Hats off to the St John’s Easter Rugby Festival organisers. The challenges facing Easter rugby festivals—particularly in securing access to high-profile schools—have certainly mounted in recent years. Despite boasting an iconic venue and a proud history, St John’s has not been spared these difficulties.
However, they have responded impressively ahead of the 2026 edition. Returning to the programme are three heavyweight schoolboy rugby brands: Grey College, Monument and Bishops.
Adding further interest are two highly rated touring teams in St Joseph’s Nudgee College from Brisbane, Australia, and Westlake Boys’ High from northern Auckland, New Zealand. Westlake, former World Schools Festival champions, bring plenty of pedigree. The only disappointment is that, during their Easter excursion, they appear to be avoiding match-ups against the big guns on St John’s Burger Field.
To top things off, the organisers have introduced some genuinely out-of-the-box thinking: a Monday (Day 3) schedule featuring several U16A teams, adding an exciting new dimension to the festival.
| ST JOHN’S EASTER R/F | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 : Thu 02-Apr-2026 | ||||||
| 1 | FS | Grey College Cherries | vs | Noordheuwel 2nds | LIO | |
| 2 | LIO | Golden Lions XV | vs | Welkom Gim | GRF | |
| 3 | BUL | St Alban’s | vs | Nudgee 2nds | AUS | |
| 4 | LIO | St Benedict’s | vs | Graeme | EP | |
| 5 | EP | Kingswood | vs | St David’s | LIO | |
| 6 | LIO | Monument | vs | Westlake | NZ | |
| 7 | AUS | Nudgee | vs | Grey College | FS | |
| 8 | KZN | Hilton | vs | Nelspruit | PUM | |
| 9 | WP | Bishops | vs | St John’s | LIO | |
| Day 2 : Sat 04-Apr-2026 | ||||||
| 1 | LIO | St David’s | vs | Randburg | LIO | |
| 2 | AUS | Nudgee 2nds | vs | St Benedict’s | LIO | |
| 3 | PUM | Nelspruit | vs | St Alban’s | BUL | |
| 4 | LIO | St John’s | vs | Golden Lions XV | LIO | |
| 5 | GRF | Welkom Gim | vs | Westlake | NZ | |
| 6 | EP | Graeme | vs | Bishops | WP | |
| 7 | LIO | Monument | vs | Kingswood | EP | |
| 8 | KZN | Hilton | vs | Nudgee | AUS | |
| Day 3 : Mon 06-Apr-2026 | ||||||
| 1 | BOR | Queen’s u16 | vs | Noordheuwel u16 | LIO | |
| 2 | LIO | KES u16 | vs | Lions Inv u16 | LIO | |
| 3 | LIO | St John’s u16 | vs | Randburg u16 | LIO | |
| 4 | NZ | Westlake | vs | Randburg | LIO | |
Well done to the organizers for nudging in a slightly different direction vs. The norm. They have still managed to put 3 days of good match up together. Could this be saving their future as a profitable Easter Festival as a win for both themselves, participating teams Sponsors and spectators…
Time will tell