Graeme Rugby Day on Thursday 21 March is the next significant event on the Eastern Cape school rugby calendar. It is an opportunity to watch all the top contenders in the province playing at one venue, namely Graeme College in Grahamstown.
| TIME | SCHOOL | SCHOOL | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10h30 | PJ Olivier | 3 | 24 | Nathaniel Nyaluza |
| 08h00 | Cambridge | 49 | 0 | Port Alfred |
| 09h10 | Hudson Park | 22 | 21 | Muir |
| 10h20 | Dale | 16 | 28 | Nico Malan |
| 11h30 | Queens | 19 | 21 | Die Brandwag |
| 12h40 | Grey HS | 16 | 10 | Westville |
| 13h50 | Kingswood | 8 | 20 | Marlow |
| 15h00 | St Andrews | 21 | 12 | Pearson |
| 16h10 | Graeme | 3 | 8 | Selborne |
Dale: 1. Z Ngqongqwaqna, 2. S George, 3. K Mokhaobone, 4. L Njokwe, 5. P Zita, 6. A Tsengiwe (c), 7. Q Mvimbi, 8. M Nchukana, 9. S Ncokovane, 10. S Mgubo, 11. B Mvolontshi, 12. S Maxwane, 13. A Nompandana, 14. L Mudzvova, 15. A Mavuso, 16. M Mtongana, 17. S Mtotywa, 18. S Makhwenkwe, 19. B Ponono, 20. L Mase, 21. B Skenjana, 22. L Kenene
Nico Malan: 1. D Vd Westhuizen, 2. J Louw, 3. D Biggs, 4. G Engelbrecht, 5. A Van Rooyen, 6. M Colonani, 7. J Killian, 8. D Vd Westhuizen, 9. R Botha, 10. D Demingo, 11. E De Bod, 12. J Maritz, 13. S Davids (c), 14. D Dumas, 15. H Ruiters
Queens: 1. S Mlwayo, 2. T Bartman, 3. D Mureguzi, 4. L Ntsila, 5. S Tyebileyo, 6. J Hollis, 7. S Murape, 8. A Rautenbach, 9. K Gibb, 10. S Bolze (c), 11. J Danquah, 12. K Brown, 16. L Jonas, 14. A Jubase, 15. S Zaula, 17. T Sam, 18. U Vanda, 19. T Rumbu, 20. J Roberts, 21. D De Wet, 22. K Nocanda, 23 L Kuyler
Die Brandwag: 1. K Prince, 2. N Olivier, 3. E De Jager, 4. S Jv Vuuren, 5. R Du Preez, 6. D Delport, 7. M Moos, 8. E Vd Merwe, 9. D Du Toit, 10. M Jaer, 11. E Adams, 12. E Crouse, 13. L Fortuin, 14. F Scholtz, 15. N Lourens, 16. L Schnetler, 17. J Hayward, 18. R Kriel, 19. C Büchner, 20. R Louw, 21. J Swartz, 22. B O’Neill
Grey HS: 1. K Branford, 2. J Jamieson, 3. S Eberson, 4. S Pokomela, 5. G Huisamen, 6. C Velleman (c), 7. B Cafu, 8. M Groenewald, 9. M Alborough, 10. R Bryant, 11. L Delavechia, 12. V Moss, 13. T Ngugudo, 14. D Vermaak, 15. K Vers
Westville: 1. Jonty Osborn, 2. J Erasmus, 3. Mzamo Majola, 4. Raymond Jardine, 5. Jordan Martin, 6. Andre De La Rey (c), 7. Wiehan Prinsloo, 8. Tyron Jackson, 9. Reece McHardy, 10. Matt Larkins, 11. Keegan Paverdi, 12. Juan Anderson, 13. Brad Ellse, 14. Kyle Lubbe, 15. Louis Snyman
Kingswood: 1. M Khumalo, 2. C Sauter, 3. S Liebenberg, 4. J De Beer, 5. M Stappleton, 6. A Donian, 7. S Joseph, 8. J Denton (c), 9. C Junkin, 10. C Hertz, 11. J Amadi, 12. R Collett, 13. D Cameron, 14. J Chungu, 15. A Mteto, 16. K Kruger, 17. R Sholto-Douglas , 18. B Dodds, 19. Y Nodada, 20. Z Zote, 21. R Pagel, 22. G Curtis
Marlow: 1. I Smith, 2. M Blom, 3. R Beyl, 4. S Botha (C), 5. H Viljoen, 6. L Snyman, 7. F Roodt, 8. L Van Jaarsveld, 9. J Schoeman, 10. H Brümm, 11. C Vd Heever, 12. F Swanepoel, 13. L Cowley, 14. M Botha, 15. D Van Wyk
