Revised Day2 fixtures after Pretoria Boys High withdrew
Grey High Nears Completion of 2026 Festival Line-up
Grey High is close to finalising the line-up for its annual rugby festival, which caters for A-teams from u14 to 1st XV level. Once again, the event promises a strong mix of schools from across the country.
Several local schools will make a return after missing the 2025 edition, while notable “new” out of province 1st XV visitors include HTS Drostdy (Worcester), Glenwood (Durban), KES (Johannesburg), Parel Vallei (Somerset West), Rondebosch (Cape Town) and St Alban’s (Pretoria).
The Drostdy Donkies are expected to attract plenty of attention as one of the sides targeting a major step up with a powerful 2026 1st XV on the cards. Others tipped for improvement include the hosts Grey High, the Kearsney One-Stripes and the Boys High Candies — setting the stage for two highly competitive days of schoolboy rugby.
The festival also coincides with a change of guard at Grey. Long-serving Head of Sport Neil Bielby, who joined Grey in 2003, will be retiring. His position has already been advertised, and while an internal reshuffle is possible, it could also create an appealing opportunity elsewhere within the school as it approaches its 170th anniversary in 2026.
Match days: Saturday 25 April 2026 and Monday 27 April 2026
| GREY RUGBY FESTIVAL | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 : Sat 25-Apr-2026 – Grey Rugby Festival | ||||||
| 910 | EP | Kingswood | 22-19 | St Charles | KZN | |
| 1025 | EP | Graeme | 35-33 | Kearsney | KZN | |
| 1145 | WP | Parel Vallei | 50-14 | Framesby | EP | |
| 1255 | WP | SACS | 34-26 | Selborne | BOR | |
| 1405 | KZN | Glenwood | 22-42 | Rondebosch | WP | |
| 1525 | EP | Grey HS | 28-19 | Michaelhouse | KZN | |
| 1025 | EP | Daniel Pienaar | 34-34 | Hudson Park | BOR | |
| 1145 | LIO | St Stithians | 00-74 | Drostdy | BOL | |
| 1405 | BOR | Dale | 32-15 | Pearson | EP | |
| 1525 | EP | Muir | 34-42 | Mali XV | INV | |
| Day 2 : Mon 27-Apr-2026 – Grey Rugby Festival | ||||||
| 800 | EP | Pearson | 57-12 | Mali XV | INV | |
| 910 | EP | Kingswood | 38-20 | St Stithians | LIO | |
| 1025 | KZN | Kearsney | 27-33 | SACS | WP | |
| 1145 | EP | St Andrew’s | 05-41 | Michaelhouse | KZN | |
| 1255 | BOR | Selborne | 12-67 | Drostdy | BOL | |
| 1405 | EP | Grey HS | 34-12 | Glenwood | KZN | |
| 1525 | WP | Rondebosch | 29-12 | KES | LIO | |
| 910 | WP | Parel Vallei | 28-15 | Hudson Park | BOR | |
| 1145 | EP | Graeme | 43-17 | St Charles | KZN | |
| 1525 | EP | Muir | 26-29 | Dale | BOR | |
Rondebosch vs KES
Rondebosch made full use of a strong following wind in the first half, pinning KES deep inside their own 30 for much of the opening quarter. The Red Army’s defence held firm early on, but eventually wing Joshua Kirby sliced through and beat the last defender to open the scoring at 5–0.
KES enjoyed a brief spell of territory before Bosch forced play back into their half and won the arm-wrestle. U17 lock Bjorn Morkel powered through the defensive line and brushed aside a would-be tackler to score, giving Bosch a 12–0 lead at the break.
Sustained second-half pressure and strong ball retention created another opportunity for Morkel, who struck again to extend the advantage. KES responded through lock Kristian Sheahan after building phases of their own, narrowing the score to 19–5.
Rondebosch returned to the red zone soon after, with Andrea Mynardt benefiting from drawn defenders to stroll over for a well-worked try, making it 24–5. KES grabbed a late consolation through prop Tswaledi Phasha, but Bosch had the final say. A loose pass left KES exposed near their own line, and prop Matt Pelser capitalised to seal a 29–12 victory.
St Andrew’s losing streak continued after going down 41-5 to Michaelhouse. SAC had a good first half against the wind. They had energy and purpose with 17-5 being a good score to work with given the wind from behind in the second half. But after the break they were completely outplayed as their energy level seemed to subside along with their ideals. Very good half for House who ran riot.
SACS vs Kearsney
SACS made a bright start, opening the scoring with a slick line movement. Talented centre Luca Orgill broke down the right before finding wing Josh Gorgens on the inside, who finished well to make it 7–0 to the SS4 side, playing into the wind.
