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Talle nuwe rekords staan nou langs die naam van Rumé Burger, nadat sy die afgelope paar maande die baan aan die brand gehardloop het.

Die 16-jarige van die C&N Sekondêre Meisieskool Oranje in Bloemfontein het die 100 m by die Grey/OMS-byeenkoms in Oktober oorheers en ‘n indrukwekkende 11.79 sekondes behaal. Met daardie vertoning het sy nie alleen die Olimpiese atleet, Justine Palframan, se vorige rekord van 11.89, wat in 2009 opgestel is, uit die boeke gevee nie, maar was dit ook ‘n persoonlike beste vir Rumé.

Daarbenewens het sy 1 000 punte vir haar skool in die 200 m verdien en is sy as Senior Victrix Ludorum en Beste Baanatleet van die byeenkoms vereer.

In September het Rumé die eerste plek in beide die 100 m en 200 m in die o.17-naellope behaal, wat in die proses nuwe byeenkomsrekords opgestel het. Sy is ook aangewys as die Senior Victrix Ludorum vir baanatlete by die Noord/Suid-byeenkoms in die Paarl. Onlangs, by die NWU Top-30-byeenkoms in Potchefstroom, het sy die Senior Victrix Ludorum-titel onder 3 200 atlete weggeraap.

Rumé is ook vroeër vanjaar by die Curro Podium Top-14-byeenkoms as Pretoria se beste senior baanatleet erken, nadat sy haar persoonlike rekords in die 100 m (11.98) en 200 m (24.07) verbeter het. Tydens die Vrystaatse hoërskole-atletiekkampioenskap in Bloemfontein het sy vier rekords oor vier wedlope, insluitende twee naellope en twee aflosse, laat spat.

Rumé het die jarelange o.16 meisies se 100 m rekord van 12.02 verbeter in ‘n tyd van 11.92, terwyl sy ook die 200 m-rekord van 25.12, wat in 2016 opgestel, is na ‘n indrukwekkende 23.99 verbeter het. In die o.16 100 m-aflos het sy met Roné Strydom, Carli Uys en Danyelle Pienaar saamgespan om die 2016 Vrystaatse rekord van 50.90 na 49.84 af te bring.

Voorts het Rumé bygedra tot die o.19 1 000 m-aflosspan se verbetering van die Oranje-rekord van 2:19.48 in 2022 tot 2:16.99.

Rumé is van kleins af lief vir atletiek en het haar reis op die ouderdom van sewe begin. Sy het egter eers haar besonderse talent ontdek tydens ‘n speelse jaagtog met haar pa, die voormalige Cheetahs-rugbyspeler, Philip Burger. Sy het eers op die ouderdom van 13 ernstig begin oefen en, onder die wakende oog van hulpafrigter Elinda Vorster, haar volle potensiaal ontwikkel.

Ten spyte daarvan dat Rumé sedert die ouderdom van 10 voortdurend die eindronde by die Suid-Afrikaanse Kampioenskap gehaal het, het sy haar eerste medalje – ‘n silwer in die 200 m – eers in 2023, ná vyf jaar se geswoeg, verower.

Haar loopbaan was ook nie sonder terugslae nie. By vanjaar se SA Kampioenskap, nadat sy tweede in die 100 m geëindig het, het sy ‘n besering opgedoen ná die 200 meter semi-finaal, wat haar verhinder het om voort te gaan in die kompetisie.

“Dit was vir ’n groot teleurstelling,” erken sy.

Atletiek hou Rumé nie net fiks en gesond nie, maar kweek ook ‘n gevoel van trots en prestasie.

“’n Mens raak verslaaf aan die adrenalien van ’n groot byeenkoms en die vervulling wat daarop volg,” sê sy. “Dit help my ook om doelwitte en teikens te stel, en die trots wat ek voel wanneer ek dit bereik is ongeëwenaard.”

Rumé erken dat die grootste uitdagings dikwels op moeilike dae of tydens oefensessies in uiterste weerstoestande ontstaan, wat tot beserings kan lei.

