Kearsney College 08-22 Rondebosch Boys’ High
Rondebosch Boys’ High breezed past Kearsney College 22-8 in the final game of Day 2’s action.
The One Stripe showed great ardour from the first kick-off, throwing themselves at navy jerseys with zeal, but just couldn’t maintain that kind of intensity for the full 60 minutes.
Flyhalf David Simon was again at the heart of everything Rondebosch did well, with his decision-making and execution continually putting his side on the front foot. In the end, Bosch’s superior tactical awareness and organisation proved the difference as they out-thought and out-muscled Kearsney.
Daniel Eagar was the first to trouble the scoring, putting the hosts ahead with a penalty, but Rondebosch slowly began to boss proceedings and got their first try through second-rower Carl Geddie.
The visitors went down a man after fullback Dylan Miller saw yellow for a dangerous hit on Eagar inside Rondebosch’s 22, but the ensuing botched lineout meant Kearsney headed for half-time still trailing 3-7.
Neil van Heerden’s boys went up a level after Randall John Davids added to Bosch’s tally, and Eagar found himself in the thick of things once more, after scything through to bag the home side’s first try of the day.
Simon knocked over three more for the Western Cape school soon thereafter before an Ismaeel Conrad try closed out the win.
Glenwood High School 08-20 Hoërskool Dr EG Jansen
Hoërskool Dr EG Jansen eased to a 20-8 win over Glenwood High School in the penultimate game of Day 2.
EG Jansen’s slick backline play and offensive organisation underpinned their performance, with Matthew Bergman controlling the tempo sublimely from first-receiver and his combination with centres Steven Williams and Jeandre Jacobs causing Glenwood all sorts of problems.
The Green Machine started brightly enough, asking a lot of questions with ball in hand, but it wasn’t long before the Boksburg boys found their rhythm through their powerful mauling and ball carrying.
Some typically accurate passing amongst the backs provided TK Ngobese with enough room to score Egies’ opener, but a Leo Weber penalty reduced the gap almost immediately.
After setting up shop deep inside Glenwood territory, Danre Pike scored off the back of a rolling maul before Zaide-Leigh Rippenaar touched down for the last say of the first half.
Glenwood found themselves under even more pressure after the break and struggled to make anything happen after being starved of the ball and any meaningful field position. They could find no way through the opposition's defence and largely resorted to aimless kicking when they did have possession.
Riekus van der Merwe scored EG Jansen’s fourth of the afternoon with Caleb Reeding going over for Glenwood’s first and only try with time up on the clock.
Hoërskool Framesby 17-22 Hoërskool Monument
Hoërskool Monument produced a comeback of note to down Hoërskoo lFramesby 22-17 in game five of Day 2.
Framesby had dominated the first 45-odd minutes and looked to be well on their way to achieving a remarkable upset win, but Monument had other ideas and ultimately found their voice to deliver a statement victory.
The boys in red and blue bounced back from an early Logan Muller penalty miss when Johan van Zyl scored the game’s opening try 10 minutes in. They had been all over Monnas up to that point without much reward, but when Damion Witbooi touched down from an intercept, the scoreboard began to take on a more accurate reflection.
After their slow start, Monument was slowly starting to make some headway and create several opportunities with the ball in hand. Their industry finally paid off when Geoffrey French dotted down but, at that stage, their chances were few and far between.
The boys from Krugersdorp struggled to get out of their own half in that first 30, with unforced errors and accurate game management from Framesby keeping them pinned deep inside their territory.
Louis Gerber’s side picked up where they left off early in the second half, with Muller slotting a penalty to extend the lead, but, after playing second fiddle for virtually the entire contest, Monument began to pick up steam.
From practically nowhere, two tries from the electric Ernesto Oersen and one to RJ Barnard put Monnas in front, from which they never looked back.
Hoërskool Rustenburg 00-45 Durban High School
Durban High School (DHS) scored six tries in a 45-00 rout of Hoërskool Rustenburg in the fourth game of the second day of play.
A few unforced errors notwithstanding, DHS produced another confident and composed performance, buoyed by an impressive defensive display and ferocious physicality in contact. They are yet to ship a single point this week and will be favourites to see off Pearson High School on the final day’s play, to remain unbeaten.
Rusties, who were beaten 26-25 by Worcester Gimnasium on Day 1, succumbed again, despite some strong moments on defence. They’ll search for improvement against Rondebosch Boys’ High on the final day, as they look to bag their first win at the festival.
Aka Boqwana kicked an early penalty for the local boys before a powerful driving maul saw captain Mahle Sithole grab his second try of the weekend. Eighthman Khanisa Stamper added the Horseflies’ second after a strong run from a well-worked quick tap made it 17-0 at half-time.