St Andrews: 1. D Murray, 2. T Filmer, 3. A Parsons, 4. T Paul, 5. S Manjezi, 6. T Van Heteren, 7. M Andrews, 8. S Stopforth, 9. J Baggott (c), 10. E Fortuin, 11. R Bowles, 12. R Horne, 13. R Ball, 14. M Mama, 15. C Archer, 16. B Ferguson, 17. A Taylor-Smith, 18. P Kroon, 19. X McNaughton, 20. A Rushmere, 21. B Dovey, 22. M Patterson
Selborne: 1. T Mtsi, 2. S Kriel, 3. M Nelson, 4. R Stanford, 5. D Bank, 6. J Steyn, 7. D Wolvaard, 8. J Harty, 9. S Bowles, 10. L Gosa (c), 11. A Ngowaphi, 12. D Pietersen, 13. B Musto, 14. C Mqingwana, 15. S Dixon, 16. T Balikile, 17. M Giba, 18. W Osner, 19. K Grey, 20. D Sabbagh, 21. K Deponselle, 22. M Lubelwana
Grey High got their season off to a bright start with an away 32-12 win against Kingswood. In typical early season fashion the game was a little scrappy. Kingswood were not short of determination though and made it a difficult test at times. The Grey pack went along nicely with loose forwards CJ Velleman and Martin Groenewald looking impressive but there is still lots of work to be put in with the backline and perhaps even a rethink of the combinations. For Kingswood outside centre Davron Cameron looks to be in good form.
In Uitenhage, St Andrews got their campaign off to a surprisingly good start beating Daniel Pienaar 29-7. Last year Daniel Pienaar was undefeated in the Eastern Cape and produced an SA Schools player, so they have a recent track record to back up their credentials as a good rugby school. There is an extract of a match report on the game from St Andrews:
The field was rock hard and so was the match as the two sides battled for early control. It was College however who seized the advantage and went 3-0 up after a Ryan Horne penalty. College backed this up with some fantastic interplay between backs and forwards that resulted in Matt Andrews scoring in the corner. The conversion giving College a 10-0 lead going into half time although the College team would have felt they left some scoring opportunities out there.
The second half started in much the same vein before College seized the advantage, Stuart Stopforth rounding off another well worked passage of play. The team had the upper hand but were struggling to convert into more points as a rising penalty count was hampering their effort. It took a piece of magic from Mbulelo Mama to slice the DP defence open and score under the posts. College lead now 22-0. DP hit back immediately with a try of their own after charging down a kick. The College team was not done however and scored one more try before the end of the match, Ethan Fortuin rounding off a brilliant linebreak from captain Sintu Manjezi. Ryan Horne would add the conversion to give St Andrew’s a well deserved 29-7 victory away from home.
It’s also been so far so good for Nico Malan who has scored 97 points in two games via wins over Oudtshoorn and Punt. The quality of the opposition might come into question here but there is little doubt that Nico Malan knows exactly how to open the floodgates against teams who are not at their best.
Marlow’s 22-6 win against Oudtshoorn looked far less impressive than what Nico Malan achieved against the same opposition but to their credit they have beaten big guns Noord-Kaap 12-10 as well this season.
