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Christopher Anderson, flyhalf of St Stithians College, was the hero as his side opened their Saints Easter Festival with a well-deserved victory of 27-14 over St Andrew’s College of Makhanda.

Watch all the action again on SuperSport Schools (www.supersportschools.com).

Anderson contributed 17 points towards his side’s score. He scored a brace of tries, converted two tries, and slotted a penalty.

St Andrew’s College’s fullback, Karabo van Heerden, was also in superb form as he scored a brace of tries from the back.

This year’s festival will only be played over two days with the final day being on Saturday. The Saints Easter Festival was the first of the Easter Festivals with the inaugural festival that was hosted back in 1984.

St Stithians College will be facing Clifton College of Durban in the main game on the final day of the festival on Saturday.

Clifton College also kicked off their festival with a 21-15 victory over Northcliff of Johannesburg. Their lock Lwazo Madikizela had the game of his life as he scored twice. He also made some huge tackles and even received a yellow card as he put everything on the line.

Northcliff’s winger Luke Roos also looked dangerous every time he was put in possession.

Secunda stole a 22-19 victory over a very formidable St Charles College outfit, thanks to a try after the hooter by prop Renier Combrinck.

St Charles’ scrumhalf, Matthew Fick, showed his class during the match. Fick already represented the Sharks at last year’s Craven Week and if he could build on his performance against Secunda he will be in action once again at the prestigious event later this year in Krugersdorp.

St Alban’s College’s scrumhalf, Joshua Verster, was the star as his side defeated Hartpury College’s second-stringers by 22-10. Verster added 12 points via a try, two conversions, and a penalty.

Verster is without a doubt a player to look out for in future.

Scorers: 

St Stithians College 27 (13) – Tries: Christopher Anderson (2), Jono Caveney, Joshua Meyer. Conversions: Anderson (2). Penalty: Anderson. St Andrew’s College 14 (7) – Tries: Karabo van Heerden (2). Conversions: Scott Miles (2).

Secunda 22 (15) – Tries: Zander van der Merwe, Brink la Grange, Renier Combrinck. Conversion: Damian de Beer. Conversion: De Beer.  St Charles College 19 (7) – Tries: Matthew Ludick, Matthew Fick, Marlon Mbewe. Conversions: Fick (2).

Clifton College 21 (14) – Tries: Lwazi Madikizela (2), Asabonga Jigane. Conversions: Athabe Mathabela (2), Adam Selikow. Northcliff 15 (5) – Tries: Jensen Geyer, Luke Roos, Michael Nwogwugwu.

St Alban’s College 22 (10) – Tries: Logan Jones, Joshua Verster, Matthew Nelson. Conversions: Verster (2). Penalty: Verster. Hartpury College II 10 (3) – Try: Harry Wilson. Conversions: Freddie Patch. Penalty: Theo Price.

Day One of the 20^th edition of the King Edward VII School (KES) Easter Festival did not disappoint and the first eight teams to grace the Weinberg Astro put up an exhibition of exciting hockey action.

The four-day festival runs from Thursday, 28 March, to Monday, 1 April, and is hosted by KES, with six of the 35 games taking place at their close neighbours, St John’s College.

Coach Kyle Reddy‘s Parktown Boys’ High was the first team on the astro, squaring up to Hoërskool Eldoraigne. The Ryan Venter-captained unit had a difficult preseason, thanks to lightning-prone Johannesburg, which prevented a number of practice and friendly matches taking place.

But they did manage to squeeze in two fixtures, playing to a 3-3 draw with St Alban’s and easing to a one-sided win over CBC Boksburg. They arrived at the Founders Festival in KZN a little underbaked and produced mixed results.

In their game against Eldoraigne, Parktown seized the initiative by pressing hard and putting the opposition under pressure. They were rewarded with two goals in the first half. They failed to follow up that strong start with a convincing third chukka and ceded control of the match.

“We have two or three players who were part of the team that played at Founders that were not here, just to give the other boys an opportunity to play first-team hockey and see how they do. When they came on, we tried different combinations, a slight adaptation to the press and that was shaky,” Reddy said.

Parktown regained control, however, after they reverted to their regular style and went on to win by three goals.

That encounter was followed by a fiercely contested match between St John’s and Queen’s College. Gilbert de Villiers’ boys looked well organised as they dominated the early proceedings. De Villiers, who moved to St John’s after a successful five-year run with Jeppe, is still in the early days of moulding the team into an outfit that embodies his vision.

