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Westlake pull away from EG Jansen to make World Schools Festival final
By Ned Lester
It’s finals time at the World Schools Festival, and New Zealand’s Westlake will take on Ireland’s St Michael’s College in the tournament’s grand finale on Sunday.
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It wasn’t an easy route to the final for either side, both claiming single-digit victories to punch their ticket. the Westlake team faced a stoic young E.G. Jansen squad in the semi-final after a draw against Hartpury in the quarter-final.
It wasn’t the tidiest of games when it came to skillset execution but the team with the higher success rate ultimately prevailed on the day.
Westlake were guilty of plenty of handling errors and throwing intercepts while attacking an aggressive Jansen defensive line in the contest’s early passages.
Jansen’s execution let them down in their attacking opportunities early, getting penalised at the line out. While the South Africans looked to have the upper hand in the scrum, nothing would come of it as the Kiwis were efficient with getting the ball through to their halfback and would be on the attack before the second shunt came through from the strong Boksburg pack.
Westlake failed to find touch on multiple occasions in the opening quarter and also kicked it out on the full which handed Jansen numerous chances at attacking field position.
Jansen’s backs posed damaging physicality on the left wing through Cameron Van Wyk and lethal pace through promising centre Jeandre Jacobs.
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The defence was strong for both teams, but Westlake had more success finding narrow seams in the Jansen line, making strong carries in traffic and punishing any lack of organisation when the game opened up.
Handling errors saw the early opportunities of the second period for Westlake go begging, but Jansen also struggled to capitalise on the metres made through tough carries up the middle.
Westlake tightened the screws in some crucial areas once settled into the half, producing cleaner exits and retaining possession with greater efficiency.
After some strong work around the breakdown in the first half, Jansen were unable to slow the Westlake attack when the Kiwis found their rhythm. Captain James Cameron was damaging in the midfield on both sides of the ball for Westlake, beating players with strength and agility while always keeping his arms free for an offload. The multiple tries Cameron set up in the second period more than made up for some shaky handling in the opening half.
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Some desperation infiltrated the Jansen side as the game looked to slip out of reach late and the additional pressure around the fringes made life difficult for the Aucklanders, but fullback Issac Murray-Macgregor stepped up with five minutes to play to extend the lead beyond reach. Final score: 25-16
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The writer here ignores the fact that, following on from not taking the penalty kick, the All Blacks did manage to score a try a few minutes later. Not directly from the penalty awarded, but it is speculation to say that had they opted to take the koi they would have won. Even if they kicked it, which was no guarantee, they would still be trailing and would have had to start again at half-way.
Go to commentsI would be surprised if Sales Opoku Fordjour and Northampton’s Tommy Freeman are not in the team, Anthony Watson is also one that could go on the wing. One thing I must say is that the front 3 will get destroyed against a team like South Africa.
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