“Ek dink nie mense verstaan ​​ten volle die opofferings wat betrokke is nie; soms oefen ek tot ses dae per week.”

Haar uiteindelike droom is om in 2028 aan die Olimpiese Spele en in 2026 aan die Wêreldkampioenskap deel te neem. Rumé is vir eers egter op die komende seisoen gefokus.

“Ek vertrou op Jesus vir ‘n beseringsvrye seisoen sodat ek my tye verder kan verbeter om vir senior kampioenskappe te kwalifiseer.”

The 2023 Saints Invitational Tournament champion, South African College High School (SACS), remains hopeful after winning one and losing one game on  Thursday, the first day of the 2024 tournament, at the St Stithians Aquatic Centre.

The Cape Town school, which has won the event for three consecutive years, held off Jeppe High School for Boys 13-10 in a tough opener.

Jeppe hit their straps quickly and charged into a 4-0 lead, but SACS clawed their way back, pulling to within two goals at 5-7 down at the break. SACS‘ coach Devon Card admitted afterwards, his side had met a well-prepared and tough Jeppe.

“Day one was good. It’s always tough to make the trip up with the altitude, and having your first game at 07:h00 in the morning. We met an energised Jeppe team, who came flying out the blocks and we found ourselves 4-0 behind early,” he told SuperSport Schools Plus

However, in the second half Card’s charges took their chances and were rewarded with victory.

“We managed to switch on eventually and found our way to a 13-10 win,” Card said, “so, we are happy that we ticked the box and we were able to move on from that.”

In their second outing, SACS ran into a stubborn Hilton College side and were edged out in a back-and-forth contest.

“We came up against, on paper, one of the better teams at the tournaments,” Card reckoned. “It was a closely contested game and we ended up losing 7-6, but we took a lot of confidence out of that game.

“Our stats say we missed 15 shots, two penalties, and two man-ups. So, we created a lot of chances. Unfortunately, at the first-team level, if you do not take your chances, it is very difficult to win the game. We are, obviously, disappointed with the last game but it gives us encouragement that we can once again challenge those top teams.”

Last year’s beaten finalists, St John’s College, bagged full points, brushing aside their neighbours, King Edward VII School (KES), 11-6 before being extended by Michaelhouse, whom they beat 6-5.

Jeppe made up for their earlier disappointment with a comfortable 12-5 win over Pretoria Boys High.

There were some very tight contests, including St Andrew’s College sneaking a 7-6 win over Grey High, Kearsney College beating  Hilton 7-5 in a game that could prove to be very consequential if Kearsney can score a win over SACS, while St Andrew’s had a second close victory, beating Affies 6-4.

Meanwhile, in the girls’ competition, there were some large wins on the opening day. Roedean School cruised to two victories, downing Kingsmead 10-1, which they followed with a 10-4 defeat of St Mary’s Waverley.

The host, St Stithians College, made light work of Zimbabwe’s Chisipite Senior School, running away to a 12-2 win after opening their challenge with an 11-5 defeat of Kingswood College.

It was a nightmarish day for Rand Park. Kingsmead College hammered them 16-0 in their opener, and later in the day Diocesan School for Girls (DSG) Makhanda handed them a bigger 18-0 loss. DSG also punished St Peter’s College 15 -4.

St Dominic’s Catholic School for Girls (Boksburg) kept St Peter’s winless, posting a 9-1 win.

One of the most eye-catching results of the day was Durban Girls’ College‘s (DGC) 8-4 win over Reddam House Constantia. The Cape Town school, this term, has already won the MacKenzie Cup, which they claimed with a win over the Saints Invitational defending champions, Herschel, and the St Anne’s Water Polo Tournament, so that was a momentous victory for the Durban girls.

Herschel outplayed Crawford Lonehill 16-0 but had to work hard for a 7-4 win over Kingswood.

