Awards end Kearsney Festival

Valued at over R100 000 each, recipients are Glenwood prop Renier van Rooyen and two Dale College players, fullback Aphelele Fassi and centre Sibulele Mbana.

This includes a contract with the Academy in 2017, accommodation and a tuition bursary with one of its education partners.

In announcing the awards Etienne Fynn, managing director of the Academy, said the standard of rugby this year had been excellent, as had come to be expected of the festival.

“Even though there were some high scoring matches, this was more about the quality of play, than that the teams had been mismatched,” Fynn said.

“We believe that a player who shines at school doesn’t necessarily have the attributes to play senior rugby. But we believe these three boys will meet those requirements.”

He said there had been an excellent pool of talent on display at the festival this year.