Eastern Cape Weekend Preview

Grahamstown schools St Andrew's and Kingswood will be itching to get back into action this weekend when they open their schools rugby programmes after the first-term holidays.

Both teams saw action in the Easter weekend festivals, but have had a break since then and will be fresh for the challenges which lie ahead.

While Kingswood travel to East London to play Hudson Park, St Andrew's have a home game against rising PE school Pearson. The Summerstrand outfit are keen to show they can compete with the region's top rugby-playing sides and this is an ideal opportunity for them to demonstrate their credentials.

St Andrew's started the year with a young side, having lost almost all of last year's team, and although they have lost four of their six matches so far, the experience should stand them in good stead.

Their renowned running game will test the visitors and with Pearson certain to embrace the challenge, it should be a thrilling encounter on the Lower field.    

Because of the long weekend, Grey High get back into action when they host Daniël Pienaar at the Philip Field on Friday. The Uitenhage outfit scraped to a narrow win over Framesby last weekend and will need to be at their best to handle a Grey team still smarting from a big loss to Paul Roos Gym.

Grey have another tough clash when they travel to Cape Town to face Wynberg on 9 May and they would like nothing better than to kick start their season with a solid win over Daniël Pienaar on Friday.

There is a huge derby shaping up in Humansdorp when Nico Malan clash with their Humansdorp rivals on Thursday. Although Nico Malan should start the game as favourites, it promises to be an interesting encounter, and nothing can be taken for granted in these sorts of clashes.

Meanwhile, Framesby, who have struggled somewhat this season, will be looking to pick up the pieces when they host East London side Grens, also on Friday. The PE team have lost five matches in a row and they will be fired up against a Grens team, who have also had a lean start to the season.

Because of the public holiday, four teams will be in action on Thursday.

The fixtures, subject to change, are (home teams first, 11.30 start unless stated)

Thursday

Nico Malan vs Humansdorp (16.00), Kirkwood vs Westering (15.45), Andrew Rabie vs Cillié (16.00), VP vs Volkskool (15.15)

Friday

Framesby vs Grens (13.30), Grey High vs Daniël Pienaar (15.30)

Saturday

Otto du Plessis vs Bertram, Ndzondelelo vs McCarthy, St Andrew's vs Pearson (14.30), Hudson Park vs Kingswood (13.45)

By Neale Emslie