{"id":93992,"date":"2026-04-20T15:33:47","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T13:33:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=93992"},"modified":"2026-04-20T15:33:47","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T13:33:47","slug":"dale-spoils-queens-168th-reunion-selborne-ends-graemes-unbeaten-run","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=93992","title":{"rendered":"Dale spoils Queen&#8217;s 168th Reunion, Selborne ends Graeme&#8217;s unbeaten run"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_93997\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-93997\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-93997\" src=\"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/rugby-dale-queens-180426-400x261.jpg\" alt=\"Dale College scored their first win over Queen's College since 2019 on Saturday in Komani. Photo: Dale College on Facebook.\" width=\"400\" height=\"261\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-93997\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dale College scored their first win over Queen&#8217;s College since 2019 on Saturday in Komani. Photo: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DaleCollege\"><strong>Dale College on Facebook<\/strong><\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Dale College<\/strong> poured cold water on the 168<sup>th<\/sup> Reunion of their old rivals, <strong>Queen&#8217;s College<\/strong>, by holding on for a narrow 31-29 win in a game of two halves at the <strong>Rec Ground<\/strong> in Komani on Saturday.<\/p>\n<p>Playing into the wind in the first half, Queen&#8217;s made too many errors. Dale capitalised. Their forwards built strong momentum through good carries, creating the sort of pressure which their dangerous backs turned into overlaps, and they ran up a 24-5 lead at halftime.<\/p>\n<p>The second half saw Queen&#8217;s pull themselves together, bringing aggression to their forward drives and defending with greater commitment, which enabled them to fight their way back into the match.<\/p>\n<p>However, despite scoring five tries through <strong>Bongo Nyakaza<\/strong> (2), <strong>Ethan Oosthuizen<\/strong>, <strong>Ncutu Kepe<\/strong>, and <strong>Luhlumile Njokweni<\/strong>, they were unable to cross the gap as Dale scored once more to hold on for a hard-fought victory, which will give them renewed motivation for the season ahead.<\/p>\n<p>Dale also crossed for five tries, scored by <strong>Lukho Mzingaye<\/strong>, <strong>Caleb Smith<\/strong>, <strong>Azole Sodlaka<\/strong>, <strong>Sonwabise Dyani<\/strong>, and <strong>Okuhle Fihla<\/strong>, while Dyani added three conversions.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_93999\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-93999\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-93999\" src=\"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/rugby-selborne-graeme-180426-400x232.jpg\" alt=\"Selborne College lifted their game and handed Graeme College a first loss of the season in East London on Saturday. Photo: Selborne College on Facebook.\" width=\"400\" height=\"232\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-93999\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Selborne College rose to the occasion and handed Graeme College a first loss of the season in East London on Saturday. Photo: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SelborneCollege\"><strong>Selborne College on Facebook<\/strong><\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In East London, <strong>Selborne College<\/strong> rose to the occasion where it mattered most &#8211; on the field of play &#8211; to register a notable win over the previously unbeaten <strong>Graeme College<\/strong> in a cracking encounter.<\/p>\n<p>It was a game typical of the outstanding schools&#8217; derbies in the Eastern Cape, with each side enjoying their moments. The contest was level at 19-19 with 20 minutes to go, but Selborne finally pulled away to win 34-26.<\/p>\n<p>With lock <strong>Travis Enslin<\/strong> and centre <strong>Iviwe Kabale<\/strong> the standout players for Selborne, the home side put Graeme under sustained pressure from the start, and this allowed them to build a handy 12-0 lead through two tries.<\/p>\n<p>But Graeme showed why they are so highly rated this season, particularly when they are on the attack.\u00a0With no. 9 <strong>Luke Doyle<\/strong> calling the shots from the base of the scrum, and fullback <strong>Lucritia Magau<\/strong> a constant menace at the back, they bounced back with three tries to go ahead 19-12.<\/p>\n<p>Trailing, Selborne showed their character by levelling the score and, although Graeme scored once more, the East London school capitalised on their chances to kick a penalty and score a fifth try.<\/p>\n<p>Selborne&#8217;s dotted down through <strong>Sabelo Vuso<\/strong> (2), Enslin, Kabale and <strong>Reece Rasmussen<\/strong>, with <strong>Riley Hansel<\/strong> kicking three conversions and a penalty.<\/p>\n<p>Tries for Graeme came from Doyle (2), <strong>Asakhe Ranuga<\/strong>, and <strong>Lucritia Magau<\/strong>, while <strong>Erin Nelson<\/strong> kicked three conversions.<\/p>\n<p>With centre <strong>Matthew Lieberum<\/strong> outstanding in midfield, <strong>Marlow Agricultural<\/strong> was able to secure a solid 26-15 win over a competitive <strong>Hudson Park<\/strong> team in their clash at Marlow.<\/p>\n<p>While hooker <strong>Herman le Roux<\/strong> and lock <strong>JG de Lange<\/strong> led the way up front, Lieberum kept the Hudson Park defence busy with his attacking runs and ability to break through a gap.<\/p>\n<p>He was rewarded with a try, while other five-pointers came from <strong>Ockert du Preez<\/strong>, Le Roux and De Lange. <strong>Cole Hurter<\/strong> kicked two conversions and <strong>Jan-Louw du Plessis<\/strong> one.<\/p>\n<p>Hudson, for whom fullback <strong>Zearan Booysen<\/strong> was outstanding, will be disappointed with the final result after trailing only 10-12 at the break.<\/p>\n<p>They were let down by their discipline, which resulted in them being pinned down in their own territory and unable to capitalise on their chances.<\/p>\n<p>This allowed Marlow to seize the initiative to pull away for another significant victory.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Scorers<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Queen&#8217;s College 29 (7) \u2013<\/strong> Tries: Ethan Oosthuizen, Bongo Nyakaza (2), Ncutu Kepe, Luhlumile Njokweni. Conversions: Inga Mnunu (2). <strong>Dale College 31 (24) \u2013<\/strong> Tries: Lukho Mzingaye, Caleb Smith, Azole Sodlaka, Sonwabise Dyani and Okuhle Fihla. Conversions: Dyani (3).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Selborne College 34 (12)<\/strong> \u2013 Tries: Sabelo Vuso (2), Enslin, Kabale and Reece Rasmussen. Penalty: Riley Hansel. Conversions: Hansel (3). <strong>Graeme College 26 (5)<\/strong> &#8211; Tries \u2013 Luke Doyle (2), Asakhe Ranuga, Lucritia Magau. Conversions: Erin Nelson (3).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dale College poured cold water on the 168th Reunion of their old rivals, Queen&#8217;s College, by holding on for a narrow 31-29 win in a game of two halves at the Rec Ground in Komani on Saturday. Playing into the wind in the first half, Queen&#8217;s made too many errors. Dale capitalised. Their forwards built [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":93997,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-93992","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\/93992","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\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=93992"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93992\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/93997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=93992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=93992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=93992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}