There is not a lot to go on to determine where Die Brandwag or Graeme College stands this season. Die Brandwag might surprise a few people during their big game in Grahamstown but for the hosts it is looking like an uphill battle for their main game.
For the three big Border school Selborne, Queens and Dale, there has not been that much to go on so far. Each achieved a reasonable comfortable win at Border Rugby Day over a week ago. Dale, who had an outstanding 2012 season, beat Cambridge in East London at the schools day in Border but did struggle a bit in their first game of the year against De Vos Malan which raised question marks about their strength this season. They will have their work cut out for them against a different “Malan” called Nico in Grahamstown.
Westville, one of KZN’s best school teams for the past few years will test their strength against Grey PE, in what should be a one of many very eagerly anticipated match-ups on the main field.
@Grasshopper: Westville 2nd XV beat Graeme 2nd XV 6-0 and beat Stirling 2nd XV 49-7. Westville beat Stirling 1st 26-5. Very windy conditions.
I believe that Stirling lost by a similar score to Selborne earlier this season.
They are not in the same league as some of the bigger schools, but they are certainly no pushovers. Their school has great facilities, very hospitable and proud. Their backline handling was excellent.
Now i was impressed with Marlow they did nothing fancy just did the basics well and played as a unit for a full 60 min and won they did this to Noordkaap 10 days earlier as well so dont be surprised that they will win most there games this year, and will go mostly un-noticed.
I dont think there is any age group in rugby were size divers so much look at Supe15 or Trinations the packs are never more than 30/40 kg,s apart were i suspect that at 1st team level this might be as high as 120kg,s.
No ways that can be healthy for SA rugby.
What i did notice at the Graeme day was that in schoolboy rugby these days size seems to be the end all of everything, by having big forwards the opposing team have to spend so much time and energy just trying to counter this they cannot play there natural game.
In my day at school some teams were bigger but not to the level it is today i heard that the Brandwag pack outweighed the Queens pack by a 108kg,s now that is massive. The Grey pack was also very big i would say taller boys than Brandwag but not as round i hear that the pack weights between the 2 is about 4kg,s in favour of Brandwag i think due to the size of there No 3 boy.
@QC86: Agree with you there Brandwag seem to play like the current Selborne set up big forwards but with know vision in there play been a person who lives in Uitenhage all you have heard since Thursday is they are brilliant seen they beat Queens but i suspect they will not win the big games i think it was more a case of Queens losing the game than Brandwag winning it although there forward play was very good.
Grey PE i think will have a similar season if they dont get there backs going, if Queens had a pack like Grey they would be brilliant.(But they dont so they will have to get by with what they have.)
I think the two QC vs Selborne match this year will be very interesting.
@Ludz: At least when these two teams Under14/15 are Under17/18 Queens should have a decent 1st team as there is not much hope for the Under16 group.
The Under 14 i think did well against some big boys and kept there nerve, Under15 ball handling skills are very good and there are a good few stars in that team just a pity they seem to take there foot off the pedal a bit in the second half.
MC 150 I think Grey PE will be competitive in all there games, Queens at best will battle there Affies forwards will be to much for them as for Jeppe and MC not sure what there forwards are like i think Queens will just have to hope these teams underesimate them if they get ball you never know. Dale will battle there but are in with a chance against DHS i suppose.
@westers:Thx for the update. I’ll get the highlights from the lightie when we pick them up tonight. I believe the final score was 26-5.
@westers, yeah probably a very good plan. Keep the squad match fit and sharp for the big games next week. Westville meet the mighty Outeniqua I believe, good luck for that game. I believe they are machines! Glenwood vs Drosdty today will be interesting too. Drosdty can have very good sides, not sure what to expect this year. Garsies showed they are no flash in the pan today.
