Author: nemslie

Top KwaZulu-Natal rugby schools, Hilton College and Michaelhouse, are primed to make an impact at the Standard Bank Grey High Festival, in Gqeberha, which takes place from 29-31 March.

Both teams face significant challenges over the two days of competition, but they are eager to test themselves against top-quality opposition.

One of their bigger challenges will be facing the host school, with whom they have had some thrilling encounters in the past. Michaelhouse will play them on the first day, while Hilton will round off the festival against Grey High on Monday afternoon.

Hilton’s Director of Rugby, Greg Miller, is an Old Grey and former 1st XV coach at the school. He recalled a particularly tight match during Grey High’s 150th anniversary celebrations in 2016.

“This was the last time Hilton played against Grey in Gqeberha, which I remember well because I was the Grey coach at the time. Grey won with a last-minute kick,” he said.

More recently, the teams met at Bishops’ 175th anniversary in Cape Town last year, with Hilton winning 34-17.

Miller said Hilton would prepare for another tough battle after their opening match against Makhanda’s Graeme College.

“The Eastern Cape sides are always competitive, and we are looking forward to two exciting games,” Miller said. “Both are great schools with a proud rugby history and I have no doubt the boys will come out firing against us.”

Hilton is sure to be well-prepared for the festival, having already played a warm-up match against Secunda before facing Westville on Gilfillan Field on Saturday. They’ll face Kearsney College, too, on Saturday, 22 March, before the festival in Gqeberha.

Meanwhile, Michaelhouse, under the guidance of coach James Fleming, is excited to return to the festival, which they last attended in 2022.

In that year, ‘House beat Kingswood but lost to St Andrew’s College. Fleming believes this year’s competition will be more challenging.

“We are very excited to be returning to the Bay and playing both Grey and Bishops on the Kolisi Field. We know we will be up against two strong schools, but we will certainly focus on bringing our A game,” he said.

“Knowing Robbie Kempson and Darron Nell (part of the Grey coaching team), we can expect a very strong set piece, while Bishops will likely aim to run us ragged when we meet them, after playing each other at their 175th anniversary last year.”

Last year, in Cape Town, Michaelhouse registered an impressive 37-17 win, but they understand that no victory is guaranteed against the exciting Cape Town outfit.

Fleming is pleased with the continuity in the team this year as 11 players from last year’s side, who are now in matric, have returned for another year in the 1^st XV.

“The team is captained by William Ridl at inside centre, with Dom Sesink-Clee as the vice-captain at No 8 after playing lock last year,” he said.

“Hooker Oliver Davis, Alex Arde, Dan Aissing, Stefan Moolman, and Rourke O’Sullivan all represented Sharks u17 in 2024, while prop Nicola Salamousas and flank Oliver Guy played for Sharks u16. We have a good sprinkling of provincial players, combining experience with some exciting talent.

“The Grey Festival is a great opportunity to give all the squad members a run and to experience the camaraderie of touring, playing different opposition, and making new friends.”

Queen’s College shrugged off a lightning start by the visitors, Ooskus Gimnasium, to defeat the East London side 39-7 in their 1st XV rugby clash in Komani (Queenstown) on Saturday.

Thanks to an interception by Kwagga Liebenberg, Ooskus was first onto the scoreboard after he crossed for a try in the fourth minute. He also added the conversion to make it 7-0.

However, Queen’s fought back well and went over for three tries to take a handy 15-7 lead into the second half.

From that position, the home side upped the ante after the break, showing their physicality in the contact phases, to set themselves up for four more tries as they took control of the game.

Capitalising on mistakes by Ooskus, speedy wing Ncute Kepe crossed for two tries. Other tries for Queen’s came from Jeffrey Niland, Sbabalwe Magwebu, Bulumko Manqina, Milisa Malapi, and Inga Mnunu. Mveli Mqulo kicked two conversions.

In the face of the home side’s onslaught, Jandré le Roux put in a big shift for Ooskus and made some telling tackles, while Sabian Riek and Kwagga Liebenberg were also solid in defence.

