MATCH REPORT
HILTON MAKE IT 3 OUT OF 3 WINS AFTER BEATING ST DAVID’S 24-10
The first game of the final day of the St John’s College Easter rugby, saw Hilton College make it 3 wins from 3 matches, when they beat St David’s 24-10, in a rather tight fixture. The scoreline may not seem so but the encounter went right down to the wire where Hilton, in the end, had to work hard to grind out yet another fine result.
The first half saw a very low scoring contest with both teams finding it really difficult to breach each others defence. After a few close moments, St Davids eventually found a way through, thanks to fullback Leon Michaels’ elusive running through the Hilton midfield to dot down close to the upright. Fly-half Marcell Scheepers then stepped up and did what was asked of him by converting the try to give St David’s a 7 point lead. The game was then very tight, with the next points only coming about 12 minutes later after Hilton was awarded a penalty which fullback Gareth Schreuder converted to bring the score to 7-3 going into the break.
The opening few minutes of the second half played out in a similar fashion as the first, but with Hilton showing more dominance, keeping St David’s in their half. St David’s did however get an opportunity to extend their lead but the penalty was missed, just before Hilton managed to get themselves the lead for the first time with a converted try. With the score at 10-7 to Hilton, St David’s continued to give their best, which resulted in a penalty, which Scheepers this time around sent through the sticks to level matters at 10-10. That would be the last time St David’s put points on the board, even getting a player sin binned on two occasions. Hilton used this to their advantage, crossing over through Mark Armstrong and getting a penalty try at the end to secure a 24-10 victory.
MATCH REPORT
WINDHOEK COME BACK TO BEAT HTS DANIEL PIENAAR 57-14
Windhoek Gymnasium will definitely be proud of their final performance at the St John’s College Easter Rugby Festival, after they managed to come back from 14-0 down to comfortably beat HTS Daniel Pienaar 57-14.
The match saw Daniel Pienaar start very well, dominating the opening exchanges and even running in a quick converted try to go 7-0 up. It didn’t take long after that for Daniel Pienaar to grab their second, due to a bit of sloppy defending from Windhoek. Sachin Toring this time was the scorer, who also stepped in to convert his own try, giving Daniel Pienaar a good early lead of 14-0. Windhoek then slowly clawed their way back into the match, enjoying a bit more possession then they previously had. This eventually lead to the Namibian school getting their first 5 pointer through Riduan Van Neel, which was unfortunately not converted. Before the halftime hooter, Windhoek did run in a further two tries, with fly half Wiks Tromp only managing to convert the last one that was scored on the brink of halftime taking the score to 17-10 to Windhoek.
The second stanza was very different to the first half, where Windhoek completely dominated throughout. Daniel Pienaar looked physically tired and found themselves defending for most parts of the game. Which in the end allowed Windhoek to run in a staggering 6 unanswered tries, with prop Ethan Thiart scoring two.
MATCH REPORT
ST JOHN’S CLAIM THEIR FIRST VICTORY OF THE FESTIVAL, BEATING THE GOLDEN LIONS PRESIDENTIAL XV 27-8
Hosts St John’s College would have looked forward to ending their participation at their own festival with a great result, after going down to Helpmekaar and Hilton College in their other matches. The Lions were the next ones on the St John’s radar and the hosts did all the right things in most parts of the game, coming out 27-8 winners, in a highly entertaining fixture.
The match initially had a very slow start, but once the nerves had settled, St John’s were the first ones to cross the whitewash first, with captain Daniel Archer showing great leadership and initiative to leap for a try from close range.
Fullback Ruben Engelbrecht had no problems with the conversion, making it 7-0 to St John’s. Not too long after that the hosts were on another one of their many attacks when winger Jacques Bohlmann picked up a pass from just inside the Lions 22m area to slice past and dive over in the corner. Engelbrecht failed to convert this time around bringing the score to 12-0.
The Lions after some time also got the opportunity to put points on the board through a penalty, which saw fly half Keegan van Schalkwyk cut the deficit to just 9 points. The Lions quickly got more points on the board shortly after with fullback Sino Tshontyi deceiving the St John’s defence and charging towards the blind side to score in the corner leaving the score at 12-8 after Van Schalkwyk missed the conversion.
The second half brought a more dominant performance from St John’s who defended very well when it was asked of them. The hosts also showed a lot more discipline, making less errors which made it really difficult for the Lions to register a point in this half.
