Valke overpower depleted Welwitschias

Johannesburg - The Hino Valke racked up 10 tries and their third win of the new provincial tournament as they thrashed a depleted Windhoek Draught Welwitschias 66-5 (half-time 35-5) in their fixture at Barnard Stadium, Kempton Park, on Saturday.

Aided by 19 points from flyhalf Karlo Aspeling through a try and seven conversions, the Valke proved too strong for the visitors.

The Welwitschias were at a distinct disadvantage heading into the match with their first choice players on duty in the annual Nations Cup tournament in Bucharest.

They were also chasing their first victory in the competition having lost all eight of their previous encounters.

The Valke had been largely disappointing in earlier games with only two wins to show in their opening seven matches.

However, the Valke dominated possession from the outset in this match which resulted in early pressure and a seventh minute try for number eight Reg Muller which was easily converted by flyhalf Karlo Aspeling.

Ten minutes later, some fine interplay between the Valke backs saw left wing Ettiene Taljaard eventually show a clean pair of heels to score untouched under the posts. Aspeling was again on target with the conversion.

The Valke’s third try came just before the half hour Carlyle Hendricks was gifted the final pass from Taljaard for the right wing to score under the posts. Aspeling extended the lead to 21-0 with his conversion.

A fourth try and bonus point came soon after with centre Andries Truter dotting down followed by Aspeling adding the extra two points.

Muller forced his way over for his second try of the match on 36 minutes following a quick tap penalty.

The visitors finally got onto the scoreboard on the stroke of halftime as centre Lesley Klim took advantage of an overlap from a quickly taken tap kick to score midway out.

The second half started much the same as the first with replacement Andrew van Wyk scoring the Valke’s sixth try in the 45th minute.

Further second-half tries by lock Marlyn Williams, Karlo Aspeling, Truter and Muller completed the rout for the home team.

Scorers

Valke – Tries: Reg Muller (3), Ettiene Taljaard, Carlyle Hendricks, Andries Truter (2), Andrew van Wyk, Marlyn Williams, Karlo Aspeling; Conversions: Karlo Aspeling (7), Andries Truter

Welwitschias – Tries: Lesley Klim