“That vision is our boys dominating our own space, making sure we are accountable for our mistakes and successes. Individual accountability is a big thing. And defending to win is another big one for us,” said De Villiers.

Michael Baiden’s Queens College was happy to sit deep and absorb the pressure from St John’s. A hallmark of Baiden’s style of play is attacking on the counter, a ploy they tried a few times. But the Murray Halstead-Cleak-marshalled defence held firm, denying the opposition a way in.

The contest spilled into a frenetic fourth chukka that had action from one goal to the other. Eventually, it was Queen’s who won a penalty corner, which they converted, with seconds left on the clock, to snatch a draw.

Siya Sityana’s Jeppe posted a solid 4-1 win over Waterkloof. The scoreline suggests it was a blowout. It wasn’t.

Jeppe was on fire as they scored three goals in the first chukka. Those quick strikes left Waterkloof a little shell-shocked, but they composed themselves and came out fighting in the second chukka. “We stopped doing the basics correctly,” Sityana remarked.

After the match, Waterkloof coach Mark Lamprecht shared that he felt his team had not done enough to convert the opportunities they created. “We had a lot of chances that we left out there. We created a lot of opportunities; we just weren’t able to capitalise on them,” he said.

Waterkloof has had an up-and-down season so far, characterised by good performances mixed in with inconstant outings. However, Lamprecht was impressed by the nature of his charges’ last few matches where his players demonstrated better form and consistency. Looking forward, the Waterkloof gaffer said he hopes his side will play more to its strengths.

“We have a fast team, and the boys are aggressive. So, we try to put the other team under as much pressure as possible. So, we do a full press, try to turn over the ball quite high. We’ve got some very skilful strikers and try to get them to receive inside the circle and get some outcomes,” he explained.

Sityana, who is in his first season as the Jeppe head coach feels his team is not yet quite where he wants them to be, but it is certainly on the right path. “There is room for improvement. But I am happy with the result,” he said.

The action wrapped up with KES and Rondebosch sharing the spoils in a six-goal thriller.

There will be no action on Good Friday. The festival resumes on Saturday morning with a mouthwatering contest between Parktown and Grey College.

RESULTS

Hoërskool Eldoraigne 1-4 Parktown, St John’s 1-1 Queen’s, Waterkloof 1-4 Jeppe, KES 3-3 Rondebosch

FIXTURES

Saturday

Weinberg Astro

07:30 – Grey College vs Parktown, 08:40 – Selborne College vs St Charles College, 09:50 – Jeppe vs Kearsney, 13:00 – Maritzburg College vs Waterkloof, 14:10 – Grey College vs Rondebosch, 15:20 – Jeppe vs Hoërskool Eldoraigne, 16:30 – Selborne vs Northwood, 17:20 – KES vs Kearsney, 18:30 – St Charles vs Queen’s

St John’s College Astro

07:30 – Maritzburg College vs Queen’s, 08:40 – St John’s vs Northwood, 17:20 – St John’s vs Waterkloof

Sunday

Weinberg Astro

07:30 – Jeppe vs St Charles, 08:40 – Selborne vs Parktown, 09:50 – KES vs Northwood, 11:00 – Grey College vs Hoëskool Eldoraigne, 13:00 – St John’s vs St Charles, 14:10 – Maritzburg College vs Parktown, 15:20 – Northwood vs Rondebosch, 16:30 – KES vs Hoëskool Eldoraigne, 17:20 – Grey College vs Kearsney

St John’s Astro

07:30 – Maritzburg College vs Rondebosch, 08:40 – Waterkloof vs Queens, 13:00 – Selborne vs Kearsney

Monday

Weinberg Astro

07:30 – Selborne vs Hoëskool Eldoraigne, 08:40 – KES vs Queens, 09:50 – Waterkloof vs Northwood, 11:00 – Jeppe vs Rondebosch, 12:10 – St John’s vs Kearsney, 13:20 – Maritzburg College vs Grey College, 14:30 – Parktown vs St Charles

 

Helpmekaar Kollege will be relieved after bagging a comfortable 47-7 victory over Diamantveld of Kimberley in the main match on the opening day of the annual St Stithians College Easter Festival in Johannesburg.

It was a much-needed victory for the team from Johannesburg and a confidence boost after they suffered defeats against Voortrekker of Bethlehem (19-20) and Oakdale Landbou (22-41) during the NMI Toyota Noord/Suid Tournament in Pretoria.

The defeat against the Trekkers would’ve hurt more as two of Helpies’ coaching staff, Christiaan Gouws and RJ Liebenberg, both have strong ties to the school from Bethlehem.