@Grasshopper: I think they probably are. Westville did play them at home last year so it was probably a reciprocal fixture. Westville 2nd side was also with the 1st side for this weekend so it was probably a good chance to blend the bigger squad and get maximum game time for the fringe players before KERF. Maybe good planning on the part of the coaching team. Big weekend coming up at KERF.
@Westers, not being flippant, but isn’t Stirling considered a 2nd tier rugby school in the Eastern Cape? I know my sister being in drum majorette’s that they are a co-ed school and very good at drummies, not sure about rugga though…
@Rian: I believe Westville beat Stirling 25 – 7. I don’t have any other detail unfortunately.
@Queenian: Brandwag reminded me of selborne type rugby,big forwards but no flair ,backs had no plan,no dummy runners,they will lose the big games
Can anyone send us updates on the scores? Holding thumbs for another good performance from WBHS vs Sterling today.
@Queenian: u14s aren’t at their best yet, it’s still a big adjustment from u13 to u14. I was very impressed with Queen’s u15, there are some real game breakers in that side
@Queenian: Jerry Danquah, the left wing who grassed the ball with 2 open try lines. His hands are a major concern. Once he get his hands on the ball, he’s a beast. We should’ve won that game with relative ease. I also thought our guys didn’t support well, some good breaks, but just no support.
Simon Bolze was very good on the day. I wasn’t aware he could kick that far, but he was so unlucky with that last kick.
Selborne Under14/15 are very good and will say Queens Under14/15 also very impressed with Dale Under 14/15 not bad but i think showed that DC is in for along rough ride although i hear there Under16 are not bad.
As for Brandwag will say this they big and strong and will give most teams a hard time there rolling mauls were out of the Blue Bulls manual flip the one they did took them from there 25 all the way to the Queens 25 was very impressed.
But they suffered the similar problem as Grey PE got so much ball but if the forwards did nothing with it they looked a bit lost.
But well done to Brandwag.
On the whole i was impressed with Queens i had been given the idea that they would be know were this year. But after the game which they could have won i saw a team that will give most teams a run for there money would say a Queens team of old small but with a lot of guts and a fly half who will punish any team within 50 meters.
Must admit those were some of the biggest kicks i have ever seen from a schoolboy fly half.
There were still quite a few handling errors which Queens must sort out they would of won easily if there had not been so many handling errors.
And you must give Marlow there due thay went about there game in a well planned manner and came away with a good win.
St Andrews seemed to go through hot and cold phases but did the job required.
Was not at the Selborne game but i think people must not read to much into this result as Graeme are a lot better than people think.
@QC86: I think everybody underestimated Graeme they have a decent team this year. Alot of people before hand had Hudson winning by 20/Brandwag winning by 20 and Selborne winning by 20 even some said Grey would win by 20 but nobody had actually seen these teams play yet.
I actually think Hudson were lucky to win, Queens did alot better than i thought they would and i think Selborne grinded out a good win.
Grey seemed not to know what to do with all there ball and the 108 kg difference between the Brandwag and Queens pack was to much specially after the Queens boy got yellow carded.
Dale will battle this year as i was not that impressed by Nico Malan actually think Dale came right in the last 15 minutes and ran the ball at them the last try by Selwyn Davids scewed the result a bit.
I do not see Dale beating Selborne or Queens this year.
@Mike: Agree with you there must say Westville held on well Grey were all over them in the first half.
If anything i would say that Grey problem is they have a pack to match any just found there backline was not sure what to do with the ball the No13 did well but not much else seems like the backs would rather have had the forwards do the work.
Westville actually impressed me.
Welldone the Ville!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sounds like the boys did their school proud. So looking forward to more at the same at KERF. Lets hope no more injuries!!!!