Kearsney responded through one of their powerful U17 props, Tunga Griffiths, who crashed over after good work from Fynn Verbaan. A penalty nudged the One-Stripe ahead at 10–7 before they produced a moment of champagne rugby—executing a training-ground lineout move to perfection. Slick handling released in-form wing Luke Grobbelaar, extending the lead to 17–7. Another penalty followed, but despite trailing 20–7 at the break, SACS showed encouraging signs with strong ball retention and continuity.
SACS struck early in the second half, scrumhalf Jordan Forbes capitalising on a Kearsney error from the kickoff to score from close range. Flyhalf Jake Dave then emerged as a defensive standout, producing crucial interventions to deny Kearsney on multiple occasions.
Fullback Lwazi Mbebe showcased his class with a dazzling run past three defenders before setting up Oliver Ludwig. James Whatmore added a vital turnover near his own line, but Kearsney remained dangerous—launching a deep attack following a well-weighted chip by Daniel Miskey, with SACS briefly down a man. The move freed No. 8 Nohlahla Ndlovu, via Keanu Williamson, but once again Dave’s cover defence proved decisive.
Kearsney continued to make their chances count despite the conditions, stretching the lead to 27–14. Grobbelaar nearly added another but was forced into touch near the corner flag.
SACS then turned to their patient pick-and-drive game, with Stephan Kruger powering over to close the gap to 27–21. Momentum shifted decisively as Cameron Hirst finished off a superbly constructed phase—initiated by a line break, followed by sharp interplay between the centres, and completed by forward dominance at the fringes—to give SACS a 28–27 lead.
From the restart, SACS repeated the formula. Sustained pressure and excellent continuity saw them work their way upfield before captain Zak Dall crossed to extend the advantage to 33–27.
With 10 minutes remaining, SACS’ game management and composure under pressure stood out, closing out a hard-fought and high-quality contest.
What a good game of SBR this was.
@KES Oldboy (Comment #16)
That would be an interesting stat because apart from the 28-all vs House last year, Grey have won every single match at their festival dating back to 2014.
Which matches got reshuffled after PBHS withdrew? PBHS were supposed to play Grey in the final match on Monday but are now Grey will play Glenwood. So who were Glenwood supposed to play?
@Ryan (Comment #15)
When last did Grey lose at their festival?
Some great fixtures on the Kolisi field today. A much improved performance from Grey. Big players stood up and were counted. Nice to see the backs moving the ball too. It is pretty incredible that a few weeks ago Michaelhouse beats Affies, Grey gets hit for 65 plus against Affies and today Grey beats Michaelhouse.
@beet (Comment #11)
Just participating is not good enough really. We going to go through the season with maybe 5 wins, if we lucky…..against Tier 2 schools….
@beet (Comment #12)
What were the Grey Fest scores from today?
Grey vs Michaelhouse lived up to the billing. Great clash. House started well. Mentally synced. Just seemed to lose that gelling confidence in the second half but still had a chance in the red zone fairly late on to get ahead but could not capitalise.
Grey backs looked better and even produced some set linebreaking moves late on. Their forwards were good as per usual.
Glenwood tried but just got outclassed. Rondebosch just had too many option.
Selborne had a decent performance. Team has improved. Backline play on the up.
In the end what would have been a regulation win for SACS a few weeks back was a lot harder to get over the line
Drosdty just crushed Saints 67-0. Drosdty should be playing Grey High or a durban side. Saints should be playing a local EC side
Parel Vallei still unbeaten. Good season to date
Worth looking at the penalty try vs Framesby again which started their downward spiral.
Looked as if the ball was kncked back towards the tryline
Statement 50.14 win by Parel Vallei against a very very very poor disciplined Framesby in the second half.
At one stage it was 15 vs 12 on the park and PV ran riot
Fullback Shunley Rhoda had a good game
@beet (Comment #4)
Excellent game by both sides. KC probably could’ve/should’ve kept it tighter at times but thats the way it goes.
Really impressed by this Parel Vallei side!
Kearsney gifted Graeme 14 points.
Otherwise a high octane game. See-saw battle. Exciting entertainment.
KC with two changes to win it at the death via a drop and an penalty.
Well done Graeme. 35-33
@Palma (Comment #1)
Me too, two former powerhouses battling a bit, could have been close….
@Palma (Comment #1)
Grey have dodged one there and passed the buck to Selborne!
Eish, was looking forward to the Glenwood vs Selborne clash. Now Selborne will have a tough assignment vs Drosdty.