Kearsney College 22-19 Zwartkop
Kearsney College put their unbeaten Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival on the line against Hoërskool Zwartkop on Monday afternoon in the final match after an entertaining three days of rugby. It brought together two of the event’s most exciting sides.
Zwarries struck first, hitting the front in the third minute when their big loosehead prop Matthew Smith crashed over from a rolling maul. Flyhalf Tilon Baron bisected the uprights with the conversion kick, and the Pretoria side led 7-0.
Just as quickly, Kearsney sounded a warning with a sharp counterattack off a clearance kick, which almost put right-wing Luke Grobbelaar in the clear.
After a cracking contest between DHS and Helpmekaar, the electricity that lit up that showdown remained in the air.
When Baron put left-wing Stiaan Botha in space, he wriggled out of a tackle and then cut inside to wrongfoot two defenders, which took him over for Zwartkop’s second try after nine minutes. Another successful Baron conversion made it 14-0, putting the One-Stripe into a hole from which they hadn’t yet had to fight their way. It would be a test of their character.
They made a first step towards hauling in Zwartkop by driving their captain, Nhlanhla Ndlovu, over the line from a lineout with seven minutes to play in the first half, and Daniel Miskey converted the kick comfortably to make it 14-7.
Ndlovu led a breakout soon after, but a decision to break inside took him away from his support, and Zwarries stopped the dangerous counterattack.
Kearsney thought they were in for another try with only seconds remaining in the half, but a scintillating attack was halted by a blow of the referee’s whistle. He ruled a pass had gone forward, and Zwartkop breathed a sigh of relief.
Within three minutes of the restart, Ndlovu was over again. Kearsney’s pack put Zwartkop in reverse before the One-Stripe captain broke loose and forced his way over with a bit of help from his friends.
Daniel Miskey’s conversion attempt struck the left upright but bounced over the crossbar, drawing a roar of approval from the home supporters.
Almost immediately, Zwartkop threatened to retake the lead, but a rock-solid tackle by the last defender, Miskey, saved Kearsney.
Left-wing Lwandle Mkhize and Zwartkop captain David van Jaarsveld were then involved in a desperate race for a ball kicked over the Zwartkop try line. Under pressure, Mkhize knocked on, and the Pretoria team was able to escape their line.
Eight minutes into the second stanza, Kearsney hit the front. Ndlovu could have easily crossed for his hat-trick, but he, unselfishly, fed Mkhize the ball, and he trotted over for the-five pointer. Miskey hit the left upright again, but this time the ball stayed out. The hosts led 19-14.
Zwartkop’s superb fighting spirit took them back onto the attack, and once more Kearsney was under pressure. They came close, though, to scoring a trademark long-range try, but Lwandle Mkhize was scragged as he arched his back to escape a covering tackle.
All credit to both teams. There was no let-up. It was a blow-for-blow, lung-busting slugfest, with neither willing to give an inch.
Zwartkop had a chance to strike back from a five-metre lineout, but they coughed up the ball with the whitewash beckoning, and Kearsney had a scrum feed.
With just over 10 minutes left on the clock, fullback Lwazi Mbebe was set loose on the left, but his pass to Lwandle Mkhize, which would have put the left wing in for another try, was misdirected, and Zwartkop survived a potentially devastating blow.
Another near-miss soon followed. Miskey almost took Kearsney eight points clear with a drop kick, but his effort passed just left of the posts. The home side was playing with fire by not converting their opportunities.
Incredibly, though, Miskey, with ice in his veins, landed a drop goal from 45 metres to take coach Grant Bashford’s boys more than a converted try clear.
With time up, Zwartkop launched one last assault from a five-metre lineout. With forwards and backs pushing together, Jurie Janse van Rensburg scored the last try of the Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival.
Kearsney College won 22-19 and achieved their goal of an unbeaten festival record. Zwartkop, meanwhile, announced itself as a seriously good rugby side on one of South Africa’s most prominent rugby stages.