Despite the final score, Ooskus coach Rynardt van Wyk was encouraged by his team’s performance. “I am very proud of how hard the team worked, but we also know that there is plenty to work on,” he said. “We are looking to bounce back next week when we play Cradock High, away.”

In a scrappy early season match at “The Graveyard“, in Qonce, Dale College was able to stave off a determined Port Rex side who were hunting their first win over the home side since 2006.

Dale took an early lead through a fourth-minute penalty by flyhalf Phiko Mtyalela, but Port Rex then proceeded to hold most of the possession for the first quarter of the game.

That required a spirited Dale defensive effort to keep them from crossing the line, but the visitors drew level with a penalty in the 19th minute.

Dale, then, spent much of the rest of the first half on the attack and they were finally able to cross the whitewash in the 28th minute after a brilliant run by wing Yamkela Molose, only to be denied the try because of an earlier infringement. That left the teams level at 3-3 at halftime.

The second half saw both sides forced to defend strongly, but, eventually, Dale’s replacement flyhalf Inga Mafanga pounced on an errant pass by Port Rex to cross for a try.

The last 12 minutes were all about Port Rex as they held onto the ball, but the Dale defence rose to the occasion and kept out wave after wave of attacks to preserve their five-point lead until the end.

In a tightly contested game, Selborne College overturned a 0-3 deficit at halftime to edge out their East London rivals, Hudson Park, 12-3.

The Selbornians exerted a degree of control after the break to cross for two tries while keeping Hudson scoreless.

POINTS SCORERS

Queen’s College 39 (15) – Tries: Jeffrey Niland, Sbabalwe Magwebu, Bulumko Manqina, Milisa Malapi, Ncutu Kepe (2) and Inga Mnunu. Conversions: Mveli Mqulo (2). Ooskus Gymnasium 7 (7) – Try: Kwagga Liebenberg. Conversion: Kwagga Liebenberg.

Dale College 8 (3) – Try: Inga Mafanga. Penalty: Phikolomzi Mtyalela. Port Rex 3 (3) – Penalty: Ndimphiwe Songqwaba.

Selborne College 12 (0) – Tries: Robert John-Osunkwo, Samora Bushet. Conversion: Bungqina Nuku. Hudson Park 3 (3) – Penalty: Landile Gidi.

The schools rugby season in the Eastern Cape is set for another cracking start next year when the early shots are fired at the annual Graeme College Festival in Makhanda from 20 to 22 March.

A total of 26 first teams will be involved in matches from Thursday to Saturday on the Somerset field, while the age-group teams will also have a chance to showcase their talents on the Marais fields.

An exciting inclusion next year is Johannesburg school St John’s College, who place an emphasis on playing a skilful, smart brand of rugby and will definitely pose a threat to their opponents.

St John’s have been regular participants in the annual Grey High Festival in Gqeberha, but this will be their first visit to the Graeme College event and they are sure to be motivated to make a statement.

Graeme, in fact, will host the Johannesburg outfit in the festival finale on the Saturday afternoon and it should make for an absorbing conclusion to three days of exciting schoolboy rugby.

Another team making a rare appearance in Makhanda will be Woodridge College, based at Thornhill just outside Gqeberha.

Although their smaller numbers mean they battle to match the bigger schools, Woodridge has worked hard at their sport, and it will be interesting for them to face East London opponents Port Rex Technical High.

Woodridge College will be involved in only one match, as will one of Makhanda’s top sides in St Andrew’s. They will be in action only on the Saturday, but it should be a humdinger against Gqeberha team Framesby, who will also play just one game.

Graeme College kicks off their programme on Thursday with a tough opener against Brandwag from Kariega, whose perennially hard-forward play, linked to speedy backs, always makes them a threat.

In addition, the top guns in Eastern Cape rugby will all be in action, with Gqeberha’s Grey High and East London’s Selborne College playing only on the Friday.

Grey have what has become something of a traditional fixture with Hudson Park, whom they don’t play in their annual schools’ programme, and Selborne will be up against the resilient Marlow Agricultural team.

