09-Mar-13. Kearsney illustrated the importance of teamwork and a balanced approach as they systematically built up a 30-0 lead over 70-minutes against their hosts Northwood. Tries were scored by captain Matt Reece-Edwards, Thuthu Ndlovu and Mthokozisi Moloi and backed up with 15-points from the reliable boot of Tristan Tedder.Northwood might have fancied their chances of an upset at the start of the match. The bad weather coupled with Kearsney missing two of their more physical forwards, meant there was an opportunity for the home team to dominate proceedings up front with their big pack. As things went, the Northwood team was not out of the contest until midway through the second half when Ndlovu’s try, the second of the game, sealed the deal at 21-0. That indicator was going purely by the scoreboard and the amount of ball Northwood had. On the field of play, the Knights put up a good physical battle but did not translate their fair share of possession and a few useful territorial positions into points. The difference in the result came down to the attacking options used by either side. They were worlds apart. On attack Northwood tended to be over-reliant on their forwards and basics. They attacking patterns were very one-dimensional, their tactic kicking game which can be so vital to success in wet weather games did not serve them well and their backline failed to adequately threaten the advantage line. On a few occasions first time tackles away from the breakdown also let them down.
Kearsney on the other hand put up an impenetrable defence. This was an area where the good teamwork stood out with players showing commitment and sharing the workload, as they fronted up to their heavier opponents.
In teams of offence Kearsney operated a high level considering the conditions underfoot. With ball in hand the visitors looked creative. They targeted spaces to run into and were alert to the support player options on either side in attempts to produce game-breaking end results. Three good tries were scored and a few of their final passes came close to setting up even more tries.
There is no doubt that the 30-0 outcome was all down to a 15-player team effort. Nevertheless the overall performance wasn’t without some stand out individuals. The most notable was that of Kearsney no.8 Ayron Schramm who featured prominently during the game. The skillful Schramm showed why he is the recipient of a Sharks junior contract for 2014 and was unfortunate not to get on the score-sheet himself when one of centre Tyler Smith’s usually pin-point accurate passes was adjudged to be forward by the perfectly positioned ref. Smith himself had been in excellent form on the day. The midfield playmaker carved out a number of opportunities and was the catalyst in Reece-Edwards’ open try. Reece-Edwards had some difficulties with passing the wet ball back to his flyhalf Tedder. Their lack of pre-season game time together certainly showed. However with ball in hand the Kearsney captain was in a league of his own. Most memorable of the game was his quickly taken 22-metre drop restart, regather and strong run down to the Northwood 22-metre line. That strong carry was reminiscent of those by Kearsney’s 2012 SA Schools centre Sandile Kubeka.
The final try had T-E-A-M written all over it. Sustained pressure with the ball being moved about inside the Northwood 22, eventually led to tighthead prop Moloi barging over on the right-hand side. As part of a faultless kicking display Tedder succeeded with all three conversions and it was his three well-taken penalties earlier on that helped push the lead up to 16-0 before Kearsney really came into their own during the last quarter of the game.
It was an excellent start to the domestic season for Kearsney. For Northwood there were some encouraging signs in aspects of their play. There is however a lot of work ahead if they hope to make better use of the quality first phase ball that their forwards are capable of securing.
what is wrong with the du preez brothers??? are they being rested? injured???
Really bad results for Northwood.they have to relook everything now IMO. See where things went wrong going all the way down to their intake of boys and how they can improve on that
Looking at the Kearsney website I see that they beat Northwood in every rugby match on Saturday. The only games they lost were 2 to Kloof High School which I assume were on the stagger. Northwood only came close in the U16 age group. In the open age group Northwood failed to score a single point, same for the U 15’s and the U 14’s only registered 6 points.
I am not sure how many boys Northwood has but you have to question their new approach. Better coaching through the ranks will surely give a better platform to bulld off and create depth.
Northwood did have the better of the hockey results winning 6 out of 10 with 1 drawn.
@GreenBlooded: As far as I know, one is nursing his sternum and the other his knee. Word is that they will be back for KERF.
It would not surprise me to see one or both of them play against Glenwood. Watch this space…..
I must say that Kearsney is looking great without them, which speaks volumes for the team.
@CyndiAtRugby: I was also surprised to see that they beat Northwood at U16 level. This has been Northwood’s star team over the past 2 years. They have a nice team witha very good flyhalf.
Kearsney, on the other hand, have always regarded this age group as their weakest.
My sources tell me that Kearsney have 4 new players that have made a big difference. I think that it is at flyhalf, centre, one of the forwards and perhaps the full back ?
@CyndiAtRugby: Having watched these guys play as u15s , there is some improvement , but still very much a work in progress i believe ………
@GreenBlooded: sorry boet i dont know , am not involved at all , just an old boy who follows !!
@oldschool: I have heard that the KC U16A team is impressive this year. I reckon this is one of the ‘must see’ games on Saturday.
@oldschool: What is the deal with the Doops? What is the nature of the injuries and when are they expectd to be back to full fitness? Hopefully for the KERF??
@NW_Knight: with out the Doeps our lads will have to seriously man up against the green machine , having watched them play at KP the pace in the Gwood backs is very scary ……a sniff of space will result in points or massive yards gained …….pity that this fixture is so early in the season …….but you are correct in saying that the boys played as a unit …..still believe that we need the Doeps for this fixture as they would suck a lot of energy from the opposition defence …….however lets wait and see if the rest of the boys can make the step up !!!