Scores
Kearsney 22 (7) – Tries: Nhlanhla Ndlovu (2), Lwandle Mkhize. Conversion: Daniel Miskey (2). Drop goal: Daniel Miskey.
Zwartkop 19 (14) - Tries: Matthew Smith, Stiaan Botha, Jurie Janse van Rensburg. Conversions: Tilon Baron (2).
DHS 39-27 Helpmekaar
Aiming for a perfect record for a third year on the trot, Durban High School (DHS) faced a tough last outing, taking on Helpmekaar Kollege in the second-last match of the Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival on Stott Field on Monday afternoon.
The Horseflies’ intent and intensity were clear from the first whistle, and they powered over from a lineout in the third minute, with hooker Iglisias Bruiners crashing to the ground for the five-pointer.
They had two tries by the fifth minute, thanks to their swift movement of the ball after they turned over possession in Helpmekaar’s half. Centre Nathan Aneke received the ball in space on the left, and the SA Schools’ midfielder outstripped the nearest defender, accelerating through an outside gap to make the dive for five.
It was a blistering start from coach Peter Engledow’s charges, with the only off note Tanwil Onkers’ two hooked conversion attempts.
Aneke was next on hand to make the final pass, which put Richard Gyamfi in for a third DHS try in the 12th minute as School’s direct, cohesive approach paid rich dividends.
Helpies were continually forced to scramble in defence, and DHS then hit them by quickly moving the ball away from the point of contact. Helpmekaar, at last, had an opportunity to respond when they won a free kick from a scrum on the DHS 22.
They made it count, taking the ball through a number of hard-hitting phases before releasing left-wing Zuan Krige, who crossed for a try in the corner.
Having scored, Helpies had gained a foothold in the previously one-sided contest, and for the next while play took place in the DHS half, with the Johannesburg side enjoying most of the possession.
After the sizzling DHS start, it was a major shift in momentum. Helpmekaar tested the Durban boys by stretching play out wide, but the trademark rapacious Horseflies’ defence stood firm. They couldn’t keep Helpmekaar out, though, from a five-metre lineout, and Xander Jackson forced his way over shortly before the break.
However, that try served to loosen the shackles, and a searing break from DHS scrumhalf Richard Kriel blew a big hole in the Helpmekaar defence. Richard Gyamfi, running a tight supporting line, took the final pass off his left shoulder and dragged a tackler over the line to score DHS’s fourth try.
Tanwil Onkers knocked over the conversion from just left of the posts, and DHS led 22-10 at halftime. The KZN boys were back on the attack early in the second stanza, with a fierce counter-ruck winning them possession, which they turned into a penalty five metres from the Helpmekaar try line.
Their livewire scrumhalf Richard Kriel, alertly, took a quick tap, then slipped beneath two tacklers to add to his team’s advantage. The Helpies’ response was admirable.
They forced DHS onto the back foot, maintaining possession and probing, forcing the locals to make tackle after tackle, but when Helpmekaar turned over possession, School made them pay. First, they cleared their 22 with a long clearance kick.
Then a good chase won them possession, and a beautifully judged kick over the top from Kriel sat up kindly for Nathan Aneke, who gratefully accepted the gift and sprinted clear for DHS’s sixth try and his second.
A change of kicker to Cilermo Carolus brought School another two points, putting them 34-10 ahead. Unbowed, Helpmekaar replied quickly through Zuan Krige, who hit the gas and scored his second in the left-hand corner after being put into space.
Ethan Kruger nailed the conversion kick. With just over 10 minutes to go, DHS captain and flank, Zion Smith, his head covered in a bandage, brought the crowd to its feet when he returned a clearing kick with a determined run from the halfway line, tearing through the Helpies’ defence with impressive speed. It was thrill-a-minute stuff, with both sides contributing.
Helpmekaar was not done, either, and they turned pressure into points with a sumptuous dummy from hooker Daniël van der Linden unlocking the DHS once more. That made it 39-22.