@Mike: spot on mike
On the Weatville/Grey game. I thought Grey dominated the first half, both in territoty and possesion, forward were rucking well and the team looked very well drilled. However just before half time, Grey had 3 players go down in the space of a minute. (He outside center, both flanks, and a hooker off for blood. In the second half Westville completely turned the game around, the scrumhalf dictated the game from the base of the ruck, and the outside center was providing breaks everywhere. I’m not sure , but I think it was Westville’s kicker who went off concussed. The Grey pack is big , keeping in mind this is only Grey’s second game, if the team only gets better from now, its going to be a great season for them. I’m not sure if this has anything to do with it, but at the festival, the format is 30 minutes per half with no injury time. The hooter had gone maybe a minute before the 5m scrum would have been played for Westville at the end of the game. All in all I think it was the game of the day,could have gone either way. Must give credit to the heart of that Westville side.
@beet: Agree. He will be a perfect 7’s player. I have never seen a player like him having the ability to change direction at the speed that he is doing it. He is my back line player of the day with the Westville no.9 in 2nd spot.
@GCollege86: Thanks. I think supporters are unanimous that Nico Malan’s captain and centre Selvyn Davids was player of the day.
I remember the first time I watched Selvyn playing was that the Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival in 2011. Nico Malan didn’t have the strongest team that year. They lost all 3 games including a match to Kearsney but Davids still managed to score 4 or 5 tries (I think it was all his teams tries) during the festival. Amazing speed off the mark and ability to change direction. I’m not sure how he did not get picked up for national age-group 7s representation. He had an excellent Craven Week 2012 playing on the other wing from Sergeal Petersen and made it into the SA Schools trial group of 50+ players.
Players that stood out for me: nr.13 Selwyn Davids (Nico Malan), nr.9 Reece McHardy (Westville, nr.10 S Bolze (QC), nr.1 David Murray (SAC) and my team of the day, even though they just lost, Westville. I thought they scored a try at the end with basically the whole team going over the line in a maul and then the ref ending the game without the 5 metre scrum. Grey vs Westville also my game of the day. If Selborne keep on playing the way they did, its going to be a long season for them with very irated supporters.
Beet any news on the injured west v player,it happend on the far side of the field,looked like possible concusion
@beet:I was chatting to one of the QC coaches after the games and he said that by law the held up maul of west v a scrum should have taken place,even after the hooter,maybe you can look up the law and for west to travel down and hold grey like they did ,they can be proud,in fact they were getting stronger as the game went on and grey were fading
@Grasshopper: Jackson, the large prop, has been injured and has only just started playing again. He played 3rds last week against Hilton. and was on the bench for the 2nds. He may be on tour as the Westville 2nds also played in Grahamstown today. Both teams are playing against Stirling on Saturday in East London.
@GCollege86 Hope you enjoyed the rugby at Graeme .Not surprised at the Selborne result , think they had the hardest game of the day . Graeme, on home ground, around 11 players back ,targeting this as one of their biggest game of the season , with a chance of beating Selborne with one of their best teams in years. This is a very good win for Selborne going forward,wonder how Queens and Dale would have done against Graeme on the day.
Glad to hear the represented KZN well, a 6 point loss with a last minute try disallowed must be a hard pill to swallow. Do they play again there or next up KERF? Will be strange for Glenwood and Westville at KERF not having to analyze each others games as no game this year. At least they can fully support each other…
@Grasshopper: He is injured.
Hopper. I was first told today that the Westville team looked big during their warm up. When they got onto the field I was told they look small compared to Grey PE.
Grey PE could have a 830kg pack
Westville gained a lot of respect in the Eastern Cape today.
@beet, Westville have a 125kg prop, how much bigger can you get? Westville must have a 800kg plus pack, what is Grey PE? 850/900kg? If so, that is crazy!
2 things about Westville today.
The game ended with Westville carrying the ball over the tryline but being held up. Ref called 5m scrum but time was up and he blew the final whistle.
The WBHS boys were gutted after the game. They felt they deserved more out of the match. The Grey PE boys are huge and Westville must have been the gutsiest team of the day.
Grey PE had a few missed chances of their own to score more points.