In truth, DHS never really looked like conceding and scored further tries through Adriano Jackson (two), Zenkosi Mthiyane and José Lottering, with a flawless goal-kicking performance by Boqwana adding further gloss to the scoreline.
Worcester Gim 38-37 Hoër Landbouskool Marlow
In another blockbuster affair on Day 2, Worcester Gimnasium edged past Hoer Landbouskool Marlow 38-37 in the third match of the day.
The lead changed hands a number of times in this game, with a whopping 10 tries scored in arguably the game of the festival so far.
It was all Marlow in the opening exchanges, and they took the lead courtesy of Gideon Jordaan’s boot before namesake Zeiss Jordaan touched down to make it 8-0.
After hardly firing a shot all game, the Bosvarke scored twice in the blink of an eye. First, they worked a superb first-phase attack deep inside Marlow territory, finished off by Darren Murphy, before VuyolwhtuBavuma zigzagged his way through a broken field to suddenly put the Western Cape boys in front.
Those tries against the run of play seemed to jolt Worcester to life, and they began to grow in confidence as the half wore on. When some handy work by JJ van der Mescht put Theuns Botha away for Marlow’s second, it was the Cradock boys who led 17-12 at the break.
Two more Gideon Jordaan penalties were sandwiched in between Bavuma’s second touchdown, but another Worcester try to Valentino Namodluka nudged his side into the lead.
The boys in blue kept the momentum flowing, and the pressure told again when Elrenzo Swartz crossed over after Teagan Wiessener saw yellow for cynical play on Marlow’s tryline.
When Waylan Pienaar dotted down it looked as though Worcester would run away with it, but Marlow hauled tries back through Wilco Nel and Albrey Rudman at the death, to come within a whisker of the win.
Westville Boys’ High 18-11 Pearson High
Pearson High School fell 11-18 to Westville Boys’ High in their festival opener on the second match of Day 2.
Westville had been downed in the rain by Rondebosch Boys 31-10 on Day 1 and were looking to bounce back with an improved display against the side from Summerstrand, Gqeberha. In the end, Unathi Mlotshwa’s goal-kicking was vital for Njabulo Zulu’s troops, whose solid showing on defence set the tone for their win.
For Pearson, who faces a mighty Day 3 challenge in the form of Durban High School, creating more chances with the ball in hand will be a priority going forward after a rather subdued showing on Saturday morning.
Westville’s Mlotshwa broke the deadlock with a penalty 10 minutes into the encounter, before a fine break and finish from barnstorming midfielder Michael Satade extended their lead. In a match where genuine attacking opportunities were few and far between, Satade’s score was a major moment.
Caleb Friskin nailed a penalty for Pearson’s first points as both outfits struggled to gain a clear foothold in the game.
Friskin and Mlotshwa were on target with further penalties before a rare flurry of chances resulted in Denilo Jordaan and Jadrian Afrikaner dotting down for their respective teams, with Westville hanging onto their lead until the final whistle.
Hoërskool Noord-Kaap 22-31 Nico Malan High
Nico Malan High School got the better of Hoërskool Noord-Kaap 31-22 in the opening game of Day 2 at the 2024 Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival.
With both sides having copped losses on the first day’s play, there was plenty riding on the outcome of this one. As it happened, a tidy Nico Malan display boosted them to victory in a highly entertaining match-up.
Nico Malan’s physicality and efficiency at maul time was a big boon for the side, repelling Noord-Kaap on many occasions and laying the platform for their strike play. Although the boys in green and white held their own well at scrum time and in general contact, their inability to deal with this aspect of the opposition game was a major hindrance.
Still, they dominated the possession and territory stakes early on and were finally rewarded for a prolonged period of pressure inside the Bloutrui red zone when Elrin Morkel crossed the whitewash on the left wing.
It wasn’t long before a Ruan du Preez penalty reduced the deficit for Nico Malan before Edrich Klue scored under the sticks and made it 10-5 at half-time.
A lovely break and grubber through from Keano Mettler set up midfield partner Jayden Potgieter for Noord-Kaap’s second before Nico Malan loosehead Francois Smit trotted in from close quarters to push his side out again.
Jonaden Links finished off another electrifying score for Noord-Kaap, and the successful conversion brought the teams level, before a series of Noord-Kaap penalties inside their own 22 finally resulted in a yellow for flyhalf Abdul Fisher.
Tequine Koopman dotted down soon thereafter, seemingly settling the contest, but AmbijornVraagom’s score right from the ensuing kick-off made it a two-point ball game with less than five minutes left.
Not to be denied, however, Nico Malan fought back and a converted Gelden van Niekerk try was the final say.