Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival 2016 – Day 2 reports & scores

Media release by Working Words of Kearsney

The second day of the Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival produced some cracking rugby; with a frenetic game of big forwards tussling in the tight loose in the match between Glenwood and HTS Middelburg, contrasted by an exciting spectacle of running schoolboy rugby in the game between hosts Kearsney and SACS from Cape Town.

Perfect playing conditions and the well-organised event attracted good crowds to Botha’s Hill where 10 of the country’s notable rugby-playing schools are participating in the 9th annual Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival.

Dale College, Selborne College, Glenwood High School and Kearsney go into the final day having won all their fixtures to date at the festival.

Dale beat Maritzburg College 25-16 on Thursday and Hoerskool Framesby from Port Elizabeth 46-17 on Saturday; whilst Selborne beat HTS Middelburg 22-14 and Marizburg College 18-7.

Glenwood just managed a win against Dr EG Jansen (14-13) in their first encounter at the festival, before beating HTS Middelburg 17-6 on the second day. Hosts Kearsney opened the festival with a conclusive 57-10 win over Hoerskool Noord-Kaap from Kimberley, on their first visit to the festival. Their second fixture, against a spirited SACS team, saw the lead changing four times before half-time and twice later, in a superb game of running rugby.

Monday is the final day of the 2016 festival.

DAY ONE RESULTS

Kearsney College beat Höerskool Noord-Kaap 27-17
HTS Middelburg lost to Selborne College 14-22
Glenwood beat Dr EG Jansen 14-13
Maritzburg College lost to Dale College 16-25
SACS beat Höerskool Framesby 19-13

DAY TWO RESULTS

Hoërskool Framesby lost to Dale College 17-46
Glenwood beat HTS Middelburg 17-6
Kearsney College beat SACS 39-36
Maritzburg College lost to Selborne College 7-18
Dr EG Jansen v Hoërskool Noord-Kaap 40-17

FIXTURES – Monday 28 March

10h45 SACS v Selborne College
12h00 – Hoërskool Framesby v Hoërskool Noord-Kaap
13h15 Maritzburg College v Dr EG Jansen
14h30 Glenwood v Dale College
15h45 Kearsney v HTS Middelburg

DAY 2

MATCH 5: DR EG JANSEN 40 – 17 HOERSKOOL NOORD-KAAP

Noord-Kaap certainly improved in their performance but again leaked tries in the second half to give EG Jansen a handsome win.

The boys from Boksburg opened the scoring with a try by prop Rehann Baumann following a ruck on the Noord-Kaap tryline, after wing Dwayne Fourie had made metres down the touchline. A good kick by scrumhalf Ginter Smuts added the two points for a 7-0 lead.

Noord-Kaap replied shortly afterwards with a bullocking try by prop Conrad van Aswegen. This was converted by Cameron Hufke to level the scores at 7-all. It is unusual for the first two tries of a match to be scored by the opposing loose-head props.

From loose play just before the break, scrumhalf Smuts darted over, but this time missed the conversion. At this point EG Jansen led 12-7.

With the resumption of play, Noord-Kaap were quickly on to the attack and Juan-Ray Cloete had a good run to score, but the conversion was unsuccessful, leaving the scores tie at 12-all.

Then it was the EG Jansen show, as they ran in a further four tries. This included two forward tries where they ran with determination to force tries by prop Andre van der Merwe and hooker Werner Fourie. Both were converted by Smuts. The latter also scored a try and the fourth went to Ruben Beytel, to take EG Jansen to a lead of 40-12.

Noord-Kaap came back at the end with a try from Hufke and he came close in the final minutes to scoring once more. Eventually EG Jansen triumphed 40-17.

Scores
EG Jansen: Tries: Smuts (2), Baumann, Fourie, Van der Merwe, Beytel; Conversions: Smuts (5)
Noord-Kaap: Tries: Cloete, Van Aswegen, Hufke; Conversion: Hufke

MATCH 4: MARITZBURG COLLEGE 7 – 18 SELBORNE COLLEGE

This was a game where Maritzburg College had to improve from their first game, and this they did. Both teams gave their all but it was Selborne College which had the better game overall to score two tries to one.

Early pressure by the heavier Selborne forwards was annulled by some good College defence. It was Selborne who scored the first points when flyhalf David Coetzer dashed around the blind-side of a ruck to dive over in the corner. He failed with the conversion leaving Selborne 5-0 in front.

Some brave tackling by College kept Selborne from scoring any further points. College had a chance of opening their score with a long range penalty which fell just sort of the crossbar. Selborne knocked on under their posts so a 5m scrum was awarded to College. The ball went wide and wing Ayanda Duma went over. Ruben van Blerk succeeded with the conversion for College to lead 7-5.

On the stroke of half-time Coetzer was successful with a 45m penalty to give Selborne an 8-7 lead at the break.

Despite a dubious yellow card at the kick-off awarded by the assistant referee, College held Selborne until a second penalty was awarded and Selborne went 11-7 ahead. From the kick-off it was Selborne who moved the ball, ending with wing Joshua Armstrong scoring in the corner. Coetzer converted from the touch line to go further ahead 18-7.

College tried their best and were in the Selborne 22m area for the last five minutes of the game; but handling let them down with a number of attempts to cross the line.

Scores
Selborne: Tries: Coetzer, Armstrong; Conversion: Coetzer; Penalties: Coetzer (2)
Maritzburg College: Try: Duma; Conversion: Van Blerk

MATCH 3: KEARSNEY COLLEGE 39 – 36 SACS

In contrast to the previous game with big forwards tussling in the tight loose, the match between Kearsney and SACS saw plenty of running, with the lead changing four times before half-time and twice later in a superb game of schoolboy running rugby.