@Grassy: I think GW will be better off if the Doops play. Without them, Kearsney play as a great team, everyone working together. With them, there is an element of reliance on them as they often take 2 or 3 of the opposition out of play when they have the ball.
Sounds like the clash this coming weekend is going to be massive! Glenwood too have a classy backline so it may come down to the forwards battle. If the Doops play then Kearsney may have the edge here. However, Glenwood too have a well balanced side from what I have been hearing. A few key battles all round! Frustrated that I can’t be there. Go Green!!
@oldschool: So this was an official fixture? Nicely done Kearsney.From all the hype, I thought Northwood were gonna be tough to beat.Impressive scoreline indeed
Kearsney were not intimidated by the much bigger Nwood team , Kc even dominated many scrums even being 10kgs lighter per a man , just goes to show how a team when keeping structure and defending with heart can destroy even bigger opposition , this coupled with skilled backs whom are confident to create stuff out wide results in tries ……..good win for the one stripe ……big big game coming up against the green machine whom are looking very strong ……should be a cracker on saturday !!
Also impressive was the KC u16A beating the Nwood lads …..the first time this KC age group have beaten them …..game of the day for me ……Nwood u16As should worry less about trying to hurt their opposition and concerntrate on playing the game …..
@kcob:
where was t.westermeyer? hes an u14 prop he made kzn u13 last year
Yes, he did.
@NW_Knight:
Eish! Huge stbacks for u14 there. Doesnt help when Kearsney have such a good front row. Do you know why Kearsney u14 player and kznu13a prop T.Westermeyer wasnt playing?
This was the 1st game of the season though, can only get better.
@kcob:
Eish so many Tedders at KC. Think tristans brother also just joined in at grade 8 too
Schramm was standout, and venture to say if the weather was dry, the score may have been higher. I was very very impressed with the improvement in the experience at NW yesterday. Boys were neat, tidy, greeting parents, and so many young NW boys offered to help my dad and I (dad in a wheel chair). Well done NW. Also, war cries were back!
@HORSEFLY NO.1: James Tedder, son of Clive Tedder (’85 Headboy at KC) joined from St Charles in 4th Term in 2012. Lots of pressure from his uncles and cousins at KC for not sending him in the first place! They stay in Greytown, and travel was the original reason to go to St Charles.
@Horsey: NW U14’s lost 2 big front row forwards to injury (out for the season) and had to play without them. Richardson and Taylor are bigger than most and currently run rampant. NW’s captain broke his wrist in the 3rd minute and played till half time (slotting a penalty in the process), before the coach took him off with the score on 17-3. No excuses, but a lot went wrong.
No recruiting done for U16 (as opposed to the Kearsney 3), but the game could’ve gone either way. Kearsney 2nd’s were good and, although possession didn’t go their way, they scored when it counted. Northwood are a very competent 2nd team.
1st’s was a very good game. Anyone watching would tell you that there is a huge improvement over last year. I would also venture to say the Kearsney play better without the Doops than with them – the ball moves more and there is no reliance on 2 players. Schramm and Reece Edwards very good.
@Pedantic:
Sjoe! Big victories! Thought NW had recruited well at U14… Kearsney obviously have recruited much,much better.
Why isn’t Ross playing rugby anymore
@HORSEFLY NO.1: St Charles
I’m not 100% sure of all the results …
U14A Kearsney won 45-3
U15A Kearsney won by a large margin (40 – 50 odd)
U16A Kearsney won 12-5
1sts Kearsney won 30-0
@Pedantic:
Where did Tedder join from? Also, what were other A-Team results?
@star: @horsy & gungets – last year Kearsney U15A won 3, drew 1 and lost the rest – they lost to NW by 1 point and to Glenwood by 4 which was an improvement on their 2011 season.
Mr T certainly played his heart out today but was ineffective both in the scrums and open play – Kearsney’s front row are the same as last year but the boys are catching up now – Luyt in particular looked very good. In fact, in my opinion the scoreline of 12-5 flatters NW a little after today’s performance.
Koekemoer is not playing rugby this year, but the Kearsney backline has been revamped with Tedder who joined last year, Pau who relocated from PE and Hoare who I believe is from the UK.
Hope the boys can keep up the progressive improvement over the next couple of years.
Kearsney 30 Northwood 0
@star: Were you at the game? I thought College looked uninspired. Also not much decent first phase possession and too many basic tactical errors. Think the scoreboard was kind to them in this case although they did score some very good tries.
Westville 24 MC 19. Seemed like a closely fought battle. Westville 2nds 20 Weston 1sts 0(both at Wartberg festival).
@HORSEFLY NO.1: last year the NW U15A were unlucky when losing to College. Surprised to hear this result. Have Kearsney improved (Koekemoer did not play against College for KC) or has NW gone backwards.
Did Mr T play for the NW team?
@horsy- I stand to be corrected but last year I do not think Kearsney U15A won a single game.NW were in the top percentile. I wonder what has changed.
And In an upset, Kearsney U16A beat Northwood 12-5
@star:
Seems WSPS old boy Thomas Westermeyer is at Kearsney meaning that 3/6 WSPS KZN players didn’t go to Westville. BAD