Pearson and Queen’s College from Komani will have a rematch after the Gqeberha side won 19-11 in this year’s festival, which should be one of the highlights of the opening day. It is the main curtain-raiser to the Graeme-Brandwag showdown.

After some strong performances in recent seasons, Kingswood will be looking to lay down a marker when they play Stirling on Thursday and Muir on Saturday.

The scheduled First XV fixtures are:

Thursday | 20 March 2025

09:15 – Port Alfred vs Mary Waters
10:30 – Muir College vs Otto du Plessis
11:45 – Cambridge vs St John’s College
13:00 – Kingswood College vs Stirling
14:15 – Pearson vs Queen’s College
15:30 – Graeme College vs Die Brandwag (Uitenhage)

Friday | 21 March 2025

09:15 – PJ Olivier vs Mzansi Academy
10:30 – Woodridge College vs HTS Port Rex
11:45 – HTS Daniël Pienaar vs Union High
13:00 – Grey High School vs Hudson Park
14:15 – Nico Malan vs Dale College
15:30 – Selborne College vs Marlow Landbou

Saturday | 22 March 2025

09:15 – Cambridge vs Otto du Plessis
10:30 – Stirling vs Pearson
11:45 – Queen’s College vs Die Brandwag (Uitenhage)
13:00 – Kingswood College vs Muir College
14:15 – St Andrew’s College vs Framesby
15:30 – Graeme College vs St John’s College

It will be a classic north-south confrontation when two of South Africa’s oldest rugby rivals meet in the feature match of the u16 Grant Khomo Week at Grey High School in Gqeberha on Friday.

DHL Western Province and the Blue Bulls have underlined their class during the action this week and they will now be targeting top gun status in the final showdown at 12:40 on the Kolisi Field.

Hosts Eastern Province, meanwhile, will be looking to record their first win of the week after two tough encounters when they take on the DHL WP XV on the Pollock Oval at 11.30.

It has not been an easy week for head coach Ashley Carolus‘s team, losing to WP and the Lions, but they have shown a lot of heart in their play and will be fired up to finish strongly. However, they will have noted the supreme competitiveness of their WP opponents, who will also be chasing their first win of the week after two agonising losses.

On both Monday and Wednesday, the WP XV had chances of victory against the Bulls and South Western Districts respectively, but narrowly failed to close the deal.

That means EP will have to be at their best if they want to finish on a high.

While WP and the Bulls must be applauded for their tenacity in finding a way to win, they have not been overly dominant this week.

It suggests that the feature match on the Kolisi Field will be a cracking affair between two sides out to prove a point.

They had to work extremely hard in Wednesday’s fixtures to secure the main game on Friday and their recuperative powers will be put to the acid test in the final match of the tournament.

The week has thrown up some thrilling schoolboy rugby and even as it draws to a close, there will be plenty of pride at stake on the last day.

Border, for instance, will be fired to make it three wins in a row, but face their toughest test of the week against the combative Lions team.

After losing to Sanlam Boland, the Lions lifted themselves with a win over EP on Wednesday and Border can expect a proper onslaught in the opening match on the Kolisi Field at 09:00.

The East London-based side have shown great determination to win twice, but they will now have to move up a level against the Lions.

The other matches on the Kolisi Field will also see teams trying to send out a message after some mixed results this week.

Free State, after losing to the Sharks on Monday, showed enterprise in beating the Pumas and will want to continue that form in what will be a proper challenge against Boland, also with a win and a loss so far.

In the main curtain-raiser, the Sharks and South Western Districts have all the ingredients for a thrilling finale as both sides are packed with tough forwards and backs who are prepared to run the ball at any opportunity.

Fixtures | Friday, 21 June 2024

Kolisi Field

09:00 – Lions vs Border
10:20 – Free State vs Boland
11:30 – Sharks vs SWD
12:40 – Western Province vs Blue Bulls

Pollock Oval

09:00 – Pumas vs Leopards
10:20 – Free State XV vs Griffons
11:30 – WP XV vs Eastern Province

Pyot Field

09:00 – Namibia vs Zimbabwe
10:20 – Border Country Districts vs Valke
11:30 – Griquas vs Limpopo Blue Bulls.

