The KZN under-18 Craven Week team as well as the Sharks under-19 and under-21 teams were in action against Border teams on Saturday.
The KZN schools teams ended Craven Week on a high by trouncing Border 77-14. The KZN boys outscored their previously unbeaten opponents by 11 tries to 2. Interestingly all 13 tries scored during the game were converted. After the unofficial Craven Week final, which Western Province won 45-29 against the Golden Lions, KZN’s Kearsney twins Daniel and Jean-Luc Du Preez were reselected for the SA Schools team.
| # | KZN u18 TEAM | SCHOOL | TIME | SCORE | ACTION | PLAYER NAME | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thabiso Zuma | Maritzburg College | 5 | 5-0 | Try | Marcel Coetzee | ||
| 1 | Kerron van Vuuren | Glenwood | 6 | 7-0 | Conversion | Tristan Tedder | ||
| 1 | Mazamo Majola | Westville | 10 | 7-0 | Missed Penalty | Lungelo Gosa | ||
| 2 | Mzwandile Mazibuko | Glenwood | 14 | 7-0 | Missed Penalty | Simon Bolze | ||
| 2 | Daniel du Preez | Kearsney | 16 | 12-0 | Try | Akhona Nela | ||
| 2 | Jaco Coetzee | Glenwood | 17 | 14-0 | Conversion | Tristan Tedder | ||
| 3 | Jean-Luc du Preez | Kearsney | 17 | 14-0 | Border tactical sub | Kyle Brown for Lungelo Gosa | ||
| 3 | Ayron Schramm | Kearsney | 21 | 19-0 | Try | Akhona Nela | ||
| 4 | Reece McHardy | Westville | 22 | 21-0 | Conversion | Tristan Tedder | ||
| 5 | Tristan Tedder | Kearsney | 23 | 26-0 | Try | Jacobus Coetzee | ||
| 5 | Morné Joubert | Glenwood | 24 | 28-0 | Conversion | Tristan Tedder | ||
| 6 | Akona Nela | Glenwood | 25 | 33-0 | Try | Jean-Luc du Preez | ||
| 6 | Marcel Coetzee | Maritzburg Coll | 25 | 35-0 | Conversion | Tristan Tedder | ||
| 7 | Banele Ngwenya | Maritzburg Coll | 30 | 40-0 | Try | Jean-Luc du Preez | ||
| 7 | Chris Lines | Kearsney | 31 | 42-0 | Conversion | Tristan Tedder | ||
| 8 | Jordan Meaker | Kearsney | 33 | 42-5 | Try | Kewan Gibb | ||
| 9 | Njabula Gumede | Maritzburg Coll | 34 | 42-7 | Conversion | Kewan Gibb | ||
| 9 | Tijde Visser | Kearsney | 35 | 42-7 | First Half End | |||
| 10 | Ntokozo Vidima | Glenwood | 44 | 47-7 | Try | Reece McHardy | ||
| 10 | Kelvin Elder | Maritzburg College | 45 | 49-7 | Conversion | Tristan Tedder | ||
| 11 | Kurt Webster | DHS | 58 | 54-7 | Try | Marcel Coetzee | ||
| 12 | Sphamandla Ngcobo | Glenwood | 59 | 56-7 | Conversion | Kurt Webster | ||
| 65 | 56-12 | Try | Keegan Gray | |||||
| 66 | 56-14 | Conversion | Kewan Gibb | |||||
| 67 | 61-14 | Try | Ayron Schramm | |||||
| 68 | 63-14 | Conversion | Kurt Webster | |||||
| 70 | 68-14 | Try | Daniel du Preez | |||||
| 70 | 70-14 | Conversion | Kurt Webster | |||||
| 71 | 75-14 | Try | Morne Joubert | |||||
| 71 | 77-14 | Conversion | Kurt Webster |
On the same day down in East London, the Sharks junior teams registered wins on the opening weekend of this year’s under-19 and under-21 Currie Cup against Border. Border with the help of their Border Rugby Academy (formerly known as the Zululand Rugby Academy) has done extremely well in recent seasons. It’s no mean feat that the little Eastern Cape rugby union with their shoestring budget has managed to produce enough quality players to ensure that both their age-group teams play amongst the elite in A-section competitions.
The under-19 game was a close affair with the Sharks being pushed before winning 32-24. The under-21 game saw the visitors registering a far more convincing 53-31 victory.
On paper the Sharks under-21 team looks very strong and should make the playoffs. That said, the impact of losing starting players to the senior Premier Division Currie Cup will test their depth in this age-group.
The Sharks under-19 team coached by Deon Keyser faces an uphill battle, which is typically the case every season. The pleasure of following the under-19’s has not been one of accumulating trophies but rather of witnessing the metamorphosis as the season progresses. Teams that usually struggle during the opening round, often turn out to be amongst the strongest finishers of the regular season.
In total 15 out of 45 Sharks junior representatives came from KZN schools: Westville (4), Hilton (3), Glenwood (2), Kearsney (2), College (2), DHS (1) and Michaelhouse (1).
| # | SHARKS U19 | SCHOOL | # | SHARKS U21 | SCHOOL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Downer | Westville | 1 | Allan Dell | Queens |
| 2 | Chris De Beer | Hilton | 2 | Franco Marais | Transvalia |
| 3 | Stefan van Schalkwyk | Oakdale | 3 | Nico Van Dyk | HJS Paarl BH |
| 4 | Hendrik Botha | Paarl Gim | 4 | Wiehan Hay | Jeugland |
| 5 | Christo Steyn | Ermelo | 5 | Stefan Lewies | Eldoraigne |
| 6 | Joseph Jones | Scotland | 6 | Murray Bondesio | Grey College |
| 7 | Barend Potgieter | Zwartkop | 7 | Khaya Majola | Westville |
| 8 | Ray Williams | Framesby | 8 | Guy Alexander | Hilton |
| 9 | Cameron Wright | Hilton | 9 | Stefan Ungerer | Maritzburg College |
| 10 | JL Du Plessis | HJS Paarl BH | 10 | Robert du Preez | Kearsney |
| 11 | Alrin Eksteen | Robertson | 11 | Alcino Izaacs | Namib HS |
| 12 | Sandile Kubeka | Kearsney | 12 | Andre Esterhuizen | Klerksdorp |
| 13 | Nkululeko Marwana | Glenwood | 13 | Tyler Fisher | Westville |
| 14 | Michael Cloete | Outeniqua | 14 | Sean Robinson | Waterkloof |
| 15 | Colin Willemse | Langeberg | 15 | Keelin Bastew | Maritzburg College |
| 16 | Garrick Bowker | St Andrews | 16 | Gregory Bauer | Westville |
| 17 | Bart le Roux | Framesby | 17 | Simon Kerrod | Pretoria BH |
| 18 | Pierre Greyling | Boland Landbou | 18 | Wade Elliot | Glenwood |
| 19 | Stephan Hartman | Michaelhouse | 19 | Johan Meyer | Queens |
| 20 | Arrie Vosloo | Grey College | 20 | Hanco Venter | Monnas |
| 21 | Alex Banfield | Grey HS | 21 | Brendan Cope | DHS |
| 22 | Wion Robbertse | Paarl Gim | 22 | Garath Meikle | Lomagundi, Zim |
| 23 | Waldo Weideman | Eldoraigne |
@beet:
Just had a look. Will send a reply shortly!
@vatikaki: Sent you an email.
@vatikaki: I was wondering where those 5 Gimmies players that we got were. Only Robbertse surfaced so far.
Thanks for the info.
I assume the lock for the U-19’s is Hennie Botha, from Paarl Gimnasium.