NOORDHEUWEL TOO STRONG FOR ST DAVID’S
Day two of the St John’s College Easter Rugby Festival, proudly sponsored by Standard Bank, got underway with Hoerskool Noordheuwel facing St David’s on Burger Field.
The game saw a dominant display from Noordheuwel in the first half, where they comfortably controlled proceedings, running the ball nicely with the backs and forwards combining well to see them racing off to a 41-0 lead at the break.
St David’s often struggled to keep up with the swift movements of the Noordheuwel boys, managing a consolation try that meant very little in the end. Noortheuwel added 17 points to the board in the second half, rounding off an excellent team performance with a comprehensive 58-5 victory.
ST CHARLES LOSE OUT TO BRILLIANT BOLAND 38-0
Hoer Landbouskool Boland was always the favourite going into the clash against St Charles College, especially after their performance on day one of the festival. St Charles was no pushover, putting in a valiant effort under tough and rainy conditions. In the end, Boland prevented St Charles from registering any points on the scoreboard, downing the Saints 38-0.
Boland saw a tight contest in the first half but got the better start, scoring a converted try and slotting a penalty inside the first 10 mins. The game then saw a slight shift in momentum with St Charles showing a great fight to stay in the game. The teams then had to settle for Boland’s 10-0 lead at the break.
In the second half, Boland really got to show their might. They dominated the game with their forwards providing good clean balls to their backs, who more often than not scored incredible tries. Credit to the skills shown by both teams in these tough, wet and cold conditions with Boland adapting best, going onto clinch a 38-0 victory.
ST BENEDICT’S FINISH WITH A HARD FOUGHT 33-19 WIN OVER THE LIONS INVITATIONAL XV
St Benedict’s College got their first win of the festival with a hard fought defeat against a resilient Lions invitational XV 33-19 on a very wet Burger Field.
The first half went as expected with both teams making mistakes on crucial parts of the field at the start but as the game progressed, there was a slight improvement with St Benedict’s enjoying the better of the exchanges. The first half ended with the Lions trailing 12-7.
The second half was where the points started to flow and both teams got the ball moving well through the backs, producing darting runs that led to a number of tries. St Benedict’s managed to consistently keep a healthy distance between themselves and their opponents which saw them finishing strong with an impressive 33-19 victory, keeping the Lions winless so far in the festival, with one more game to go.
GRAEME COLLEGE CLAIM WELL DESERVED 28-7 WIN OVER ST JOHN’S BLUES
This particular match was always set to light up the festival as both St John’s College and Graeme College were in search of their first wins after being defeated at the hands of Hoerskool Nelspruit and Helpmekaar Kollege respectively on day one.
Graeme College looked dangerous from the start, showing great flair with their running brand of rugby. The Eastern Cape-based school quickly raced to a 21-7 lead at the break, but credit to the St John’s Blues who always fought hard against highly skillful opposition. The only St John’s try in the game was pure individual brilliance after the team had struggled to breach the Graeme College defensive line.
The second half was a bit scrappy from both sides with some handling errors due to the wet conditions. St John’s created a few scoring opportunities in an attempt to find a way back into the game but Graeme College’s defense held strong. The scoreboard reflected a 28-7 win for Graeme College at the end, but the game was a lot closer in terms of the play. Congratulations to both teams for a great contest, and an even better playing spirit.
HILTON STORM TO A 48-3 WIN OVER WELKOM IN TOUGH CONDITIONS
Hilton College, who are celebrating their 150th year anniversary this year, gave their supporters something to celebrate as they comfortably swept past Welkom Gimnasium with a final score of 48-3 under tough conditions.
The start of the game was fairly poised with both teams edging away at each other’s defense. Hilton managed to consistently keep the scoreboard pressure up and eventually saw the teams heading into the interval with Hilton leading 15-3.
In the second half, Hilton ran riot with Welkom struggling to keep the attacks launched their way at bay. Hilton secured 33 unanswered points, seeing them off to a 48-3 victory.
PAUL ROOS COME AWAY WITH A 40-3 VICTORY OVER NELSPRUIT
The Paul Roos Gimnasium and Hoerskool Nelspruit clash was always going to be a great match after both teams picked up big wins on the opening day. Paul Roos were clinical in their performance seeing the backs and forwards combining well to clinch a 40-3 win.
The first half was a tight affair with Paul Roos getting a grip on the game early while Nelspruit only managed to convert one penalty. Unfortunately, those were the last points Nelspruit put on the board as Paul Roos got into the swing of things going into the break leading 19-3.
Paul Roos was at their best in the second half, making it difficult for Nelspruit to get into their groove. Nelspruit looked threatening at times when they had the ball in hand but Paul Roos was able to neutralize the attacks. On the other end, Paul Roos were ruthless in their attacks, adding 21 unanswered points to their tally, emerging as 40-3 winners on a very muddy Burger Field.
PAARL BOYS’ LEAVE IT LATE TO CLINCH A 32-16 WIN OVER HELPMEKAAR
Paarl Boys’ High School left it late in the game to secure a 32-16 victory over a tricky Helpmekaar Kollege in the last game of day 2 on a very slippery surface – both teams were covered in mud in very cold and wet conditions.
The first half belonged to Helpmekaar who had a very tight defense and did not allow Paarl Boys’ room to deliver their traditional running rugby which saw Helpmekaar taking a 16-8 lead at the break.
Paarl Boys’ dominated the second half and managed to keep pressure on the scoreboard, eventually taking the lead. Helpmekaar struggled to add to their tally of points asPaarl Boys’ consistently kept the scoreboard ticking over, eventually finishing the game with a 32-16 win.
