Kearsney Easter Wrap, Day 1
Festival newcomers Drostdy and Pretoria Boys High, as well as Monument, Selborne, Glenwood and HTS Middelburg, go into the second day today (Saturday) having won their first day clashes. Hosts Kearsney will take on Hoërskool Framesby at noon, followed by Glenwood and EG Jansen at 1.15pm. The game between HTS Middelburg and Monument should be a worthwhile and evenly contested match. These two teams played each other on the last Saturday of term, with Monument narrowly winning 14-12.
On the first day of the festival, the morning games were played in warm blustery conditions, which brought in some rain by mid-afternoon. The well-organised event is expected to attract good crowds to Botha’s Hill on Saturday to watch the 12 notable rugby-playing schools which are participating this year.
On Thursday, the first day of the festival, the tightly contested game between Queen’s College and Pretoria Boys High was without the plethora of tries seen in other matches. Queen’s College, back at the festival for the first time since 2009, held on despite giving away penalties that kept newcomers PBHS in the game, until the final minute where the boys from Pretoria got over the try line to ensure a 22-15 win.
HTS Drostdy from Worcester in the Boland, playing for the first time at the festival, produced some outstanding rugby from their hard running backs and strong forwards, to win 45-17 against hosts Kearsney College. Early mistakes by both sides were eliminated and a good game yielded 10 tries, seven by Drostdy.
Selborne College from East London showed they will be one of the top sides at the festival when they played enterprising rugby, quickly capitalising on opponents’ Dr EG Jansen’s mistakes. The Boksburg boys will be disappointed by their errors which gifted points to Selborne. It was a good game with Selborne flair giving them a 46-19 win.
The strong Monument team, with a very large pack of forwards, dominated the early stages of the fourth game. Dale College had to feed on scraps but, as the first half grew longer, so they started getting more ball. Missed opportunities by Monnas frustrated the players and helped Dale to keep in touch. At full time the score was 33-16 to the Krugersdorp team.
Later in the day the wind brought rain which affected ball handling, making it sufficiently greasy for passes to be dropped in the penultimate game of the day, between Glenwood and Hoërskool Framesby from Port Elizabeth. Towards the end of the game the rain became heavier, so much of the play was amongst the forwards. Framesby did not give up and spent most of the last 10 minutes in Glenwood’s half. There were some big tackles by both sides as play moved from end to end. Glenwood arguably held the ascendancy, but Framesby won enough loose ball to make their own forays towards the Glenwood line, and take the final score to 21-10.
The final match on the first day was keenly contested by HTS Middelburg and Hoërskool Noord-Kaap from Kimberley. Middelburg had the better of the early exchanges but, as the game progressed, Noord-Kaap grew in confidence. In the dying seconds Noord-Kaap had possession and very nearly snatched victory from HTS. But it was the Middelburg team which narrowly won 21-19.
Monday is the final day of the festival. Kick-off is at 9.30am each day. A primary schools’ fixture between Westville Senior Primary and Highbury against the KZNRU Under-13 Ibutho Development team will take place at 8.30am on Saturday and Monday respectively.
Gate entrance is R20 per person with ample secure parking. Food and refreshment outlets, as well as a KidZone, will be available for those wanting to enjoy a day of entertaining rugby.
All matches are being live-streamed. For links and further festival information please go to www.kearsney.com
Festival Fixtures
Day 1 – Thursday 13 April
Kearsney College - HTS Drostdy 17-45; Selborne College - Dr EG Jansen 46-19; Queen’s College - Pretoria Boys High 15-22; Hoërskool Monument - Dale College 33-16; Glenwood - Hoërskool Framesby 21-10; HTS Middelburg - Hoërskool Noord-Kaap 21-19
Day 2 – Saturday 15 April
09.30: Hoërskool Noord-Kaap vs Queen’s College
10.45: Selborne College vs Pretoria Boys High
12.00: Kearsney College vs Hoërskool Framesby
13.15: Dr EG Jansen vs Glenwood
14.30: Dale College vs HTS Drostdy
15.45: Hoërskool Monument vs HTS Middelburg
Day 3 - Monday 17 April
09.30: HTS Drostdy vs Pretoria Boys High
10.45: Hoërskool Framesby vs Dr EG Jansen
12.00: HTS Middelburg vs Dale College
13.15: Glenwood vs Hoërskool Noord-Kaap
14.30: Selborne College vs Hoërskool Monument
15.45: Kearsney College vs Queen’s College
From Sue Miles of Working Words