Wildeklawer Starts with Thriller
The Wildeklawer Schools Rugby Tournament started on Wednesday, 1 May 2019, with an evening match at Hoërskool Diamantveld in Kimberley. It was a thrilling encounter between hosts Diamantveld and Hoërskool Stellenberg of Durbanville.
The scores were level at 7-all at half-time. Each side scored three tries and converted two of them. The winning points were a penalty goal by Nivan Petersen of Stellenberg in a 22-19 victory.
Hedley Hadlow, Tarquin Manuel and Likho Msengana scored tries for Stellenberg. Petersen converted two and kicked a penalty.
For Diamantveld Rudolph Steinmann, Morné Matthewson and Brendon Greyling scored tries. Matthewson and Greyling each converted a try.
The wind is blowing strongly in Kimberley and it has had an effect on matches.
In the early (8 a.m.) match, Framesby of Pretoria seemed comfortably ahead at half time, leading 26-7 against Menlopark of Pretoria. But back came Menlo in the second half and Framesby had their work cut out to win 29-21.
There was massive turnaround in the second match on Thursday. Welkom Gimnasium were leading Waterkloof 20-12 at half-time, but it was all change in the second half which Klofies won 27-0 for a 34-20 victory which looks more comfortable than it was. The Waterkloof forwards were far too strong in the end.
There was no such turnaround in the third match, for Garsfontein played into the wind against Oakdale and led 14-7 at half-time. In the second half they built on this and in the end won 31-14. Earlier this season Oakdale had had solid results, beating Diamantveld, Drostdy, Durbanville and HTS Middelburg (33-3) but last Saturday they were thumped 51-25 by the powerful Paarl Gim side, which could not have been gentle with their confidence.
As expected Paarl Gim were far and away too strong for Transvalia who are not as strong as they have been recently. Gimmies led 45-7 at half-time and eventually won 73-7 in a match stopped 18 minutes early. Their match against Grey Bloem on Saturday could be interesting, 1 vs 2 on the Top 20.
When Boland Landbou and Monument met, it threatened to be a runaway victory for the Krugersdorp school but in the end it was close as Boland Landbou fought back, but it was certainly a high-scoring affair, won by Monument 42-33.
Brave as they were, the Kwaggas of George were no threat at all to Grey College of Bloemfontein, the team ranked No.1 in South Africa at present. Grey won 64-7, a match stopped 10 minutes early..
Glenwood may never have seen a score like this in their great history. It was even bigger than their recent defeat at the hands of Monument. Paarl Boys' High who played with the wind in the first half an led 36-0 at the break were full value for their 55-7 victory.
Time was up, they trailed by 16 points and were near their own line, but still Drostdy kept playing, striving for a try. That was probably the story of a match which Affies won 38-22. Affies were the better team but that did not stop the boys from Worcester from trying to the end.
Noord-Kaap rushed into a big lead. Helpmekaar got together, as their name suggests they would and they fought back. In the end the difference was one point in 67. Noord-Kaap won 34-33! What a finish to the match! What a finish to the day!
Results, Round 1
Stellenberg vs Diamantveld, 22-19
Framesby 29 Menlopark, 29-21
Waterkloof vs Welkom Gim, 39-20
Garsfontein vs Oakdale, 31-14
Paarl Gim vs Transvalia, 73-7
Monument vs Boland Landbou, 42-33
Grey College vs Outeniqua, 64-7
Paarl Boys’ High vs Glenwood, 55-7
Affies vs Drostdy, 38-22
Noord-Kaap vs Helpmekaar, 34-33
That is an average of 62 points per match!
Fixtures Day 2, Saturday, 4 May 2019
08.00: Transvalia vs Boland Landbou
09.10: Monument vs Drostdy
10.20: Helpmekaar vs Framesby
11.30: Welkom Gim vs Stellenberg
12.40: Menlopark vs Oakdale
13.50: Garsfontein vs Glenwood
15.00: Affies vs Paarl Boys’ High
16.10: Grey vs Paarl Gim
17.20: Noord-Kaap vs Outeniqua
18.30: Waterkloof vs Diamantveld