SAINTS FESTIVAL RESULTS

Boys

St Andrew’s College 7-6 Grey High; St John’s 11-6 KES; SACS 13-10 Jeppe; St David’s 10-8 St Alban’s; Rondebosch 10-2 Affies; Bishops 14-6 Michaelhouse; Kearsney 7-5 Hilton; St Stithians 16-3 Grey College; DHS 8-6 Grey High; KES 10-4 Pearson; Jeppe 12-5 Pretoria Boys High; Reddam Constantia 7-6 St Alban’s; St Andrew’s College 6-4 Affies; St John’s 6-5 Michaelhouse; Hilton 7-6 SACS; St David’s 11-5 Grey College; Rondebosch 9-4 DHS.

Girls

Roedean 10-1 Kingsmead; DGC 8-4 Reddam Constantia; Clarendon 5-4 Beaulieu; Herschel 16-0 Crawford Lonehill; DSG Makhanda 4-3 St Mary’s Waverley; St Dominic’s 8-1 Collegiate; Reddam Bedfordview 8-5 St Anne’s; St Stithians 11-5 Kingswood; Kingsmead 16-0 Rand Park; DSG Makhanda 15-4 St Peter’s; Beaulieu 3-3 Pearson; Crawford 4-5 Chisipite; Roedean 10–4 St Mary’s Waverley; Reddam Constantia 7-5 Collegiate; Clarendon 3-7 St Anne’s; Herschel 7-4 Kingswood; DSG Makhanda 18-0 Rand Park; St Dominic’s 9 -1 St Peter’s; Reddam Bedfordview 4=0 Pearson; St Stithians 12- 2 Chisipite.

Cornwall Hill College became the first team to qualify for the semi-finals of the Titans’ Schools SA20 competition on Thursday.

Relive all the action on SuperSport Schools – (www.supersportschools.com)

A 55-run partnership between Ab Rasool and Michael Blignaut on home soil was enough to steer Cornwall Hill to a comprehensive six-wicket victory over St Alban’s College in their quarter-final clash.

Chasing a low target of only 109, the side from Centurion lost two early wickets to St Alban’s captain Liam Basch, who delivered an economical spell of 2/16.

Rasool, one of Cornwall’s top performers throughout the year, kept a calm head, however, occupying the crease expertly, to lead his side’s batting effort with 38 runs off of 25 balls.

Blignaut played an equally important innings, contributing crucial 28 runs, while Layton Pullen put the final nail in the coffin when he smashed four fours and one six in a 19-ball innings that brought him an unbeaten 31 and took the home side to victory.
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Cornwall Hill won the game in the field. They demonstrated the importance of high-intensity fielding, which yielded three run-outs that brilliantly backed up a good performance by their bowlers. Although they did not take many wickets, the pressure built up by tight bowling played a significant part in the miscommunications between the St Alban’s batsmen.

The visitor’s Kyle Block was, as always, a stalwart with the bat. His 38 runs, along with a 24-run contribution by Tiashin Naidoo, enabled the visitors to muster what might have appeared to be a defendable total. It would, unfortunately for them, prove to be not nearly enough as Cornwall Hill College raced to victory in only 14.1 overs.

Summarised scorecard:

St Alban’s College 108/7 (Kyle Block 38, Tashin Naidoo 24; Ethan Feris-Philander 1/11); Cornwall Hill College 110/4 (Ab Rasool 38, Layton Pullen 31*, Michael Blignaut 28; Liam Basch 2/16).

Cornwall Hill College won by six wickets.

Afrikaans Hoër Seunskool (Affies) smashed a mammoth 266 in their 20 overs to cruise past Atteridgeville Hub and book a place in the semi-finals of the Titans Schools SA20 competition.

Relive all the action on SuperSport Schools – (www.supersportschools.com)

Ruben Groenewald led an Affies’ batting onslaught in which almost every Affies’ batsman contributed to their big total.

The all-rounder showcased his batting prowess and power-hitting abilities in a short but hugely impactful stay at the crease. He needed only 27 deliveries to race to an astounding 92. His currency was boundaries and they included 10 sixes and five fours.