Liebenberg captained the Trekkers in 2009 while Gouws coached them to multiple Wesgrow Series‘ titles.

Helpies’ forwards were ready for a physical onslaught against Diamonds. They were clinical in the lineouts and the Diamonds had no answers for their rolling maul.

Hooker, Gustav Grotius, as well as tighthead prop, Ulrich van der Merwe, were outstanding. Grotius scored a brace of tries, while Van der Merwe caused the Diamonds’ defence trouble every time he decided to go off on one of his bullocking runs.

Flyhalf, Wian Storm, had his kicking boots on and converted six of his side’s seven tries.

Helpies’ next match is against St John’s College, of Harare. Head coach Dietlov Coetzee and his troops should be wary of the team from Zimbabwe.

St John’s secured an impressive 25-23 victory over Michaelhouse on the opening day. It was a closely contested match throughout, with the lead exchanging hands five times during the encounter.

The visitors from Zimbabwe enjoyed a narrow 5-3 advantage at the break, thanks to a try by their winger PK Manyakara. Michaelhouse’s flyhalf, Stefan Moolman, had his kicking boots on and converted both of his side’s tries and slotted three penalties.

Moolman had a chance to be a hero as he attempted a fourth penalty that would’ve sealed a victory for his side, but it was not to be. The final five minutes of the clash was a tense and exciting affair.

St John’s flyhalf, Tyde Stirrup, slotted a penalty to give his side a 16-15 lead with just more than five minutes to go. Michaelhouse never managed to get the lead back.

A minute later, winger Stefan Kruger scored, with Stirrup adding the extras, to stretch the Zimbabwean team’s lead to 25-16. With two minutes left on the clock, replacement hooker, Aphiwe Shelembe, stormed over the try line for Michaelhouse. Moolman converted, with just enough time left for another kick-off.

Marais Viljoen‘s flyhalf and captain, Recce Gerber, played a key role as his side shifted a gear in the second half to defeat Hartpury College of England 27-19. The team from Gloucestershire had led 19-14 at the break.

It was clear from the first-half performance by Hartpury College that their bigger pack of forwards would provide a serious challenge for the team from Alberton. Gerber, however, turned the visitors’ pack around for most of the second half, while his own pack of forwards also put their bodies on the line.

The flanker Lloyd Shoko-Schenk seemed to enjoy the physical battle. He troubled Hartpury College on the ground, as well as when he carried the ball.

Scorers: 

Helpmekaar 47 (21) – Tries: Gustav Grotius (2), Zaiden Krige, Pieter Möller, Ulrich van der Merwe, Tristan van Niekerk, Zander van der Westhuizen. Conversions: Wian Storm (6). Diamantveld 7 (7) – Try: Clinton Brits. Conversion: Simon Liversage.

St John’s College (Harare) 25 (5) – Tries: PK Manyakara, Sebastiaan du Toit, Stefan Kruger. Conversions: Tyde Stirrup (2). Penalties: Stirrup (2). Michaelhouse 23 (3) – Tries: Lwandle Nzama, Aphiwe Shelembe. Conversions: Stefan Moolman (2). Penalties: Moolman (3).

Marais Viljoen 27 (14) – Tries: Jonothan Morkel, Rynier Welgemoed, Lloyd Shoko-Schenk. Conversions: Recce Gerber (3). Penalties: Gerber (2). Hartpury College 19 (19) – Tries: Haydn Lewis, Jack Cotgreave, James Armstrong. Conversions: Max Brace (2).

Eight teams remain in the hunt to be crowned the champions after securing their places in the Cup quarterfinals of the Belgotex Sport Easter Hockey Festival in the southern suburbs of Cape Town on Thursday.

After a blistering start to the tournament, which saw over 100 goals scored in the boys’ section on Wednesday, the action intensified on day two, and rightfully so, with playoff spots on the line.

The teams that finished first in their respective pools will play for the Cup. Those teams that finished in second place in their pools will battle it out for the Plate, while third place teams will move on to the Shield, with the fourth and fifth placed sides contesting the Bowl.

On Wednesday, the opening day, Somerset College, Paarl Gimnasium, Worcester Gymnasium and Fairmont High were among the standout teams, and they continued their dominance on Thursday.

They all booked their places in the last eight and were joined by Private School Swakopmund, Outeniqua, Stellenberg, and York High.

Somerset, led by Coach Mick Ouwerkerk, will face their toughest challenge yet when they play Paarl Gim in the quarterfinals.

They cemented the top spot in Pool D by beating Makhanda’s Kingswood College, and Windhoek Gymnasium.