The outcome was pretty much confirmed, but the final score was not, and the boys in brown surged back onto the offensive. Their bravery and spirit were rewarded with a try from Daylan Ferreira in the game’s last movement.
A final score of 39-27 was a testament to their outstanding effort but also a reasonable reflection of DHS’s slight superiority.
Scores
DHS (22) - Tries: Richard Gyamfi (2), Nathan Aneke (2), Iglisias Bruiners, Richard Kriel, Zion Smith. Conversions: Tanwil Onkers, Cilermo Carolus.
Helpmekaar (10) - Tries: Zuan Krige (2), Xander Jackson, Daniël van der Linden, Daylan Ferreira. Conversion: Ethan Kruger.
Westville 41-03 Milnerton
Westville Boys’ High took little time to settle down when they faced Milnerton High at the Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival on Monday afternoon in Botha’s Hill, scoring in the third minute on their way to a 41-3 victory, which gave them an unbeaten record at KERF for a second successive year.
Lisa Sijadu got the scoreboard moving by sprinting over in the left-hand corner of Stott Field, and Jade-Will Koopman nailed the touchline kick to make it 7-0.
Perhaps it was the kinder early afternoon weather, but the pace of the match was noticeably more urgent than the three games played earlier in the day. Westville, with some of their most experienced forwards among the substitutes, owned the territorial advantage, but Milnerton kept them at bay, closing down a series of openings for the local side.
With 12 minutes left in the opening stanza, though, the pressure told with a sweetly timed blindside move, bringing together flyhalf Jade-Will Koopman, fullback Avumile Lisa, and centre Jadrian Afrikaner, ending with Afrikaner doing what he does so well, scoring a try.
With Koopman controlling the flow of the match effectively, it took Milnerton until five minutes from the break to escape their half. Westville responded by running in a long-range try.
They outflanked Millies wide on the left, and Sijadu was on for his second. The Griffins added a fourth try with the last move of the first half. Keeping the Milnerton defence honest with some straight lines from dummy runners, they swiftly moved the ball to the right boundary line, where an injection of pace from Avumile Lisa put Bukho Sotaka over for five.
Westville roared back onto the attack in the second half, and Sijadu left defenders grasping at air with some fleet footwork in the fourth minute, but he knocked on as he stretched out to ground the ball over the try line.
Ominously, Westville sent on six replacements with 20 minutes to go, giving their frontliners a last run in the festival. They brought a collective urgency onto the field. Milnerston suffered a body blow when a poor Westville penalty kick to touch fell short and bounced high.
The Capetonians tried to keep the ball in play by tapping it infield only for Sijadu to race onto it and cross for his third try. Westville missed the conversion, with Lux Sonkononkono taking over from Koopman.
If there was a criticism to be made about the Griffins, it was their goal- and touch kicking, which left something to be desired. They would have expected better of themselves.
With nine minutes remaining, SA Schools’ lock Lwandle Mlaba, one of the substitutes, rode a tackle and popped a ball over a defender to Jade-Will Koopman, who claimed the ball off his shoelaces and dived over for five points.
Once again, the try was in a corner, but this time Koopman was bang on target from wide on the right, and Westville moved 31-0 clear. Then, lock Drew Hollingsworth was rewarded for an industrious performance when, in the last 10 minutes, he jumped over the top of a ruck, found clear ground in front of him, and charged over beneath the poles. Koopman added the extras.
Milnerton kept battling hard, but they were outgunned. In a losing cause, their no. 8, Anda Filtana, made some impactful runs. Yet, when Millies received a penalty on the Westville 10-metre line, with two minutes left, their decision to go for goal said two things: they wanted to put some points on the board, and they wanted a breather.
Captain Chadlin Sellidon nailed the kick to make sure they achieved both of those objectives. It gave Milnerton the last say in the game, but Westville won comfortably.
