Oakdale Festival Fixtures, Day One

The fixtures for Thursday, 22 March, the opening day of the 2012 edition of the Oakdale Rugby Festival, have been announced.

The event, one of the oldest in the country, has been slightly hamstrung by its awkward timing - it starts two days before the end of the coastal provinces' term and a full week before their inland counterparts go on holiday.

These factors are nevertheless unlikely to affect the great rugby on view and the fantastic opportunity such a gathering presents for the establishment of strong bonds between schools that would normally not compete against each other.

A glance at the fixtures suggests that the Oakdale - Diamantveld clash will be one of the highlights of the entire festival, which continues on Saturday, 24 March and ends on Monday, 26 March.

Fixtures for those days will be made after previous matches to try to match teams by strength.

Oakdale will be setting out their stall to retain top-dog status in the South Western Districts, while Diamantveld are going to be using every opportunity at the festival to mount a stern challenge for Griqua dominance at the expense of Noord-Kaap.

Other highlights would appear to be Augsburg Gym's clash with Walvis Bay and, a short walk away and an hour earlier, Monument Park's tussle with Vredendal.

The programme for Thursday, 22 March:

Die Eike
09.30: Overberg vs Knysna
10.40: Strand vs Bredasdorp
11.50: Bellville High vs Montagu
14.00: Durbanville vs Langenhoven Gym
15.10: Brackenfell vs Aliwal North
16.20: Augsburg Gym vs Walvis Bay
18.10: Hermanus vs Hudson Park
19.20: Oakdale vs Diamantveld

Populierbos
11.50: Stellenbosch vs Grens
14.00: Sentraal (South Western Districts) vs Vredendal
15.10: Monument Park vs Port Rex

From Tony Stoops