Against Kingswood, they claimed a 2-1 win, with the goals coming from the sticks of Michael Du Toit and Connor Hendriks.

In their second encounter, they netted four times against Windhoek Gymnasium. Du Toit was back on the score sheet with a brace, while Luke Limbert and Matthew Sutherland also struck.

Last year’s champions, Paarl Gim, stayed unbeaten as their quest to defend their title remained on track.

They delivered spirited performances against Hoërskool Punt (4-1) and St George’s Diocesan School (5-0) to comfortably take the honours in Pool C.

Just as they had done on Wednesday, both Stefan Wiehahn and Neil De Wet netted for the Stellenbosch outfit, with Wiehahn getting on the board against St George’s and De Wet scoring against Punt.

There was joy for Stellenberg High School, which also ended the pool stages undefeated. Coach Kyle Esau’s side scored a whopping 11 goals in their two matches on day two.

After a 1-0 win over Paarl Boys’ High on Wednesday, they began day two with a 5-0 drubbing of Redhill, and then thumped Hoërskool Robertson 6-0.

Myburgh Wessels scored a hattrick against Robertson, while Jacques Van Dyk added a double and Charl Van Niekerk made it half-a-dozen for Stellies.

Fairmont High School and Worcester Gymnasium will also be high in confidence after delivering strong performances during the round-robin stages. They’ll take on Stellenberg and York High respectively in the quarterfinals. Outeniqua will face Namibia’s Private School Swakopmund for a place in the semi-finals.

SACS, St John’s College (Harare), Namibia’s St George’s Diocesan School and Kingswood College will all contest the Plate quarterfinals.

The other Plate quarterfinals see Hudson Park facing Durbanville and Paarl Boys’ High battling Windhoek High.

DF Malan will tackle Stirling High in the Shield quarterfinals, with Woodridge College up against Northcliff High in the Super Bowl quarterfinals.

On Friday, at the Hartleyvale A Astroturf, the action starts at 09:10, when SACS plays St John’s College.

The Cup quarterfinals will be contested on the Hartleyvale A and B Astros, from 12:40, with the semi-finals to follow later in the day.

All the action will be LIVE on SuperSport Schools.

RESULTS

Pool A
Hugenote 1-0 Stirling High
SACS Invitational 3-0 Middelburg
Private School Swakopmund 2-1 Hugenote
SACS Invitational 3-3 Private School Swakopmund

Pool B
Bridge House 1-1 Outeniqua
Bridge House 2-0 Pro-Ed Akademie
Outeniqua 1-0 St John’s College
DF Malan 1-1 Pro-Ed Akademie
DF Malan 1-0 St John’s College

Pool C
Paarl Gimnasium 4-1 Hoërskool Punt
Belville High 0-0 Hoërskool Nelspruit
Paarl Gimnasium 5-0 St George’s Diocesan School
Hoërskool Punt 1-2 Hoërskool Nelspruit
Belville High 1-3 St George’s Diocesan School

Pool D
Somerset College 2-1 Kingswood College
Hoërskool Rustenburg 3-0 The Settlers
Somerset College 4-0 Windhoek Gymnasium
The Settlers 0-2 Windhoek Gymnasium
Kingswood College 2-0 Hoërskool Rustenburg

Pool E
Stellenbosch High 2-0 Oudtshoorn
Fairmont High 3-0 Monument High
Windhoek High School 3-0 Stellenbosch High
Fairmont High 0-0 Windhoek High School
Monument High 3-1 Oudtshoorn

Pool F
Paarl Boys High 2-0 Langenhoven Gimnasium
Stellenberg 5-0 Redhill
Paarl Boys High 2-0 Hoërskool Robertson
Stellenberg 6-0 Hoërskool Robertson
Langenhoven Gimnasium 3-2 Redhill

Pool G
Worcester Gymnasium 5-2 Hudson Park
Northcliff High 2-0 Curro Durbanville
Worcester Gymnasium 3-0 Hoërskool Swartland
Curro Durbanville 2-0 Hoërskool Swartland
Hudson 2-1 Northcliff

Pool H
York High 2-1 Strand High
Durbanville 3-0 Woodridge College
York 2-1 Woodridge
Durbanville 4-0Hermanus
Strand 1-1 Hermanus

Fixtures on the Hartleyvale A Astro

Friday, 29 March 

09:10 – SACS vs St John’s College (Boys); 12:40 – Outeniqua vs Private School Swakopmund; 15:00 – Fairmont vs Stellenberg; 17:20 – Semi-final 1 (Boys); 19:40 – Semi-final 2 (Boys).

