Beautiful weather welcomed St Stithians to Botha’s Hill for the much-anticipated rugby fixture on Kearsney’s Founders Weekend in front of a lively old boys’ crowd.
A stolen St Stithians lineout by Thomas Franke saw the One-Stripe transition into strike mode and move the ball swiftly down the backline, for Bukho Hlwatika to score under the poles in the third minute of the game.
Four minutes later, St Stithians scored from a change of direction lineout play, which was neatly converted from the corner to have the two teams poised at 7-7.
The next 20 minutes saw Kearsney give away a multitude of penalties, which denied them territory and allowed St Stithians to attack relentlessly.
A three-pointer by the visitors’ flyhalf in the 22nd minute took them into a 10-7 lead, before a further unconverted try in the 33rd minute saw them 15-7 up at the break. This was a disappointing first half from the hosts, who had everything to play for in the second half.
Kearsney was first to strike after play resumed, with a superb attacking movement from a scrum that saw Lwandle Mkhize outstrip the defence and score a phenomenal try in the 45th minute of the game. Doan Nel converted the all-important conversion, which enabled Kearsney to reduce the gap to 15-14.
A penalty and a converted try were next for St Stithians, taking them to a 25-14 lead, with five minutes remaining on the clock.
A driven lineout by Kearsney saw them fall short of the line, only for a clever pick-and-go which took them over, to trail 25-19 with two minutes on the clock.
With time running out, and only a minute to play, Kearsney were awarded a scrum from which they broke blind. They then moved the ball to the midfield, where Keanu Williamson found some space. Mkhize miraculously linked back infield to find Williamson, who managed to drive over for a try in the corner.
This took the score to 25-24 in favour of the visitors, with Kearsney to convert from the edge of the field.
Showing massive big match temperament, and holding Kearsney’s hopes on his shoulders, Nel took it all in his stride and nailed the kick, giving Kearsney a fantastic one-point victory over St Stithians on their Founders Day.