{"id":7334,"date":"2017-03-08T05:43:58","date_gmt":"2017-03-08T05:43:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rugby.supersportschools.com\/kearsney-easter-festival-celebrating-a-decade-of-thrilling-rugby\/"},"modified":"2017-03-08T05:43:58","modified_gmt":"2017-03-08T05:43:58","slug":"kearsney-easter-festival-celebrating-a-decade-of-thrilling-rugby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=7334","title":{"rendered":"Kearsney Easter Festival celebrating a decade of thrilling rugby"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"KERF2017A strong line-up of 12 schools renowned for their rugby pedigree will participate in the 10th edition of the Standard Bank Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival next month.<\/span><\/p>\n

This year\u2019s line-up includes powerhouse teams Monument from Krugersdorp, Boksburg\u2019s Dr EG Jansen, HTS Middelburg and Ho\u00ebrskool Noord-Kaap from Kimberley, as well as the strong Eastern Cape schools Selborne College (East London), Dale College (King William\u2019s Town), Queen\u2019s College (Queenstown) and Ho\u00ebrskool Framesby (Port Elizabeth), together with Glenwood High School and hosts Kearsney College from KZN. Newcomers to the festival are Pretoria Boys High and HTS Drostdy from Worcester in the Boland.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sharks CEO Gary Teichmann said the strength, success and reputation of the festival was evident from the calibre of schools participating each year.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe best schoolboy players compete against each other over a few days in a festival that attracts top coaches, scouts and fans from across the country,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Talent scouts from The Sharks and Sharks Academy will be on the lookout for gifted players during the three play days, scheduled over the Easter weekend for Thursday 13, Saturday 15 and Monday 17 April. Three bursaries, comprising a contract with The Sharks Academy and tuition bursary, will be awarded after the final match of the festival.<\/span><\/p>\n

Whilst for many decades Easter rugby festivals were held in Gauteng at St John\u2019s, St Stithians and KES, this festival at Kearsney College in Botha\u2019s Hill has now become an important fixture on the calendars of supporters of outstanding schoolboy rugby. For the tenth year it will provide an exciting weekend of competitive, top class running rugby, bringing some of the country\u2019s best rugby talent to the province.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Kicking off each day\u2019s play will be a match between primary school teams from Highbury, Westville Senior Primary, Umhlali and the KZN Ibutho\/Mark Godefroy u13 development team. The six senior 1st XV fixtures follow each day.<\/span><\/p>\n

Speaking at the launch Kearsney headmaster Elwyn van den Aardweg said there was strong diversity of teams selected for this year\u2019s festival, with schools representing the Eastern Cape, Boland, Northern Cape, Gauteng, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal.<\/span><\/p>\n

He said from the first festival 10 years ago, it had grown in support from sponsors, schools, spectators and the media and Kearsney was again gearing up for capacity crowds this year. For the first time live-streaming with professional commentary was being offered to supporters unable to make it to the festival, as well as giving players the opportunity to perform on a broader platform.<\/span><\/p>\n

Van den Aardweg said a new co-sponsor, Halfway Ford, had come on board and would add dynamic flavour and energy to the event, together with on-going title sponsor Standard Bank and festival partners The Sharks, Sharks Academy and KZN Rugby Union.<\/span><\/p>\n

Standard Bank\u2019s Funeka Montjane said through the festival they hoped to have a meaningful impact by championing the concept of health and friendship through sport, as well as supporting leaders of the future.<\/span><\/p>\n

Etienne Fynn, managing director of The Sharks Academy, said the Sharks and Sharks Academy continued to benefit from the festival through the number of players who chose to follow a possible path into the professional ranks through them.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"NewsG<\/p>\n

Endorsing their sponsorship of the festival, Halfway Ford\u2019s Ward Huxtable said they were excited to be a major sponsor of this dynamic festival for the first time. \u201cWe\u2019re proud to be associated with an event linked to the development of South Africa\u2019s youth; and believe it\u2019s the perfect platform to showcase our quality products.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Festival organiser Mouton Badenhorst said sporting events such as this called on discipline, commitment, innovation and leadership from players – the human qualities required to build a better future for all.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Standard Bank Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival is an expression of youthful talent, which requires nurturing to produce tomorrow\u2019s leaders. We hope that some of the country\u2019s best young rugby players will enjoy the wonderful opportunity of testing their skills against the best in the game,\u201d Badenhorst said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The organisers have appealed to supporters to take new or good condition second-hand rugby kit and clothing to the festival, which can be left in designated collections bins on campus. Contributions to the \u2018Boots and Balls\u2019 outreach initiative, which was started two years ago, will be handed over to the KZN Rugby Union\u2019s Development Programme during the closing ceremony. The items are sorted, repaired and distributed to development teams throughout the province.<\/span><\/p>\n

Every effort is made to provide a family-friendly environment at the festival, offering entertainment for the very young to the seasoned enthusiast. There will be food outlets, a refreshment tent and fun KidZone for those wanting to enjoy a full day of entertaining rugby. Gate entrance is R20 per person and ample parking will be available.<\/span><\/p>\n

See www.kearsney.com for fixtures and festival information.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A strong line-up of 12 schools renowned for their rugby pedigree will participate in the 10th edition of the Standard Bank Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival next month. This year\u2019s line-up includes powerhouse teams Monument from Krugersdorp, Boksburg\u2019s Dr EG Jansen, HTS Middelburg and Ho\u00ebrskool Noord-Kaap from Kimberley, as well as the strong Eastern Cape schools […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7332,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7334","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7334","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7334"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7334\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7332"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7334"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7334"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}