{"id":9729,"date":"2022-03-18T07:17:25","date_gmt":"2022-03-18T07:17:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rugby.supersportschools.com\/spicy-contests-will-light-up-graeme-rugby-day\/"},"modified":"2022-03-18T07:17:25","modified_gmt":"2022-03-18T07:17:25","slug":"spicy-contests-will-light-up-graeme-rugby-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=9729","title":{"rendered":"Spicy contests will light up Graeme Rugby Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"NewsGAs Graeme prepares for a Selborne ambush, a fascinating series of spicy contests looms for sports enthusiasts when the Graeme College Rugby Day<\/strong>, sponsored by Buco, unfolds in Makhanda on Saturday.<\/span><\/p>\n

Starting at 8am, a total of eight matches will take place on the Somerset Field, culminating in the grand finale between the hosts and their East London counterparts at 16.10.<\/span><\/p>\n

Both coaches, Jonty van der Meulen<\/strong> (Graeme) and Chase Morrison<\/strong>, have indicated their wariness of the opposition and while Selborne would normally start as favourites, their mentor is well aware of the threat the home team offers.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are absolutely under no illusions as to what we will be facing in Makhanda and it\u2019s no secret that some of the Graeme players are being tipped for higher honours,\u201d Morison said. \u201cThey are really strong opponents and I have them as the favourites.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Van der Meulen, meanwhile, knows that his team will be up against it. They previously played Selborne in the corresponding match in 2017, losing 20-15.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe always look forward to challenging one of the top rugby schools in the Eastern Cape and it will be no different this year as we try to prove what we have to offer,\u201d he said. \u201cThere is no better stage for doing that than our rugby day.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSelborne have always possessed a good power game. We will need to contain their physicality and then focus on our strengths and play at our own tempo.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

This is just one of the blockbusting fixtures on the programme, with some real intensity expected when Grey High faces Brandwag in the 12.40 clash.<\/span><\/p>\n

These two teams do not play each other on a regular basis, but did meet in the Graeme Rugby Day two years ago, Brandwag winning 17-10.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Kariega side will be fired up to repeat that against one of Eastern Province\u2019s top-performing teams and Grey coach Bean van Eeden knows they are in for a real scrap.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBrandwag has been great over the past five or six years and has delivered multiple Craven Week players,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey will be well-coached and physically they\u2019ll be up there. The last time we met in 2020 we ended up on the wrong side of the scoreboard so we have something to prove.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Makhanda teams St Andrew\u2019s and Kingswood also face interesting challenges when they come up against Framesby and Queen\u2019s respectively.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Andreans edged Framesby by three points in a titanic struggle two years ago and there should again be little to choose between the running brand of St Andrew\u2019s and the physicality and power Framesby always bring to their matches.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kingswood against Queen\u2019s should be equally entertaining. While there may be some early-season cobwebs to clear, this will be an ideal opportunity for both sides to lay down a marker for the rest of the season.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Somerset Field fixtures are:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

08:00 –<\/strong> Pearson vs Mary Waters<\/span>
\n09:10 –<\/strong> Hudson Park vs Nico Malan
\n10.20 –<\/strong> Cambridge vs Muir College
\n11.30 –<\/strong> Dale College vs Marlow Landbou
\n12.40 –<\/strong> Grey High School vs Brandwag (Uitenhage)
\n13.50 –<\/strong> St Andrew\u2019s College vs Framesby
\n15.00 –<\/strong> Kingswood College vs Queen\u2019s College
\n16.10 –<\/strong> Graeme College vs Selborne College<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As Graeme prepares for a Selborne ambush, a fascinating series of spicy contests looms for sports enthusiasts when the Graeme College Rugby Day, sponsored by Buco, unfolds in Makhanda on Saturday. Starting at 8am, a total of eight matches will take place on the Somerset Field, culminating in the grand finale between the hosts and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9727,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9729","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\/9729","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=9729"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9729\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9729"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9729"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9729"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}