As they enter their final week of preparations, the Eastern Province u16 team will place a massive focus on gelling as a cohesive unit for the opening match in the Grant Khomo Rugby Interprovincial tournament in Gqeberha next Monday.

This prestigious event, featuring the cream of South Africa’s u16 players, will be held for the first time in Nelson Mandela Bay and will see action on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at Grey High School.

Being the hosts, EP will play the feature match of the opening day against Western Province and coach Ashley Carolus knows that they are in for a serious challenge.

“Western Province are always a tough outfit, but we know we have to be ready to compete against the best, so our preparations are on track for that,” Carolus said.

“We have been hard at work with several training sessions held at Pearson High School and we will finalise our preparation this week.”

The coach, who was also in charge last year after serving two years as an assistant coach, is happy with their progress but understands the challenges which they face.

“The most important factor for us will be to work as a group of players, so we are focusing on teamwork as a top priority,” Carolus said.

“We had some really good trial games and have a decent team, and we are excited about the week ahead of us.”

He added that they would like to feature in the main games on the remaining days, but they were not looking any further ahead than the opening match against WP.

“We have to make sure we take it one step at a time, so we are not putting any pressure on ourselves with undue expectations, but will go into the week trying to put into action what we have concentrated on during practice.”

One advantage for the local team is that they will be operating in familiar conditions on Grey High’s Kolisi Field and Carolus said they were looking forward to receiving some support.

“Having the backing of the home supporters will be important for us and the boys will be keen to shine in front of their families and friends,” he added.

The EP-WP clash on Monday will start at 15:30 and will be preceded by the tournament’s opening ceremony at 15:00.

Action will take place on the Kolisi Field and Pollock Oval, with the first games starting at 09:20 when the Pumas take on Griquas (Kolisi) and the Free State XV face Border Country Districts (Pollock).

Those games should set the scene for a weekend of entertaining schoolboy rugby, with two high-profile matches on the opening day featuring Lions versus Boland (10:40 on Kolisi) and Free State against the Sharks (12:10 on Kolisi).

Fixtures | Day 1

KOLISI FIELD 

15:30 – Eastern Province vs Western Province
15:00 – Opening Ceremony
13:40 – Blue Bulls vs Western Province XV
12:10 – Free State vs Sharks
10:40 – Golden Lions vs Boland
09:20 – Pumas vs Griqualand West

POLLOCK OVAL 

15:30 – Leopards vs Limpopo Blue Bulls
13:40 – South Western Districts vs Namibia
12:10 – Border vs Zimbabwe
10:40 – Valke vs Griffons
09:20 – Free State XV vs Border Country Districts

Hudson Park and Brandwag will fire the first shots in what is shaping up as another exhilarating exhibition of schoolboy rugby when the annual Grey High Rugby Festival kicks off in Gqeberha on Thursday.

The two teams are sure to provide an entertaining start to the festival on the Kolisi Field, and should be matched by the opening game on the Pollock Oval, where Ithembelihle come up against St Charles College.

Ithembe will relish the opportunity of some regular competition and have been working hard for the last three weeks in preparation for their games against St Charles and Parktown.

While age-group fixtures will take place at various venues, a total of 16 first team matches will be played over the two days, culminating with an intriguing showdown between Grey and Graeme College at 15.25 on Saturday.

The Makhanda school registered a rare win over Grey last year and there will be plenty of expectation from both sides when the opening whistle is blown.

Besides the opening clash between Hudson and Brandwag, a number of fascinating matches litter the first day’s programme.

Queen’s College has had a good run this season but will need to maintain a high level of play against St Stithians outfit in the 12.55 clash.

The Johannesburg team had a notable win over St Andrew’s College in their own Easter Festival and the lads from Komani will be well-tested.

Graeme opens their festival with a tough encounter against Jeppe, who will be smarting after losing to KES at the weekend.

The outcome of that match will provide a good indication of what awaits St Andrew’s on Saturday against Jeppe after the College team registered a close win over Graeme this past Saturday.

Hosts Grey will also look to bounce back from a series of setbacks, having lost two and drawn one of their last three matches.