Saturday, 30 March 

08:00 – Super Bowl Final (Girls); 09:10 – Super Bowl Final (Boys); 10:20 – Shield Final (Girls); 11:30 – Shield Final (Boys); 12:40 – Plate Final (Girls); 13:50 – Plate Final (Boys); 15:00 – 3^rd/4^th place-playoff (Girls); 16:10 – 3^rd/4^th place-playoff (Boys); 17:20 – Final (Girls); 18:30 – Final (Boys); 19:40 – Prize Giving

 

Some classy free-flowing rugby played in the wet elevated Rondebosch Boys’ High School to a convincing 31-10 win over Westville Boys’ High in the final game of day one of the Kearsney College Easter Festival.

Playing in constant drizzle and misty conditions on Stott Field, Rondebosch displayed superior tactical awareness and execution to claim a comfortable victory in what might otherwise have been a very tight game. Westville had their moments but were simply unable to match the sharp skills of their opponents on the day.

An Unathi Mlotshwa penalty got WBHS off the mark, but it wasn’t long before the Western Cape side hit back, with a sparkling line-break and offload by Alutha Wesi putting Ewan Lawrie away and under the sticks.

Randall John Davids scored another for the festival debutants, who seemed to be able to break the Westville defensive line at will, before David Simon, who shone at flyhalf, slotted a penalty to extend the lead.

Zekhethelo Siyaya showed off his great finishing ability to dot the ball down in-goal and haul Westville back to within seven at the break, but the writing was on the wall.

As conditions continued to deteriorate in the second half, Rondebosch assumed full control of the contest and never really looked like missing out on the win.

Converted tries by Travis van den Berg and Caleb Belelie were the only scores after the break, as Rondebosch eased home.

Hoërskool Framesby condemned Kearsney College to an 18-17 defeat in the fifth game on Thursday.

In another classic KERF arm wrestle, the Eastern Cape school outlasted the tournament hosts to get their festival campaign up and running in the best possible fashion.

For Kearsney, the result dashed their hopes of finishing unbeaten and they’ll need some massive improvements going forward to compete with Rondebosch and EG Jansen on the next two matchdays.

They started brightly enough, with a break down the right touchline ending in a score for Valentino Lenge, but the Gqeberha-based side hit back quickly through Cole Hilpert.

The driving maul was again the cornerstone of the Framesby approach, and through it they manufactured a penalty attempt for Logan Muller, which he duly slotted, to nudge his side ahead.

As defensively organised as Kearsney were in consistently thwarting waves of Framesby attacks, they found themselves helpless when an efficient quick-tap maul from the boys in red and blue got them their second try through No 8 Johan van Zyl.

Kearsney, however, came storming back, and when Lenge grabbed his second to reduce the deficit to 14-15 with just 15 minutes remaining, the intensity of both outfits went up a notch.

Daniel Eagar then put Kearsney two points clear, but Muller knocked over another penalty and Framesby held on for the win.

Scorers

Rondebosch Boys’ High 31 (17) – Tries: Ewan Lawrie, Randall Davids, Travis van den Berg, Caleb Belelie. Conversions: David Simon (4). Penalty: David Simon. Westville Boys’ High 10 (10) – Try: Unathi Mlotshwa. Conversion: Unathi Mlotshwa. Penalty: Unathi Mlotshwa.

Framesby 18 (8) – Tries: Cole Hilpert, Johan van Zyl. Conversion: Logan Muller. Penalties: Muller (2). Kearsney College 17 (7) – Tries: Valentino Lenge. Conversions: Daniel Eagar (2). Penalty: Eagar.

 

The Hilton College hammer came down with force on day one of the St John’s Easter Rugby Festival as the team from the KZN Midlands slammed St Benedict’s College 57-0.

Relive all the action on SuperSport Schools. Link to the games.

Hilton enjoyed the upper hand up front, as well as at the back, in Thursday’s game. They’re a well-coached unit.

St Benedict’s, however, looked like deer caught in headlights after Hilton’s speedster on the left wing, Requilme Adonis, opened the scoring with less than three minutes on the clock.

Their forwards enjoyed their day out, steamrolling over their opposition with powerful runs. That laid a solid platform for their backs to throw the ball around and express themselves.

Adonis visited behind the St Benedict’s try line twice more to complete the first hattrick of tries at the 2024 St John’s Easter Festival.

Right-wing Khamzimla Makali, outside centre Sebastian Gabareau, and flyhalf Xola Makongole all followed suit, going over for tries.

