St John’s Easter Rugby Festival Ends

Day three of the 22nd St John’s College Easter Rugby Festival started off with St John’s College, Harare squaring up to Hilton College. Hilton ran in four tries aided by flank, David Rodseth, who not only scored a try but converted three others and contributed a penalty with the boot. The Maritzburg lads ran out convincing 32-7 winners.

The NSW Combined High Schools team from Sydney finally hit their straps when they took apart the Florida Hoërskool team. They managed to dot down five tries and won with a final score of 29-7.

Stellenbosch based Paul Roos bagged nine tries on their way to a victory over Parktown Boys' by 61-12 with Colia Louis, their flyhalf, adding fourteen points with his boot.

Host St John’s played debutantes Eye of the Tiger and as with their previous two games, the men in yellow were game but no match for The Blues whose 57-10 victory made up for their slip on Saturday.

Mpumalanga’s Hoërskool Nelspruit was behind right up until the 17th minute of the second half when wing Reinhard Roets scored a try which was converted by the ever-reliable fly-half Stephan van der Bank.  Nelspruit kept Helpmekaar scoreless in the second half with a tightly fought final score of 18-12.

In the final showdown of the festival, the game between Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool and the top ranked school in South Africa, Paarl Boys’ High, got off to a flying start. Affies’ Regardt Roets and his opposite number, fly-half Henry Chamberlain, kept the scoreboard ticking. The first 30 minutes ended with Affies leading seven points to six. But a penalty from Chamberlain and a superb individual effort try from winger Thakir Abrahams with just eight minutes to go put Paarl Boys’ High ahead by 14 points to seven. A Roets penalty with four minutes remaining on the clock brought Affies within striking distance. Even though they went four minutes into extra time and agonisingly close to the try line three times, the big lads from Pretoria could not get the ball over the line and in an epic encounter, ceded to Paarl with 14 points to 10.

We'd like to thank our sponsors, our supporters, coaches and, of course, our young men who gave their all over the past three days. Without you, there would be no festival.

From Jacqui Deeks