Three tries were scored by the hosts with their kicking the only thing stopping them from getting a slightly bigger winning margin.
MATCH REPORT
ST ALBAN’S RUN IN 7 TRIES TO BEAT EYE OF THE TIGER 45-7
St Alban’s once again produced yet another dominant performance to end their time at St John’s College unbeaten, after recording an emphatic 45-7 win over Eye of the Tiger. Eye of the Tiger on the other hand leave the festival licking their wounds, after failing to get a win in this years visit.
St Alban’s were again clinical in their finishing with fly half Sifiso Nhlapo leading proceedings very well with the boot. The first points in the game however came courtesy, of fullback Blane Campbell who stormed past a couple Eye of the Tiger defenders to dot down in the corner. Nhlapo followed the try up with a great conversion from a fairly challenging position. St Alban’s were not done yet, with winger Watkins Keelen intercepting a loose ball and running swiftly for over 50m to slide in under the sticks for a converted try. The last bit of action in the first half saw St Alban’s fullback Campbell grab his second of the game, with Nhlapo keeping his 100% kicking tally intact, taking the score to 21-0 at the interval.
The second half saw very much of the same, with St Alban’s continuing to dominate the match but with Eye of the tiger not quite throwing in the towel just yet. St Alban’s managed to cross the chalk three times, courtesy of a double from flanker Gronum Vium and one from Sifiso Nhlapo who converted his own try. Eye of the tiger did however get a consolation try through Ruben Daniels. That in the end didn’t stop St Alban’s from having the last word in the match, when they scored just before the hooter to make it three wins from three games in the 2018 festival.
MATCH REPORT
PAUL ROOS TOO POWERFUL ONCE MORE, AS THEY CRUISE PAST NELSPRUIT 68-0
Paul Roos were undoubtedly the best side at the St John’s College Easter rugby festival, racking up a massive 210 points in just 3 games. Their final match saw them take on Hoerskool Nelspruit, who they comfortably cruised past 68-0.
The game was really great to watch if you were not a Nelspruit supporter, with Paul Roos playing entertaining running rugby with their backs and forwards complimenting each other very well. The match itself saw Paul Roos completely dominate the first half, crossing the white wash five times, with fullback Kade Wolhuter only missing one of his conversion attempts. Amongst the try scorers was fullback Wolhuter, who dotted down with the first 5 pointer, barging his way over very early on. Prop Rober Rodgers was the next to register his name on the scoresheet, when he picked up off a ruck and leaped over. The other scorers in the first half were Tiaah Pretorius, Jean-Jacques Kotgze and Remy Engelbrecht.
The second half was no different, with Paul Roos matching their first half performance, with just one tweak, of Kade Wolhuter converting all five of the second half tries. Nelspruit on the other hand did really try find something in the game but Paul Roos were just perfect on the day, with everything they tried to execute. In the end Paul Roos came out as 68-0 winners, averaging roundabout 70 points a game at the 2018 St John’s College Easter rugby festival.
MATCH REPORT
HELPMEKAAR BRUSH OFF FLORIDA IN 43-13 WIN
Helpmekaar continued to solidify their tag of being one of the teams to watch at the St John’s College Easter rugby festival, when they finished the festival unbeaten after beating Hoerskool Florida 43-13.
Florida got the scoreboard ticking first, when they were awarded a penalty, which fullback Tino Swanepoel converted to give Florida a surprise 3-0 early lead. The lead however did not last long with Helpmekaars’ Brink Marx dotting down to give his side a 5-3 lead after the conversion was missed. A few minutes later Florida hit back again with another penalty taking the lead back at 6-5. 10 minutes later however Florida let things slip a little, allowing Helpmekaar to run in two tries before they managed to convert a penalty. With the points difference increasing, Florida knew they had an uphill battle to deal with from there. Things got worse for Florida with Helpmekaar getting themselves a further two tries with Florida only managing another penalty, to take the scoreline to 26-13 at the break.
When the players returned to the park, Helpmekaars Brink Marx grabbed his second try very quickly to take the score to 33-13. From there on, Florida struggled to contain Helpmekaar who went onto add a further 10 points to the score, without a reply from Florida. The game was eventually wrapped up with the teams settling for a 43-13 finish to Helpmekaar, who finished the festival unbeaten.