Khanya Jekwa, Hilton’s loosehead prop, made sure it wasn’t the speed merchants alone who enjoyed themselves. He broke through and, in a manner reminiscent of Bryan Habana, dived over the try line to add five points to his side’s tally.

SACS started quite slowly in their 31-7 victory over Graeme College. But, after their first try came from lock Pierre van Selm, the side from Cape Town put its foot down to add another four tries.

Reserve prop, Callum Hirst, proved his value, not just by crossing the whitewash but by putting in a massive shift on attack and defence.

The SACS’ centre pair, Endie Sindile (inside centre) and Matthew Carrick (outside centre), made full use of the platform laid by Hirst and the rest of the forward pack. Both ran outstanding attacking lines to get their team onto the front foot, and both crossed for five-pointers.

Scorers

SACS 31 (12) – Tries: Pierre van Selm, Endie Sindile, Callum Hirst, Matthew Carrick, Daniel Grant. Conversions: Rayaan Solomons (3). Graeme College 7 (7) – Try: Avu Helesi. Conversion: Marcus Williams.

Hilton College 57 (29) – Tries: Requilme Adonis (3), Khanya Jekwa, Trent Chubb, Khazimla Makali, Xola Makongolo, Emmanuel Dankwah, Sebastian Gaboreau. Conversions: Makongolo (3), Liyema Nela (3). St Benedict’s College 0 (0).

 

Hoërskool Nelspruit fought their way back from a 21-point deficit to beat Voortrekker 31-21 on Thursday at the 27th St John’s Easter Rugby Festival.

Relive all the action on SuperSport Schools. Link to the games.

A brace of tries from the Nellies’ outside centre, Ian Wood, started the fightback. Vaughn van Zyl, the side’s 8th-man, then capped off an exceptional passage of play to cross the whitewash for Nelspruit’s third try in the space of only six minutes.

Voortrekker started like a house on fire, scoring their first three tries within 15 minutes of the opening whistle. Lock Luttig Roux burst through like an inside centre to run in their first try. His second-row partner, Tristan Meyer, did the same, just a few minutes later.

However, it was 8th-man Dawie Fourie and tighthead prop, Cecil Parsons, who laid down the law. They dominated in the opening moments, putting in some breathtaking hits. They also impressed with robust runs, which carried their side well over the advantage line.

In strange fashion, the game swung completely, from a fest of running rugby to both sides struggling to break the other’s defences. After 40 points in the first half, it took 18 minutes before the first points of the second half were scored by the Nellies’ speedster on the left wing, Tinyiko Silubane, who went over for five points.

Jordan Pretorius, his counterpart on the opposite wing, struck the final blow, dotting down in the dying moments of the match.

Nelspruit wasn’t the only team to stage a dramatic come-from-behind victory. The visitors from Zimbabwe, Falcon College, scored 27 points in the second half to down St David’s Marist Inanda 30-19. The Johannesburg school had been 14-3 ahead at the break.

Things changed quickly after Falcon’s blindside flank, Scott Wenham, crossed the whitewash. Left wing, Zane Sibanda and fullback, Tafadza Tigere, followed suit soon after. Tigere was also good from the kicking tee, slotting two penalties and two conversions.

St David’s left wing, Kuzivahwashe Majuru, rounded off a well-worked move, crossing the line just before the final whistle, to grab a nice consolation try for his side.

Noordheuwel ran in an impressive eight tries in their 52-0 victory over the Golden Lions Invitational XV. Scrumhalf Gideon Diedericks and replacement wing Ignatius Jantjies contributed a brace each. Norries’ hooker Brendan Naudé also crossed the whitewash at the back of a driving maul.

Twinkle-toed left-wing Lindsey Jansen had opened his side’s account with a great run down the touchline.

Scorers

Falcon College 30 (19) – Tries: Scott Wenham, Zane Sibanda, Tafadza Tigere. Conversions: Tigere (2). Penalties: Tigere (2). St David’s Marist 19 (14) – Tries: Daniel Fellingham, Jack Brady, Kuzivahwashe Majuru. Conversions: Diego Ferreira (2)

Hoërskool Nelspruit 31 (19) – Tries: Ian Wood (2), Vaughn van Zyl, Tinyiko Silubane, Jordan Pretorius. Conversions: Divan de Kock (2), D’Angelo Roberts. Voortrekker 21 (21) – Tries: Luttig Roux, Tristan Meyer, Wian Fourie. Conversions: Christiaan van der Sandt (3).