@QC86: Great to hear the Westville 9, McHardy had a good game. He has impressed evefry game so far this season. Bright future ahead if he keeps this up.
Grey pack is huge, my word forget Brandwag being the team with SR pack, Grey are big
@beet: pretty much as mike said,west v no 9 and Selwyn very good,team of the day,pretty scrappy early season stuff,heat did not help,have to say grey,sac backs very slick
As seen on facebook
Dale Jr 13A results on KZN TOUR, DALE vs PELHAM 31-0, DALE vs CHELSEA 56-0, DALE vs ARBORETUM 40-7! WELLDONE AMADODA!
At least DJ won
@Umtata: Same old same old with Selborne. Super 15 pack, looking for contact at every opportunity. Although Graeme have a much better side than previous years.
According to some people the score is Selborne 13 Graeme 3
After all the talk about Selborne being back , I thought the baboona would win by a big margin.
QC did well and actually almost won.
With only 3 capped players from last year DC was always going to struggle, the boys should suck it up and look to the next game.
@beet: Great day of rugby at Graeme. Some of the games were a bit closer than I expected. Pearson actually fought well, could have gone in to the lead a few times. Queens flyhalf really impressed me, Brandwag rolling mall was great, Westville scrumhalf and outside center great, and Selwyn Davids for Nico Malan of course was fantastic. Well done to the Grey boys on the win ! Now on to Maritzburg, Affies and DHS. One last thing, the Dale vs Nico Malan score is the wrong way around.
@QC86: Your team and player of the day?
Selb 8 GC 3 end
Selb suck 8 3
Ludz says QC u14 won 17 10 and u15 QC won14 10 all against brandwag
Second half,Taylor rugby all over again,backs don’t run lines,still 8 0
Selb in for a try, yawn 8 0
Selb half asleep,still 3 0
Well I thought the surprise of the day was Daniel Pienaar bouncing back after losing badly to St Andrews to beat Oakdale 13-9,
Then came a real shock when Bellville beat SACS 15-0
But then the gob-smacker OUTENIQUA 68 Tygerberg 3
@Ludz: How did Queens Under14 and 15 go
Selb pen 3 0
In front of the bar,next to QC coach
@QC86: I actually need to charge my battery, where are you gentleman
Now for the men
Sac try 21 12
And in again 14 aLl
no missed the kick14 12
Pearson in for a try 14 _7 to sac
Sac in under the posts 14 zip
Back on air,had to recharge batt,sac are scrapy,backline looks hot,sac no1 a beast
SAC 7 Pearson 0
Marlow 20 kc 8 clock down
Marlo 13 Kingswood 8
Thanks QC86.
Marlo 10 Kingwood 8
Heartbreaking for QC, interesting scores, can’t wait for some feedback on how the schools played. Well done to the bloggers for connecting, and making new and renewing old friendships.
EP schools having a good day.
Now halftime sorry water break earlier,beer and sun making me slow,marlow up 10 5
Kc try 5 7 marlow
Marlow try 7 -0
Halftime still no score,playing on the halfway line
KC marlow still 00
Aah Westville :-(… sounds like coulda won that game there at the end but shoulda gone for posts seemingly and got the draw. Sounded like a good game?
Glad to help,kerf soon
@QC86: Thanks for the updates, sounds like a humdinger. Glad we held our own.
West go over the line,but held up,hooter,grey win 16 10,west unlucky,at one point I thought west were in for a klap,had 2 kicks slap in front and went for the corner,could have drawn,
Grey pen 16 10, 5 min to go
Grey pen,west put a lot of subs on,13 10 to grey,west got pen slap in front and kicked for the corner,and lost the throw
Yes his tactical kicking has been great
Louis Snyman – great player (also a great cricketer)
West no15 scores a break away try,great kick by him from the corner,10 all,22 min to go
That’s been the story so far – no9 McHardy – definately destined for bigger things. Our backs are so talented, yet they always seem to pitch up half cooked….