St John’s College could feel the brunt of that in Thursday’s feature game, although the Johannesburg team are fully aware of the challenge ahead and will have prepared accordingly.

The first team fixtures are:

Thursday, 2 May 2024

Kolisi Field

09:10 – Hudson Park v Brandwag; 10:25 – Westville v Durbanville; 11:45 – St Andrew’s College v Parktown Boys’ High; 12:55 – Queen’s College v St Stithians College; 14.05: Graeme College v Jeppe High School for Boys; 15.25: Grey High School v St John’s College

Pollock Oval

12:55 – Ithembelihle v St Charles College; 14:05 – Mali Foundation XV v Muir College

Saturday, 4 May 2024

Kolisi Field

09.10: Hudson Park v St Charles College; 10.25: St Stithians College v Brandwag; 11.45: St Andrew’s College v Jeppe; 12.55: Queen’s College v Durbanville; 14.05: Dale College v Westville Boys’ High; 15.25: Grey High School v Graeme College

Pollock Oval

10:25 – Ithembelihle v Parktown Boys’ High; 14:05 – Muir College v St John’s College

Graeme College and Selborne College delivered another pulsating finish to the Graeme Rugby Festival in Makhanda on Saturday as the latter team defending heroically in the closing stages to secure a narrow 14-7 victory.

It was a fitting finale to another entertaining programme of schoolboy rugby over the three days, with all the teams gaining invaluable preparation for the forthcoming season.

Though Graeme was first to score when they sliced open the Selborne defence early on for Xolisa Mdyesha to cross for a converted try, the team from East London dominated much of the game.

They leveled matters when centre Siyamthanda Sakhele forced his way over just before halftime and, with the wind at their backs, kept Graeme pegged back in their own territory in the second half.

Both sides were committed on defence, but Selborne’s pressure eventually told with a penalty try to make it 14-7.

It is to Graeme’s immense credit that, even with their lineouts not always working efficiently, they kept their opponents at bay and then forced their way upfield through several penalties late in the game.

This was when the character of the Selborne team needed to be revealed and they answered the call with enormous courage and organisation on defence as they kept out wave after wave of Graeme attacks.

Eventually, they were able to steal the ball at a breakdown and booted it out to clinch a hard-earned victory.

Earlier, Pearson flyhalf Caleb Friskin showed some quicksilver footwork to score a vital second-half try, helping his team to a notable 19-11 win over Queen’s.

This came after Queen’s had shown plenty of courage to fight back from 12-0 down to leave the match in the balance at the break on a score of 12-11.

First-half tries by scrumhalf, Denillo Jordaan, in the opening minute, and wing Christoph Williams after a fine backline move saw Pearson set up their handy lead.

But Queen’s stuck to their task and two penalties by scrumhalf, Ryan Denston, and an opportunistic effort by Jameel Fleshman when he capitalised on a Pearson error saw the lead eroded to one point.

In the second half, however, the Queenians made hard work of exiting their territory playing into the breeze and Pearson’s defence was up to the task as they kept a lid on their opponents’ offensive effort for a hard-earned win.

Cambridge produced a surging second-half fightback to register a thrilling 24-21 win over Muir in the opening match of the day.

While the Kariega side assumed control of the first period, running in tries by Jethro Seconds, Brent Koraan, and Phiwokuhle Mbali for a 21-5 lead at the break, it was all Cambridge in the second half.

Granted, they had the breeze at their backs, but they must receive full accolades for the way they got back into the game through some determined running every time they visited the Muir 22-metre area.

After an opening score by Sibonginstsika Maki in the first half, their second half efforts led to tries by Avumile Galwa, Sive Ngxoweni, and Lisakhanya Mgoxo, while two conversions by Maki helped them overhaul the Muir tally.

Following a try in the opening stages by ace flyhalf Logan Muller, Framesby cruised to a 43-0 victory over Stirling, dominating their opponents up front and running in seven tries.

Muller’s educated left boot meant the East London team were constantly under pressure, especially when they played into the wind.

As the penalties mounted, Framesby simply kicked for the corner and used their effective maul to cross for four second-half tries and an emphatic win.