Scores
Westville 41 (22) – Tries: Lisa Sijadu (3), Jadrian Afrikaner, Bukho Sotaka, Jade-Will Koopman, Drew Hollingsworth. Conversion: Jade-Will Koopman (3)
Milnerton 3 (0) – Penalty: Chadlin Sellidon.
Rustenburg 26-17 Peterhouse
Hoërskool Rustenburg, after running the gauntlet of high-flying Kearsney College and Durban High School (DHS) in their first two matches of KERF, took on Peterhouse on Monday in Botha’s Hill.
They found there was no let-up. Their Zimbabwean opposition began with impressive tempo, resisting the Rusties’ early territorial advantage before powering their way into the opposition’s half.
Bongani Dube, then, gave the boys in white the lead in the fifth minute. His excellent hands wrong-footed the opposition, who thought a pass had missed the hooker. He snatched it out of the air, spun around and found open ground in front of him before pinning his ears back and racing through for a try. Victor Watama tacked on the extras, and it was 7-0.
Momentum favoured the Marondera mob, who looked more energised than Rustenburg after the North West boys’ earlier travails, and Dube placed Peterhouse heavily on the offensive again with another barnstorming run.
They edged further ahead five minutes from the interval when Victor Watama banged over an easy penalty kick. Down by 10,
Rustenburg, at last, sprang to life, with tighthead prop Dylan Knoesen leading the charge. He was involved three times, battering Peterhouse’s defensive line to give the boys in green good forward momentum, which led to Rustenburg finally scoring two minutes from halftime, when Keegan Harmse burrowed over from close range.
Flyhalf Ricardo Enos had no trouble with the conversion kick. At the interval, Peterhouse led 10-7. Given their dominance, it felt as if they should have built a bigger lead, but only three points separated the teams.
Rustenburg played with greater flow early in the second half, tightening up their play with their forwards leading the way. When Peterhouse lost a prop to a yellow card, Rusties opted for a scrum and turned that into a try in the right-hand corner by lock Thian Labuschagne. It also gave them the lead for the first time in the contest.
Peterhouse soon struck back. Watama launched a testing high kick from inside his 22 towards the left touchline, where lock Mufaro Mawoyo contested the catch, won the ball, and then released his captain Munashe Masamha, who showed the Rusties’ defenders a clean pair of heels to score from 55 metres out. Watama bolstered the Peterhouse score by another two points by making the simple conversion kick.
The rollercoaster nature of the clash continued, with Rustenburg returning to Peterhouse’s 22, where they charged down a clearing kick, but it fell kindly for the Zimbabweans, and they were able to exit momentarily. Rustenburg, though, soon found a way through, taking the ball through six phases before Labuschagne corkscrewed over for his second try and Rusties’ third. Enos made the kick from directly in front of the uprights, and the lead changed hands again.
Late in the game, fatigue was evident. A third energy-sapping, physical clash had taken a toll, and play became frenetic and scrappy. Rustenburg, though, held the advantage, with a put-in five metres from the Peterhouse try line, and they sealed the deal with a hat-trick try from Labuschagne. Ricardo Enos hit the mark again, and Rusties trudged off Stott Field with a hard-fought 26-17 win.
Glenwood 14-12 EG Jansen
The early morning mist had vanished when Glenwood High and Dr EG Jansen took to Stott Field in Monday’s second game at KERF. Slippery conditions made ball handling difficult, but the cool weather aided the players’ energy levels.
In only the second minute, Jansies were struck a hard blow when they lost their fullback, Renaldo October for the game, after he made a dangerous tip tackle.
Glenwood fullback Rosco Williams, meanwhile, drew oohs and aahs by sidestepping a player in a telephone box, but unforced errors hampered the flow of the game in the early going.
The cleanest points’ scoring opportunity in the first quarter of the contest was engineered by the Green Machine’s flyhalf Jonah Chaita, who made a tidy break down the left flank, chipped over the fullback and won the race to the ball but knocked on as it sat up invitingly for him, with the try line beckoning 22 metres away.
