and Chad Williams put a smart grubber through for Nick Sheard to collect and score.

In the end, it was an enjoyable afternoon for all, with many boys coming to have a drink and catch up with other OD’s an Old Boys. One certainly hopes that more games like these will be played again. Thanks must go to Dave Mallet for refereeing the game (and many thanka for ignoring a few of those ‘ever-so-slightly’ forward passes), everybody who helped in organising the game (Warren Butler, Mathew ‘Fire’ Born, Robbie Morris), and Mike “Mavios” Davis for telling me who scored for Rondebosch Old Boys (every time)!
© Raméters

I would like to say a big thanks to all those who supported and especially to Oli & Warren who helped me sort out the Bar. It was a great game, spectacular event and hopefully a tradition that we can build on from now on!!

Fire!