Noordheuwel 52 (21) – Tries: Gideon Diedericks (2), Ighnatius Jantjies (2) Lindsey Jansen, Jade Muller, Brendan Naude, Mpho Madisaotsile. Conversions: Jeandre Uithaler (6). Golden Lions XV 0 (0)

The King Edward VII “Red Army” is ready to defend their home turf at the 20th annual Standard Bank KES Easter Festival this weekend.

This year’s event takes place over two days, with the first round of matches being played on Saturday.

Catch every moment live on SuperSport Schools – Register now – Link to the event

The hosts take on the mighty Paarl Boys’ High in their first outing. Then, they face Bishops Diocesan College on Monday, in the last match of the festival.

With a healthy mix of veteran players and young talent, the KES team is aiming high this season.

They’ve already achieved a victory over an impressive Noordheuwel side but fell short last week against Grey College at the NMI Toyota North/South Tournament, going down 16-51. They’ll be eager to put that performance behind them, though, and enjoy the backing of their home crowd.

Boishaai regularly ranks among the best 1st XVs in South Africa, and this year’s squad has made an impressive start to the season, with wins over Garsfontein (38-36) and Jeppe (45-19) at last week’s North/South Tournament.

Before that, they also turned the tables on Hoërskool Durbanville, thumping them by 73-7 to put last year’s shock defeat to bed.

When they met the Red Army in the finale of last year’s KES Festival, they had to pull out all the stops to nab a narrow 10-8 victory after going into halftime with no points on the board.

With Boishaai stamping their authority on every team that has challenged them so far this season, KES will know they have to prepare for a battle on Saturday.

Bishops will make for an equally compelling challenge on Monday. The Cape Town school celebrates its 175th year this season and showed immense character to bounce back from a loss against Michaelhouse at their Bishops 175 Festival to dramatically edge out St Andrew’s College by a single point in their most recent game.

Monday’s match will be the first time the schools have met in nine years. In that previous clash, at Jeppe’s 125th Festival in 2015, a star-studded Bishops team recorded a 33-15 victory.

Andre Manuel‘s hat-trick was supported by a try apiece by Tristan Leyds and Seb Prentice, with Cornel Smit converting all but one of the five-pointers.

Jeppe, of course, were on cloud nine after their momentous win over Grey College at last weekend’s event. They take on Queen’s College in the penultimate match on Saturday, before squaring off against Brandwag on Monday.

Brandwag begin their campaign at the festival against the visitors from Durban, Northwood, on Saturday.

Ben Vorster and Hoërskool Eldoraigne, who play against each other on the first day, haven’t met on a rugby field since 2019 when the squad from Tzaneen lifted the “Virseker Beker” after a heart-stopping 37-36 victory over Eldos.

The KES Easter Festival was first played in 2002, and it was planned to be a one-time occurrence. Since then, however, it has grown into one of the country’s most prestigious festivals. This year, for a first time, the event takes place over only two days.

That change was made by the hosts, who said their goal was to make the festival one that is focused on sportsmanship, camaraderie and development.

On Thursday, ahead of Saturday’s action, the KES and Jeppe 1st teams did their bit for the development of rugby, helping to coach 60 u16 girls and 92 u13 boys from various local clubs.

FIXTURES

Saturday, 30 April

08:00 – Hudson Park vs Parktown Boys’ High; 09:15 – Northwood vs Brandwag; 10:30 – Bishops Diocesan College vs Dale College; 11:45 – Ben Vorster vs Hoërskool Eldoraigne, 13:00 – Pretoria Boys High vs Selborne College; 14:15 – Queen’s College vs Jeppe; 15:30 – King Edward VII vs Paarl Boys’ High.

Monday, 1 April

08:00 – Hoërskool Ben Vorster vs Queen’s College; 09:15 – Paarl Boys’ High vs Pretoria Boys High; 10:30 – Northwood vs Hudson Park; 11:45 – Hoërskool Eldoraigne vs Selborne College; 13:00 – Dale College vs Parktown Boys’ High; 14:15 – Jeppe vs Brandwag; 15:30 – King Edward VII vs Bishops Diocesan College.

 

Durban High School’s three converted tries were enough to see off a determined Hoërskool Nico Malan outfit 21-0 in game four of the opening day.

The much-vaunted KZN side lived up to their billing, bouncing back well from their defeat to Rondebosch last week, to deliver a skillful and physical display here. With matches against Hoërskool Rustenburg and Pearson High School still to come, Peter Engledow’s charges will be eyeing a 100% record.

