Ponsonby 35 Stellenbosch 36

Stellenbosch vanished the ghosts of 1996 and 2003 to overcome a battling Ponsonby by a single point in the 2004 Tetleys Melrose Sevens Final.

The two Southern Hemisphere clubs combined to provide a dramatic finale to the premier Sevens competition in Scotland.

The lead changed hands several times before Marius Koch scored for Johan Pieterson to kick the winning conversion in the closing moments. Even then Ponsonby could have laid their hands on the Ladies Cup only for Dan de Villiers to fail to cleanly place the ball on the final whistle.

Dwain Brown scored a fine solo try after breaking away from midway in his own half to score between the posts. Pieterson added the conversion before racing past the Ponsonby defence for a try of his own.

Gavin Williams then broke through to narrow the gap and Brett Williams continued his impressive kicking performance with his first conversion of the final.

Seconds later the pair repeated the trick to put Ponsonby ahead, Gavin Williams went through for his second of the tie and Brett Williams converted.

Stellenbosch were then restored to the lead when Rohan Steyl raced through and Pieterson kicked the conversion.

Pieterson, Corne Uys and de Villiers combined to send the latter through into the corner as the South Africans extended their lead to 10 points at the break.

De Villiers crossed for his second in the corner after Stellenbosch gained possession from a lineout in the Ponsonby ’22.

The Kiwis hit back when Stanley Afeaki finished some pressing play with a score that was converted by Brett Williams.

A snatched try by Kane Hancy plus Brett Williams’ conversion brought the gap down to a single point to set up a dramatic ending to the final.

Chay Raui broke through Anton Van Zyl’s desperate tackle to score below the posts with Brett Williams adding the conversion to give his side a six point advantage as the tie headed into the closing seconds.

Koch brought Stellenbosch back into it with Pieterson’s high conversion giving the students a point advantage.

De Villiers looked to grab the victory for the New Zealanders, but his final minute score was denied by referee Iain Ramage as the South Africans celebrated their first success at the Greenyards.

Ponsonby Keep the Ball	Stellenbosch Run
Ponsonby Tackle Stellenbosch	Ponsonby Tackle Stellenbosch
Ponsonby Run With the Ball	Stellenbosch With the Ball
Stellenbosch Tackle Ponsonby

Date: 09/04/2004