Kearsney strike gold at Goldstone's
The crowds were not disappointed as the two teams produced seven tries and some good open rugby play. Kearsney came out strongly and dominated the first half as the half-time score of 21-0 suggests.
Kearsney’s first try came from eighthman Dylan Richardson from a 5m attacking scrum which wing James Sutherland converted. College responded well and spent some time in the visitors’ half but the Kearsney defence held firm. Kearsney then enjoyed excellent attacking phases and flyhalf Cameron Ritchie scored. James Sutherland converted for a 14-0 lead and seven minutes of the half remaining.
Kearsney struck again soon after the kick-off when lock Ryan Lewarne charged down a chip kick from College. Hooker Daniel Cherry collected and sprinted 40m before passing to lock David Weaver for his try, converted by Sutherland. The remainder of the half saw Kearsney squandering another opportunity but went into the break with a well-deserved 21-0 lead.
In the second minute of the second half Kearsney launched a counterattack with Warren Driver, Ritchie and Luke Croshaw very prominent. Wing Matthew Blair collected the last pass to score a spectacular try in the right hand corner. College fought back bravely and eventually scored after sustained pressure play with substitute centre Mjara diving over for Van Blerk to convert.
Kearsney battled losing flyhalf Ritchie to injury, but did have opportunities again. Lineout throwing seemed to hamper their momentum. Kearsney also conceded several penalties and the hosts scored a converted try by Reintjes and Van Blerk from a lineout maul ensuing from a series of penalties.
Kearsney had the last say as they turned over possession from the kick-off with Croshaw, Cameron Craze and Brady Erlich prominent for Sutherland to score in the left hand corner. The final score was 31-14 to Kearsney.
Outstanding players for Kearsney were Croshaw, Ritchie, Richardson and Driver while the midfield pairing of Duma and substitute Mjara looked dangerous for College.
Scorers:
For Kearsney:
Tries: Dylan Richardson, Cameron Ritchie, David Weaver, Matthew Blair, James Sutherland
Cons: James Sutherland
For Maritzburg College:
Tries: Mjara, Reintjes
Cons: Ruben van Blerk 2
Teams
Maritzburg College: 15 Jaco Truter, 14 Xolisa Guma, 13 Njabulo Mjara, 12 Ayanda Duma, 11 Ruben van Blerk, 10 Chris Reed, 9 Lodewyk Muller, 8 Matthew Diedricks, 7 Craig Glover (captain), 6 Andile Khanyile, 5 Liam Cameron-Macintosh, 4 Myles Hancock, 3 Andrew Reintges, 2 Austin Landman, 1 Matthew King
Kearsney College: 15 Lindo Nkabinde, 14 Matthew Blair, 13 Matthew Watts, 12 Cameron Craze, 11 James Sutherland, 10 Cameron Ritchie, 9 Warren Driver, 8 Brady Erlich, 7 James Miller, 6 Luke Croshaw, 5 David Weaver, 4 Ryan Lewarne, 3 Greg van Noordwyk (captain), 2 Dylan Richardson, 1 Nicholas Hudson
From Kearsney