Nico Malan was industrious on offence, showing a real willingness to swing the ball around, but just couldn’t live with the size and strength of their opposite numbers for the full 60 minutes.

DHS skipper Muhle Sithole rumbled his way over from the back of a driving maul to open the scoring, before Adriano Jackson added his side’s second, with a well-worked finish in the left-hand corner.

To their credit, the Bloutrui refused to fade, throwing several counter-punches DHS’ way. Their defensive bravery also stopped the DHS attack on numerous occasions but ultimately they didn’t have enough in the arsenal to unlock the DHS defensive system.

A late try by flyhalf Aka Boqwana was the last play of the game, as the Durbanites cantered home in the end.

Glenwood High School took their chances when they mattered most to see off Hoër Landbouskool Marlow 14-6 in a low-scoring affair in the third game of Day 1.

Having won all three of their festival games last year, the Green Machine, playing in red, were eyeing the perfect start to this year’s event. As it happened, they got what they were looking for by making good on the few chances that came their way.

In what was a proper game of attrition, it was Marlow who looked sharper out the gate, putting Glenwood under real pressure early on. They couldn’t capitalise on that ascendency however, with two attempted Gideon Jordaan penalties going wide of the mark to let the KZN side off the hook.

The Cradock boys were made to rue those missed opportunities a few moments later when Leo Weber nailed a three-pointer of his own to give Glenwood the lead.

Despite their slender advantage, Derek Heiberg’s side slowly began to assume control of the tempo, with the 3-0 half-time scoreline not an accurate reflection of their dominance.

Marlow was better in the second half, but another Weber penalty extended the Glenwood lead before the Eastern Cape side were rewarded for their staying power when Jordaan came right with his third attempt at goal.

Unfortunately for them, a rare lapse in defensive concentration allowed Glenwood flyhalf Kungawo Ncamazana through to score in the defining play of the game.

Jordaan and Weber traded penalties thereafter, but Glenwood hung on for the win.

Scorers:

Durban High School 21 (14) – Tries: Mahle Sithole, Aka Boqwana, Adriano Jackson. Conversions: Boqwana (3). Nico Malan 0.

Glenwood 14 (3) – Try: Kungawo Ncamazana. Penalties: Leo Weber (3). Marlow Landbou 6 (0) – Penalties: Gideon Jordaan (2).

Scorers:

Falcon College 30 (19) – Tries: Scott Wenham, Zane Sibanda, Tafadza Tigere. Conversions: Tigere (2). Penalties: Tigere (2). St David’s Marist 19 (14) – Tries: Daniel Fellingham, Jack Brady, Kuzivahwashe Majuru. Conversions: Diego Ferreira (2)

Hoërskool Nelspruit 31 (19) – Tries: Ian Wood (2), Vaughn van Zyl, Tinyiko Silubane, Jordan Pretorius. Conversions: Divan de Kock (2), D’Angelo Roberts. Voortrekker 21 (21) – Tries: Luttig Roux, Tristan Meyer, Wian Fourie. Conversions: Christiaan van der Sandt (3).

Noordheuwel 52 (21) – Tries: Gideon Diedericks (2), Ighnatius Jantjies (2) Lindsey Jansen, Jade Muller, Brendan Naude, Mpho Madisaotsile. Conversions: Jeandre Uithaler (6). Golden Lions XV 0 (0)

SACS 31 (12) – Tries: Pierre van Selm, Endie Sindile, Callum Hirst, Matthew Carrick, Daniel Grant. Conversions: Rayaan Solomons (3). Graeme College 7 (7) – Try: Avu Helesi. Conversion: Marcus Williams.

Hilton College 57 (29) – Tries: Requilme Adonis (3), Khanya Jekwa, Trent Chubb, Khazimla Makali, Xola Makongolo, Emmanuel Dankwah, Sebastian Gaboreau. Conversions: Makongolo (3), Liyema Nela (3). St Benedict’s College 0 (0).

Boland Landbou 32 (17) – Tries: Jayden Brits, Xavier Vorster, Enslin Claasen, Hans Verster. Conversions: Retagon van Rooi (3). Penalty Van Rooi. Maritzburg College 17 (5) – Tries: Phiwayikosi Hubheka, Luyanda Kunene, Struan Oosthuizen. Conversion: James Salvin.

St John’s College 17 (17) – Tries: Joe MacRobert, Kyle Watson. Conversions: Bryson Walker (2). Penalty: Walker. Kingswood College 17 (3) – Tries: Likhona Kepe, Vizi Labase. Conversions: Praise Matsila (2). Penalty: Matsila.