The St Andrew’s trio of wing Julian Mapoore, eighthman, Ucwambu Mgudlwa, and fullback, Karabo van Heerden, each scored a brace of tries as they defeated Brandwag 34-19.

Playing with great pace, the Andreans delivered constant pressure and although the match was fairly evenly poised at 17-12 going into the second half, three tries in succession saw them shoot out to a 34-12 lead and there was no way back to victory for the Kariega team.

Scorers: 

Selborne College 14 (7) – Tries: Siyamthanda Sakhele, Penalty Try. Conversion: Paige Fennel. Graeme College 7 (7) – Xolisa Mdyesha. Conversion: Marcus Williams.

Pearson 19 (12) – Tries: Denillo Jordaan, Christoph Williams, Caleb Friskin. Conversions: Friskin (2). Queen’s College 11 (11) – Try: Jameel Fleshman. Penalties: Ryan Denston (2).

Framesby 43 (19) – Tries: Ewald Muller (2), Johan van Zyl, Sean Vermaak, Jaidon Brewis, Logan Muller, Juan Grigor. Conversions: Muller (4). Stirling 0.

St Andrew’s College 34 (17) – Tries: Julian Mapoore (2), Ucwamba Mgudlwa (2), Karabo van Heerden (2). Conversions: Scott Miles (2). Die Brandwag (Uitenhage) 19 (12) – Tries: Nathan Fraser, Ruan Engelbrecht, D’Noven Scheepers. Conversions: La-Crain Muggels (2).

Cambridge 24 (5) – Tries: Sibonginhika Maki, Avumile Gulwa, Sive Ngxoweni, Lisakhanya Magoxo. Conversions: Maki (2). Muir College 21 (21) – Tries: Jethro Seconds, Brent Koraan, Phiwokuhle Mbali. Conversions: Koraan (3).

Grey High School 44 (20) – Tries: John Hobson (3), Luc de Villiers (2), Blayton Wood, Lavela Pongolo, Penalty Try. Conversions: Kyle Callaghan. Hudson Park 5 (0) – Try: Ukhona Kama.

As the schools’ rugby season starts to take shape, the intensity will be raised a few more notches when the exciting first-team programme for the Graeme College Rugby Festival gets underway on Friday (March 15).

This annual sports extravaganza in Makhanda is again set to attract big crowds to the Graeme campus and the action kicks off with a series of age-group matches on Thursday.

Catch all the action live on SuperSport Schools (www.supersportschools.com).

Already there have been some interesting results in the early season games and although not too much should be read into the scores at this stage of the year, there were notable performances this past weekend by Daniel Pienaar (29-19 winners over Graeme) and Cambridge (22-20 winners against Dale in the Grens Festival).

Coach Jonty van der Meulen’s Graeme team will be looking to absorb the lessons from the Daniel Pienaar clash as they face one of the powerhouses of Eastern Cape schools rugby in Selborne in the festival’s final game on Saturday.

It is to the host school’s credit that they do not shy away from a proper challenge in their own tournament and Van der Meulen’s relatively young side is ready to step up to the plate.

“We do realise that Selborne is, and always will be, a force to be reckoned with in Eastern Cape rugby, but that is a challenge we are ready to embrace and we will need to make sure we are at our best on the day,” the coach said.

Cambridge, meanwhile, kick-off the proceedings on Saturday with a 10.30 match against Muir College from Kariega, which should make for an entertaining encounter.

These two teams last met in Makhanda in the 2022 tournament, with Muir taking the honours 24-7.

It’s an outcome Cambridge will be particularly keen to reverse this time, buoyed, as they should be, by Saturday’s result.

And yet there will be no easy pickings against the Kariega side, who will feed off the positive memories of their previous encounter.

The Friday programme in Makhanda throws up some particularly fascinating match-ups, with Grey High and Hudson Park featuring in the final match of the day at 3.30pm.

The Gqeberha team did not have the best of seasons in 2023 and it will be interesting to see if they can lift the level of their performances this year.

