The 2023 Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival continued to deliver the goods on day two, although things weren’t as tightly contested as the first day’s action, with a few blowout results.
It was a particularly good day for KwaZulu-Natal, with all four schools bagging wins after an indifferent start to the festival.
DHS produced a riveting performance in their 31-10 defeat of HoerskoolFramesby, with flyhalf Deano Boesak standing out, thanks in large part to his excellent tactical kicking and quick feet.
Kearsney College rebounded from their disappointing defeat to Dale College on the first day by becoming the first team to beat Hoerskool Dr EG Jansen this season in a 17-12 result, while Westville Boys’ High inflicted a 14-9 loss on the touring Hartpury College in the day’s first matchup.
Glenwood’s 19-7 victory over Dale kept alive their hopes of claiming three wins from three ahead of the final day.
In the other two results of the day, Hoer Landbouskool Marlow breezed past Worcester Gimnasium 30-15 and Hoerskool Monument battered Hoerskool Noord-Kaap 50-5.
Monnas 50-05 Noord Kaap
Hoerskool Monument romped to a 50-5 victory over Hoerskool Noord-Kaap in the final game of day two.
Unforced errors interrupted the flow early on, with neither side able to build anything in the way of momentum or gain a real foothold in the contest. Ultimately though, the Krugersdorp side were far too strong, getting off the mark after Kelvin van Wyk was released down the left touchline.
A brutal driving maul then earned them a penalty try, with the culprit, Noord-Kaap loosehead Eveton Hamat, earning time in the naughty chair.
After Monnas No 9 Ceano Everson saw yellow for a dangerous tackle, Jonaden Links finished off lightning backline play in the corner to pull five back for the boys in white, but a Daylon Myners break made it 21-5 at half-time.
Hanu Fourie, Morne Venter, Juandre Marais and Nathan Venter (two tries) all added to the score-line in the second-half as Monument ran riot.
Durban High School 31-10 Framesby
A rampant Durban High School (DHS) outfit put HoerskoolFramesby to the sword in a 31-10 win in the penultimate game of day two.
Although Framesby did enjoy long passages of possession, DHS were superb with and without the ball and claimed a comprehensive victory in the end.
The excellent Deano Boesak put DHS ahead early on from the kicking tee, before Bandile Zama and Dale Hendrikse dotted down after some brilliant backline play.
Framesby rebounded strongly after those initial setbacks, setting up camp deep inside DHS territory and finally going over through storming hooker Hein Terblanche. Although they enjoyed the lion’s share of territory and possession through to half-time, they were kept at bay by some determined DHS defence.
The Horseflies were devastating in broken field and extended their advantage through thrilling tries from Hopewell Ntshangase and Zingce Simka.
Sean Vermaak got another back for the Gqeberha boys, but it wasn’t enough.
EG Jansen 12-17 Kearsney College
Kearsney College produced an impressive all-round performance to condemn Hoerskool EG Jansen to a 17-12 defeat, their first of the season.
The game was an evenly matched affair with the hosts taking a slender five-point lead into the break.
Dr EG Jansen’s driving maul caused all sorts of chaos in the secondhalf, but Kearsney did well to repel them time and again, to finally come out on top.
The One Stripes came out of the blocks firing and struck first through Anele Cele. EG Jansen replied when Nathan Mathee went over, but a well-weighted stab through by pivot RoydanMadatt was gathered by second row Jack Rankin for Kearsney’s second try of the afternoon.
Flyhalf Matthew Bergman was the first to trouble the scoring in the secondhalf, finishing off a lovely counter-attack after some intelligent tactical kicking from the Boksburg boys. They were beginning to dominate proceedings, setting up shop in the hosts’ red zone through their devastating maul, and the pressure finally told when Sani Sawutireceived yellow for an offside tackle.
They couldn’t add to the score-line though, and a clever box kick by Kearsney scrumhalf Chad Croshaw soon after, was pounced upon by Siso France to put them ahead.
The home side didn’t look back from there and held on for their first win of the festival.
Glenwood 19-07 Dale College
Glenwood High’s well-structured approach was enough to see off Dale College in a 19-7 win.
Though Dale thrived in the loose, they were starved of opportunities by a disciplined Glenwood line-up. Still, the Eastern Cape boys defended manfully at times and did well to shut down a number of attacking chances from the Durbanites.
It was a scrappy old affair in the opening exchanges, but Glenwood remained patient before opening their account through Okonta Chijindu. They were rewarded for a well-worked lineout drive when hooker Ntokozo Ndwalane got their second on the stroke of half-time to make it 12-0.
Dale hit back with a converted effort by Lindokuhle Xozwa but a superb gather and score by Chijindu from the ensuing kick-off swung the momentum right back in Glenwood’s favour.
Possession and territory traded hands several times thereafter, but the Green Machine hung on for the win.
Worcester Gim 13-30 Marlow
A powerful display from Hoer Landbouskool Marlow earned them a comfortable 30-15 win over Worcester Gimnasium.
While Worcester’s ball-in-hand play was as electric as ever, their chances were few and far between and they battled to hang onto possession for any meaningful period of time.
Marlow played with bucket-loads of intensity from the get-go and it wasn’t long before Steyn Foley went over off the back of a powerful driving maul.
Worcester was struggling to match the physicality of the Cradock boys, and two Gideon Jordaan penalties extended Marlow’s lead to give them a 13-point buffer at the break.
The boys in blue were finally rewarded for their silky offloading when Alton Hendricks went over for their first points of the day, while a penalty from the boot of the ever-dependable Carick Kustoor brought them to within three.
But further tries to front rankers JR Boffa, Robert van Zyl and flyhalf Aiden de Villiers effectively ended the match as a contest.
Worcester Gim’s Hope Dliso scored a consolation effort thereafter, but it was too little too late.
Hartpury College 09-14 Westville Boys High
Westville Boys’ High beat Hartpury College 14-9 in a stop-start affair in the opening game of day two.
The execution of both outfits left a lot to be desired in the first half, but Westville got progressively better as the game wore on and was ultimately able to capitalise when it mattered despite some poor discipline.
Hartpury had their moments with the ball in hand but lacked a cutting edge, struggling to break down a very physical Westville defence.
After dominating early on, a Ben Elliot penalty put Hartpury ahead. As the first half drew on, possession changed hands a number of times with neither side able to make the most of the chances that presented themselves.
Two more Elliot three-pointers after the break pushed Hartpury into a nine-point lead, but two quickfire tries by Westville No 13 Siyabonga Ndlozi fired them ahead.
The first, via an intercept from inside his own half, came completely against the run of play, while the second was due in large part to the powerful carrying of midfield partner Likhona Finca.
Despite not being at their best, Westville will take great confidence out of this one as they head into the final day.