West no9 having a good game,forwards holding their own,backs having a hard time
@QC86: Thx man.
Halftime still 10_3 to grey
Grey try,2 grey boys down,kick missed,grey 10 west v 3
Grey try,I think west in for a long day,grey 5 west 3
No problem,very hot must be 38,grey looking very good
@ QC86: Thanks for the update mate, we’re chewing our toenails down in KZN.
West v pen 3 grey zip
Brandwag 21 QC19 game over
Ludz pacing behind the poles
Pen and then beauty try by brandwag 21 QC 19 3 min left
QC try 19 brandwag 11
QC 12 brand 11
QC 12 _6 brand
QC 9 brand6 halftime
QC 6_brand 6
QC dropkick 3 -6
QC 0 brandwag 6
QC 0 brandwag 3
At the bar
Where are you men, am with KCman behind the post on Brandwag’s side
Eish…..
Selborne u14 27 graeme 7
Dale 16 nico 28 end
Dale 16 nico 21 8 min left
Nico Malan 21 Dale 11 17 min to go
Hudson 22 muir 21 end
Dale 8 nico21 in the 40th min
Anybody have the Hudson muir score thanks
Thanks bro. I sense a good season ahead from the boys. We shouldn’t lose to any co-ed this year.
Cambridge 49 P.Alfred 0
Anyone here at Graeme Rugby Day who knows the Cambridge vs Port Alfred result?
@rugbyfan: yeah Rautenbach at 8 is a heavier option as compared to Roberts on the flank, so a reshuffle of the loose trio with Morape going onto the flank at Allan coming in at 8
@GCollege86: oh heard from a couple of lads yesterday that he is injured, was just wondering if we were talking about the same boy as I don’t know your boy’s name.
Guess I will see all you gentlemen there. Anyone already there?
@Ludz: I see Queens have changed there pack around looks like they trying to bring in a bit of bulk which they will need today.
@Queenian: See you in Grahamstown should be there by about 10:30 hope you still going heard you had a strike on the go.
@GCollege86: Saw your son playing last year he is really talented must admit in the games against Queens he was the difference between the two teams hope he has a speady recovery.
@GCollege86 Sorry to hear about your son ,hope he mends soon. Enjoy the day at Graeme are you able to post scores during the day , will be following all the way from Aus . Travel safely.Can i SMS you .
@Ludz: I was at the practice with Rudy Venter. Our older sons went on a u16 Rugby Camp and we were on catering duties last night so we traveled with them to camp. Getting ready to go to Grahamstaown now.
@Ludz: My son was the u13 Flyhalf of last years Selborne team, but had a bad injury at athletics two months ago. Ligaments and 2 fractures. He is in re-hab at the moment. Dr and Cassie (physio) is confident that he might still play this year, but we will see how things go.
Good luck to Westville! Quite a tough schedule there. Grey PE have been built up quite a bit and had a good win over Kingswood so with the travel Westville might struggle, they don’t seem to travel well. Hopefully Westville do well and fly the KZN colours down there…
Thanks. Fixed.
Beet: I see Queens and Marlow are sharing the same replacements that must be a first?
@GCollege86: Watching the u14a bractice here, is your boy here? I see young Venter is here
Marlow and Die Brandwag squads added
Cant wait.
QUEEN’S AND WESTVILLE TEAMS ADDED
@Ludz: Cant agree more with both your comments.
@GCollege86: Real pity about Domoney, I like the young lad, always been a superb leader, very surprised when Gosa was selected as captain ahead of him
Anyone going through EL who I can catch a lift with tomorrow?
@Queenian: I’m sure Mr Loest has one, I’ll try to get Mr Loest to email Beet the teamlist
@Queenian: Im not sure what the story is with Jho.Hope to get some proper detail tomorrow at Graeme.
By the way, can someone post the address of the Graeme Fields?Need to GPS it.I havent been there in years, and I suck at directions.