Soon, though, Glenwood was over for the first points of the contest, with a gap opening up for no. 8 Makhaya Mbaile after he sold a dummy, and he was in for a try. Vincenzo Loutz converted to make it 7-0.
The Durban side’s attack sharpened as they settled into the contest, but they kept missing their final passes. In the last minute of the first half, though, a bruising break by hooker Tyler Leon and a sniping effort from scrumhalf Vincenzo Loutz created space, and 8th-man Makhaya Mbaile provided the finish again.
Loutz popped over the conversion kick to give his side a 14-0 lead at the break.
Leon had the crowd on its feet with a thundering run from the second half kick-off, but EG Jansen struck first, driving Christopher van Rooyen over after four minutes.
Eight minutes in, behind controlled driving from his fellow forwards, EG Jansen tighthead prop Elshaan Duminy powered his way over, with AJ Oeschiger nailing the easy conversion kick. Only two points separated the sides.
Stung by those blows, Glenwood worked their way into the EG Jansen half where Vincenzo Loutz had a chance to put the Durban boys five points clear, but his kick at goal missed the mark.
Good cohesive work by Jansies’ pack took them back into the Green Machine’s territory as the combatants wrestled for control. Glenwood’s leaky defence from earlier in the half had, however, been repaired, and they held on for a tight 14-12 victory.
Scores:
Glenwood 14 – Tries: Makhaya Mbaile (2). Conversions: Vincenzo Loutz (2)
EG Jansen 12 – Tries: Christopher van Rooyen, Elshaan Duminy. Conversions: AJ Oeschiger
Framesby 10-07 Transvalia
Grey skies, cool conditions and a pristine Stott Field pitch greeted Hoërskool Transvalia and Hoërskool Framesby on Easter Monday at the Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival (KERF), thanks to work done deep into the night by the grounds crew after a major overnight storm.
Framesby, rejuvenated after a win over Glenwood High on Saturday, took it to Transvalia early, keeping the Vanderbijlpark side pinned deep inside their half for the first eight minutes of the clash.
After a bit of back and forth in the middle of the park, they eventually reaped a reward midway through the opening stanza. From a lineout, they were repelled through eight phases, but they were over at the first attempt from the next lineout, through flank Josh Potgieter. Miles Feltham turned it into a seven-point play with a neat conversion from wide on the left.
Having fallen behind, Transvalia upped their game, forcing play down into Framesby’s 22. A 20-metre rolling maul got them close, but the ball was lost forward as the red-jerseyed side attempted to dot down. They spurned another opportunity a minute from the break, outflanking Framesby wide on the right, but the final pass was spilt.
Right on cue at halftime, the Botha’s Hill mist rolled in, and light rain began to fall. Players on the opposite side of the field vanished in the soupy mix. Picking up from where they had left off, Transvalia surged onto the attack. They were almost over from a lineout but were held up over the try line.
Five minutes in, they finally broke through when their burly centre Lorenzo Flynn forced his way over. Chester MacCammel slotted the conversion, and the sides were level at 7-7.
Framesby was almost over shortly after that, but a grubber over the try line was knocked on by 8th-man David Matyani in a furious race with a covering defender to the ball.
In the difficult conditions, points were hard to come by. Framesby, arguably, made the wrong call when they won a penalty and kicked to touch instead of taking a shot at goal from 36 metres out.
They went with the same option five minutes from time, but that, too, went to waste. In the last minute, with the conditions clear once more, when Framesby won another penalty inside the 22, flyhalf Miles Feltham pointed towards the uprights.
With a win on the line, he nailed the kick, and the Gqberha boys, thumped 83-0 by Westville Boys’ High on the opening day, finished KERF with back-to-back wins.
Scores
Transvalia 7 (0) Tries: Lorenzo Flynn. Conversion: Chester MacCammel.
Framesby 10 (7) Tries: Josh Potgieter. Conversion: Miles Feltham. Penalty: Miles Feltham.