They will start as the favourites against Hudson, but the East London school would like nothing better than to take down one of Eastern Cape’s top guns, having had a useful warm-up by outclassing Hangklip 46-7 in the Grens Festival at the weekend.

They know it will be much tougher on Friday.

Dale will be looking to bounce back, but face a testing fixture against the competitive Nico Malan side, who were edged by three points against St Andrew’s this weekend.

With both sides preferring an attacking brand of rugby, this should be one of the most entertaining matches of the day.

That fixture will be preceded by a blockbuster showdown between Kingswood and Marlow, with the Makhanda outfit aiming to build on the winning form they showed during last season.

Coach James Winstanley, however, is all too aware of the threat posed by the Cradock team.

“If you don’t get into the match early against Marlow you will be in trouble because they always come out hard and you have to make sure you are up for the challenge from the start,” he said.

Besides the Graeme-Selborne clash on Saturday, the main curtain-raiser between St Andrew’s and Brandwag will be one of the big clashes of the day.

Both sides will be ready for battle as they continue to find their best combinations after some useful warm-up games at the weekend.

Brandwag competed in the Grens Festival in East London and received excellent preparation with wins over Hangklip (33-7) and Port Rex (36-12).

St Andrew’s, though, after their thrilling win over Nico Malan, will be well prepared for another testing fixture.

The 13:00 match is another which will provide a proper contest as Pearson continues to prove they can match, and beat, the best in the Eastern Cape when they take on the tough Queen’s College combination.

The first team fixtures are:

15 March 2024 | Somerset Field

09:00 – Graeme College II vs Port Alfred High
10.30 – Port Rex THS vs Mary Waters
11:45 – Union High va HTS Daniel Pienaar
13:00 – Kingswood College vs Marlow Landbou
14:15 – Dale College vs Nico Malan
15:30 – Grey High School vs Hudson Park

16 March 2024 |  Somerset Field

10:30 – Cambridge vs Muir College
11:45 – Stirling vs Framesby
13:00 – Queen’s College vs Pearson
14:15 – St Andrew’s College vs Brandwag
15:30 – Graeme College vs Selborne College

 

The Kingswood College rugby team is determined to build on an excellent 2023 season by showing further improvement when their programme for this year clicks into gear next month.

The Makhanda school was among the top performers in Eastern Cape last year and will be looking to lay down an early marker when they take on Marlow Agricultural in the Graeme College Rugby Festival in Makhanda from March 14-16.

Kingswood head coach James Winstanley says they are excited about the forthcoming season, with a strong thread of continuity from last year provided by eight players from the class of 2023 and a further two players who featured in the first team.

“We had a fantastic season last year but it was just the start of what we are wanting to achieve and the core group has worked incredibly hard to put us in a position to be better this year,” Winstanley said.

“We have had a grueling six-week training block and so now we have built in a week’s break to ensure that we freshen up and have the physical and mental energy needed to get us through the start of the season, up until the end of the Easter tour.”

Following the Graeme festival, when they will play Marlow at 13:00 on Friday, March 15, Kingswood will travel to Johannesburg for the St John’s Easter Festival.

Kingswood, who set their leadership group in place last year, will be aiming to make an impact in that showdown.

“We have been a little unorthodox in that we have named our captain and leadership group in November the past two years,” Winstanley said.

“Our captain, Tapiwa Zhanda, and his senior players have been instrumental in setting the standard so far.

“The Graeme festival is the first real marker that requires you to hit some form and it comes with an opportunity to gain momentum.

However, he acknowledged the serious challenge they faced against the Cradock outfit.

“Marlow is possibly the toughest team to play at Graeme festival,” the Kingswood mentor said.

“They hit the ground running and their physicality early in a game causes problems for opponents.

“You can’t grow into this game. You have to be in the fight from the very beginning to stand a chance of a good result.”

Given their meticulous preparation, Kingswood is ready for all challenges.

“We are excited to finally play and be tested against top opponents in the Eastern Cape,” Winstanley added.

“We are a well-conditioned team and so we will be prepared for the closing quarter of a game, and I anticipate our backline will get people excited.

“We have a tough fixture list and we might not win as many games as last year, but we will be a better team than we were.”