@Umtata: Yes he’s at 13. The backline looks a whole lot more settled with him there. But its still early days in the season. A lot can happen. Looking forward to seeing the scores of all these games.
@spilly: Robert @ Lock (SA Athletics), wing / centre and fullback (think they just testing other combinations before Kearsney . Hooker Domoney possibly out for the year.
@GCollege86 Who are the 3 players short , looks like a very strong team as is.
@Ludz: Pity about Domoney. He might be out for the year. Being checked out today I hear. I do think they will have their best loose forward combination in Steyn, Wolfaard and Harty on the field. Still 3 short of full team.
With Brandwag not a lot to go on with that Super15 pack they have Queens will not have a lot to go on they are big and strong so they will be good.
@Umtata: Thabani i think has being moved to centre as that seems to have been Grey,s only weak point against Kingswood.
@Ludz: Anybody have the Queens team?
@Playa: Were is Somali Jho something going on with this kid since he tried to leave and go to Queens or is he injured.
Sintu Manjezi also a good player for St Andrew’s. He’ll be 1 of the EC players to watch this season, in his 3rd year of 1st XV rugby.
Selborne side looks very impressive. Dominic Banks at lock is a huge boy, am sure over 2m and about 120kgs, Jason Steyn is a very good flanker who was in last year’s SA u16 HP squad. Jedwin Harty will be the leader in that pack with the absence of Dylan Domoney at hooker, great 8thman who for me was one of he better players in a poor Selborne side last year.
Can not say I know too much about the players in the backline, Lungelo Gosa the captain is an impressive young flyhalf. A SA u18 sevens champion earlier this year, he does bring a bit of flair into the backline, does the basics well too. It’s his place kicking that I am not sure about, through his age group rugby, a lot of the kicking was done by Jose Shaw. Jose is now at St Albans in Pretoria and last year kicking duties were given to the scrumhalf during Gosa’s 1st year in the 1st XV
Good luck to all the teams ,hoping for a great day of schoolboy rugby. Unable to attend, would appreciate score updates during the day, many thanks.
I see grey have shifted Thabani to 13, interesting.
@Westers: Should be a great match up. The result of the Westville – Grey game should give some good perspective going forward for both teams. Before the end of April Grey play Westville, Maritzburg College, Affies, DHS, Nico Malan, Paul Roos and Wynberg.
Down in Carribean, can’t wait for results Lets go QC.
@Rhino – As star says they have a couple of boys who have taken what looked like bad knocks in the last two games. They do have cover in most positions but quality is the issue. In saying that the replacement hooker had a very good game on Saturday after coming on in the first couple of minutes having played for the seconds.
The 2nd team last weekend was made up of a lot of last years U16A’s and they only just beat Hilton. The 3rds were loaded with talent and had a great win against Hilton. Pieters and Jackson (Prop) who both had games for the 1sts last year were on the injury list but started for the 3rds on Saturday so should be coming back to fitness.
Westville have a lot of depth in the open age group this year but IMHO are missing a few top quality players who would make the 1sts a really good side so I think they are going to battle over the next 10 days. Hopefully the challenge brings out the best in the boys.
@ Rhino – I think we have about 4 boys out (some with concussion which could turn depending on the self evaluation criteria.) I think this number will be pretty consistent across most schools.
@Star – that is indeed a tough schedule. Do you know how far to full strength the 1st side is now? I know had some injuries and all…
Promises to be a good day of Rugby, good opportunity to see all EC teams. Will be good to meet a number of the bloggers on here.
Westville have a tricky stretch to navigate. In the space of 10 days they would have played Grey High(top 10 contender and possible No 1 in EC) ,2 Top 5( contenders in Paarl Gim(NO1?) and Outeniqua) and the highly competent Framesby. Who said that it was only GW that was pushing the boundaries? The boys will have to be properly managed. We wish them well.
GO AMADODA!!!
Come on Westville!!! Anyone watching who can give us scores please?