Clinton van Rensburg couldn’t hide his pride. The Rondebosch Director of Rugby watched his side dig deeper than they’ve dug all season, producing a gutsy 33-29 victory over Wynberg that shattered the visitors’ Grand Slam dreams and kept the Bosch Boys’ Triple Crown ambitions alive heading into next Saturday’s season finale against Bishops.

This was a group of players finally owning the “Playing Beyond the Scoreboard” mindset that Van Rensburg has been preaching all season – and doing so when it mattered most, against a highly motivated opponent who fancied their chances of completing the clean sweep.

And it came down to the finest of margins. A scrum five metres from the Rondebosch tryline. Wynberg with possession, momentum, and one final chance to clinch victory in the dying moments. Pure character and desperation propelled the Bosch pack forward, denying the visitors the opportunity and sealing a triumph that could define their entire campaign.

“Super proud of the character and effort the boys showed against a highly motivated Wynberg team who would have fancied their chances of a Grand Slam,” Van Rensburg said in his post-match assessment.

“This was a big game in terms of defining our season.”

Growth, belief, and playing beyond the scoreboard

For Van Rensburg, Saturday’s victory represented the culmination of steep growth his group of players have shown during the latter stages of Term 3. The potential has always been there, the talent undeniable, the ability evident, but belief has occasionally wavered in big matches where scalps were there for the taking.

Not anymore. The Bosch Boys are finally owning their mindset, executing under pressure, and refusing to buckle when the scoreboard tightens and opposition attacks threaten.

“The growth of this group of players has been steep during the last couple of games in Term 3,” Van Rensburg reflected. “Our Bosch Boys are finally owning the mindset of ‘Playing Beyond the Scoreboard’. The potential has always been there, when real belief might have lacked on occasion and tripped us up in a couple of big games where some big scalps were there for the taking.”

Saturday proved they’ve turned that corner. When Wynberg threw everything at them in the dying minutes, the Bosch Boys held firm.

Credit where credit’s due

Van Rensburg was quick to acknowledge Wynberg’s quality and the strength of the programme built by Nic Groom, Justin van Winkel, and their coaching team. The southern suburbs derby has produced tightly contested matches for years, with results that could easily have swung either way.

“Wynberg have proved to be tough derby opponents over the years with some tightly contested matches that could easily have gone either way,” Van Rensburg said. “Credit must go to Nic Groom, Justin van Winkel and the rest of their coaching team who have put together a strong rugby programme over the years.”

Saturday’s clash followed that familiar pattern – a game of two halves where both sides had their periods of dominance but neither could convert every opportunity. Rondebosch enjoyed the majority of possession in the first half and could easily have been further ahead at the break. Wynberg dominated the second half territorially but just couldn’t turn pressure into points when it mattered most.

Set piece battle and discipline improvements

Rondebosch pride themselves on discipline, and Van Rensburg was pleased to see significant improvement in both facets on Saturday.

“The set-piece battle was always going to be huge with regards to the outcome of the game. Wynberg definitely had the upper hand in this facet of the game in the first round at the Hawthornten where Wynberg scored four maul tries,” Van Rensburg explained.

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“At Bosch we pride ourselves on discipline, which was another facet that we struggled with in the first game which allowed Wynberg easy 22m entries for their very strong maul. I am pleased that we were better in both these facets yesterday.”

That improvement proved decisive. Better discipline meant fewer penalties. Fewer penalties meant less territory conceded. And controlling the set-piece battle denied Wynberg the platform they’d exploited so effectively in round one.

Coaching team steps up in Van Rensburg’s absence

With Van Rensburg away on South Africa U18 Series commitments, the responsibility of match-week preparation fell to Joel Carew, who led superbly with strong support from Asi Molotana and Wes Chetty. Defence coach Charlie Post also earned special praise for the defensive effort that repelled Wynberg’s late onslaught.

“Huge credit must also go to Joel Carew, with great support from Asi Molotana and Wes Chetty,” Van Rensburg said. “Defence Coach Charlie Post can be very proud of the defensive effort from the Bosch boys.”

Triple Crown within reach

Saturday’s victory keeps Rondebosch’s goal of achieving a valuable Term 3 Triple Crown very much alive heading into next weekend’s season finale against Bishops.

“Our goal of achieving a valuable Term 3 Triple Crown is very much alive as we head into our final fixture against Bishops,” Van Rensburg said. “There is no doubt that Bishops will throw everything at us next Saturday, as they did in the first round. Hopefully we can produce a more accurate performance on our home ground and end the season strong on our terms.”

For Van Rensburg, it’s about one final performance that the Bosch Rugby Family can be proud of. This group of players have worked extremely hard and come a long way towards achieving their potential. But as he wisely notes, rugby doesn’t give you what you’ve put in or what you deserve – it gives you what you take on the day.

“We are excited for the opportunity next week against Bishops to chase another performance that the Bosch Rugby Family can be proud of.”

One more performance. One more chance. The Triple Crown awaits.