SACS had the better in both possession and territory for the first quarter as they put Kearsney under pressure. Just after the kick-off, hooker Lance Steytler broke free, passing to wing Zolani Masembathe who rounded the defence in the corner for the five-pointer. Jordy Hop added the two points for the early 7-0 lead.

It took the home side 20 minutes before they got on the board with a penalty from fullback James Sutherland.

The Cape Town side went further ahead after centre Hop scored at a ruck and he added the two points for SACS to lead 14-3.

Kearsney then got over their slumber and started winning more of the ball. It was eighth-man Brad Erlich who broke through the defences and passed to centre Cameron Craze who had an easy run to the line. Sutherland converted, leaving Kearsney four points behind SACS.

Erlich again broke through the SACS defence, this time to score the try which Sutherland converted for Kearsney to go into a 17-14 lead.

SACS gained the lead again when centre Chad van der Loo broke through the Kearsney defence to score, but the conversion went wide, for SACS to sneak back into a 19-17 lead.

Kearsney lock Jared Meyer then powered his way over, following a line-out, and again the lead changed with a successful conversion for Kearsney to lead 24-19.

On the stroke of half-time Hop succeeded with a penalty to leave them trailing Kearsney, who remained two points ahead.

The second half continued at the same pace with the ball moving through the hands as both teams had attacking movements.

SACS took back the lead mid-way in the second half when wing Aaron Zeederberg scored after a good line movement. Hop made sure with the conversion and went back into a 29-24 lead.

There were another three tries by both sides as play swung from end to end with the lead again changing hands twice, before Kearsney eventually won 39-36 in a cracking game.

Van der Loo scored his second for SACS; and Matthew Watts and Luke Croshaw scored for Kearsney. One of the latter was converted by Sutherland to snatch back the lead in the last five minutes.

Scores
Kearsney: Tries: Craze, Erlich, Meyer, Croshaw; Conversions: Sutherland (5); Penalties: Sutherland (3)
SACS: Tries: Van der Loo (2), Hop, Zeederberg (2); Conversions: Hop (4); Penalties: Hop

MATCH 2: GLENWOOD 17– 6 HTS MIDDELBURG

The second match of the morning was a frenetic game with evenly matched forwards giving their all and some huge tackles preventing more than just two tries.

Glenwood put early pressure on HTS Middelburg. Stout defence kept Glenwood from scoring as forwards matched forwards. When the ball emerged from a ruck it was passed out to centre Seun Maduna who drove through a tackle to score. The conversion by Martin Hotzhausen was successful, to give Glenwood a 7-0 lead.

Middelburg did not lie down and they came back, but it was again good defence by Glenwood which kept the Durban side in the lead. Neither side could get across the line, leaving the half-time score 7-0 to Glenwood.

The intensity of the clashes continued in the second half and it was only penalties that added to the score-line for 25 minutes of the second half. One penalty by Holzhausen and two by Ryan Cloete, after each had missed one, left Glenwood narrowly in the lead.

Just three minutes from the final whistle Glenwood’s centre Holtzhausen managed to crawl over for a try which he converted for a 17-6 win.

Scores
Glenwood: Tries: Maduna, Holtzhausen; Conversions: Holtzhausen (2); Penalties: Holtzhausen (2)
HTS Middelburg: Penalties: Cloete (2)

MATCH 1: HOERSKOOL FRAMESBY 17 – 46 DALE COLLEGE

The first match on the second day of the Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival started with a moment’s silence in honour of Blake Kerdachi, the Grade 11 Thomas More schoolboy who died after collapsing in the plane on their return from a rugby tour to Hong Kong.

The Eastern Cape derby, between Dale College from King Williams Town and Hoerskool Framesby from Port Elizabeth, started with Framesby attacking. It was fullback Riaan van Rensburg who was tackled just short of the try-line, but five minutes later he again created the overlap and broke through to dot down, for a 5-0 lead.

Dale then started dominating, quicker to the loose ball, getting across the advantage line and four tries were scored in quick succession. The first and last of the four were by the two centres Sibulele Mbana and Siphamandla Matsinya. A good run by scrumhalf Malwande Zamo led to a try under the posts and flank Kwanda Dimaza, who was prominent in both attack and defence, scored with a bullocking run, breaking a number of tackles. Fullback Aphelele Fassi converted three of these.

It appeared as if Framesby were facing a big defeat but they rallied in the last five minutes of the half to score a try after a lineout, when flank Bernard McDonald scored. The conversion from in front of the uprights went wide, leaving Dale 26-10 in front at the break.

The second half saw both sides having opportunities, but Framesby defence had tightened up and Dale made more mistakes. The last quarter saw Dale again start to dominate. First a long range penalty by Siphosethu Dlongodlongo, followed by a good sniping try, put Dale into a commanding 34-10 lead. Three further tries followed by Dlongodlongo, one of which was converted.

In the final minute Framesby lock Ruben le Roux forced his way over for a try, converted by Van Rensburg, to leave the score 46-17 in favour of Dale.

Scores
Dale: Tries: Mbana, Dimaza, Zano, Matsinya, S Dlongodlongo (3); Conversions: S Dlongodlongo. Fassi (3); Penalties: Dlongodlongo
Framesby: Tries: Van Rensburg, McDonald, Le Roux; Conversion: Van Rensburg