The first team fixtures for the Graeme festival are:

15 March 2024 | Somerset Field

09:00 – Port Alfred vs Graeme College II
10:30 – Port Rex vs Mary Waters
11:45 – Union High vs HTS Daniël Pienaar
13:00 – Kingswood College vs Marlow Landbou
14:15 – Dale College vs Nico Malan
15:30 – Grey High School vs Hudson Park

16 March 2024 | Somerset Field

10:30 – Cambridge vs Muir College
11:45 – Stirling vs Framesby
13:00 – Queen’s College vs Pearson
14:15 – St Andrew’s College vs Die Brandwag (Uitenhage)
15:30 – Graeme College vs Selborne College

In celebration of the school’s 150^th anniversary, Graeme College have brought in a fresh dimension to their annual rugby day by extending it to a festival over three days in March next year.

And adding the cherry on the top will be the appearance of crack rugby schools such as Grey College from Bloemfontein, Hilton from KwaZulu-Natal and SACS from Cape Town, all of whom will provide fascinating opposition for their Eastern Cape opponents.

Naturally, Graeme have not forgotten the loyal support they have annually received from the local teams and the cream of Eastern Cape’s schools will again be in action in this traditional pipe-opener to the season.

The festival will take place from March 23 to 25, but not all teams will be in action for the full three days. The fixtures have been arranged so that those schools who play on Thursday will only be in action again on Saturday, while the programme on Friday will see those teams play only once.

Tournament director Nico van der Meulen said they had wanted to do something special to celebrate a significant year in the school’s history.

“We have enjoyed huge success with our traditional Graeme Rugby Day over the years, but we felt we just wanted to take it to the next level on the occasion of our 150^th celebrations,” he said.

“We are extremely excited to welcome Grey College, who have appeared once before, SACS and Hilton to our event, and are also grateful for the outstanding support we have received from our Eastern Cape colleagues.

“It should be an excellent three days of rugby and an ideal opportunity for coaches to continue fine-tuning their sides for the season.”

As one of the perennially top teams in the country, Grey College will add a sharp edge to the competition when they take on Marlow Agricultural in Thursday’s feature match and then face Makhanda outfit St Andrew’s in the main curtain-raiser on Saturday.

Although these are daunting prospects for the local outfits, it will be a great opportunity for them to embrace the challenge of taking on one of the best rugby schools in the land.

Hilton face two massive examinations against Brandwag and Framesby, while the festival looks destined for a cracking start when SACS take on St Andrew’s in Thursday’s opening fixture.

The hosts have not shied away from giving themselves two tough encounters, with a Thursday showdown against Framesby, followed by a clash with SACS on Saturday in what should be a fitting finale to the festival.

Grey High will be in action only on the Friday, playing the feature match against Hudson Park, while East London powerhouse Selborne also play only once, facing Nico Malan in the main curtain-raiser on the same day.

Besides the first team fixtures, Graeme will also be arranging age-group games on the Marais Field, with this line-up still to be confirmed. The U14 and U16 sections will play on Thursday and Friday, while Saturday will see an U13 festival taking place.

The first team fixtures are:

Thursday, 23 March 2023

15:30 – Grey College vs Marlow Landbou
14:00 – Graeme College vs Framesby
12:40 – Kingswood College vs Queen’s College
11:20 – Die Brandwag (Uitenhage) vs Hilton College
10:00 – St Andrew’s College vs SACS

Friday, 24 March 24 2023

15:30 – Hudson Park vs Grey High School
14:15 – Selborne College vs Nico Malan
13:00 – Dale College vs Pearson
11:45 – Muir College vs Stirling
10:30 – Cambridge vs HTS Daniel Pienaar
09:15 – Mary Waters vs Union High
08:00 – Port Alfred vs Woodridge College

Saturday, 25 March 2023

15:20 – Graeme College vs SACS
14:00 – St Andrew’s College vs Grey College
12:40 – Hilton College vs Framesby
11:20 – Marlow Landbou vs Kingswood College
10:00 – Die Brandwag (Uitenhage) vs Queen’s College