Opening batsman Henré Smith followed a similar approach, smashing 65 from just 39 balls, while Daniel Murray closed out the innings in superb fashion with a 15-ball 42. Vihan Pretorius continued his sterling season with a classy 37 runs.

In reply, Tshepang Laka got the visitors off to a good start, accumulating his side’s top score of 24 runs, but Affies’ Nico Loggerenberg had Atteridgville’s number. He sent down three overs, conceded a miserly four runs, and sent four batsman packing.

His contribution, well backed up by 2/11 in three overs from Jayden Beukes,  saw the visitors claw their way to a meagre 47/7, leaving Affies the winners by a massive 219-run margin.

Prestige College, from Hammanskraal, was equally impressive in their six-wicket victory over Laudium Hub. Enjoying home-ground advantage, Prestige kept their bowling tight, showing that there is still a place for line and length bowling in the shorter versions of the game.

The home side’s opening pair, Ditebogo Chauke (2/10) and Keamogetswe Semenya (2/19) snapped up four early wickets to have the visitors in heaps of trouble.

Saad Amir fought valiantly with a battling 28 runs, and he found much-needed support from Ahad Qasim, who tallied 21. Unfortunately, for Laudium, those were their only noteworthy contributions and, after 20 overs, they had only 81/6 on the scoreboard.

Defending a small total, they made early inroads into the Prestige College batting, with Ayaan Patel (1/22) claiming the big scalp of Lesedi Mabena with the third ball of the innings.

Omphile Maredi (32) and Thabang Kutumela (21), then, steadied Prestige’s reply with a 55-run partnership before they were dismissed by Laudium’s best bowler on the day, Areeb Qasim. Unfortunately for the Hub side, his return of 2/4  came too late as the damage had already been done.

The home side crossed the line off the last ball of the 13th over to record a convincing victory.

Summarised scorecards

Affies 266/5 (Ruben Groenewald 92, Henré Smith 65, Daniel Murray 42*, Vihan Pretorius 37; Bongani Mkwanazi 1/31); Atteridgeville Hub 47/7 (Tshepang Laka 24; Nico Loggerenberg 4/4, Jayden Beukes 2/11). Affies won by 219 runs.

Laudium Hub 81/6 (Saad Amir 28, Ahad Qasim 21; Ditebogo Chauke 2/10, Keamogetswe Semenya 2/19); Prestige College 84/4 (Omphile Maredi 32, Thabang Kutumela 21; Areeb Qasim 2/4). Prestige College won by six wickets.

Jason Rowles starred with the ball, while Roberto Mariano was solid with the bat for St David’s Marist Inanda as they claimed a two-wicket victory with two balls to spare over St Stithians in a low-scoring Schools SA20 tie at Wits University on Thursday.

Rowles snagged a four-wicket haul to play a key part in his side reducing Saints to 117/9, which justified captain Samrat Basu’s decision to bowl first after winning the toss.

Mariano scored an unbeaten run-a-ball 24 to see St David’s snatch the win when they reached 118/8 after 19.4 overs.

Coach Jeff Levin’s side will meet either HS Noordheuwel or HS Monument in the Lions region final. The Krugersdorp rivals cross swords on Friday afternoon.

When he was first introduced into the St David’s attack in the eighth over, Rowles delivered the most expensive over of the innings, leaking 15 runs after Thomas Rew took a liking to his bowling. The skipper Samrat Basu, then, allowed Rowles time to compose himself before reintroducing him into the attack three overs later.

Rowles repaid Basu’s faith in him by capturing two wickets in two deliveries to reduce St Stithians to 83/5. His third over was tidy and went for only three runs. However, Rowles was not yet done. In his final over, he repeated the two in two trick to finish with 4/27 from his four overs.

Kyle Butler unsettled the St Stithians’ batting lineup with his pace, on his way to two wickets for 25 runs from four overs. Hayden Campbell and Morteza Manack were the other wicket-takers with one each.

Ombesa Matsha and Thomas Rew valiantly fought for Saints and shared a 46-run second-wicket partnership. Unfortunately for Lazarus Mokoena’s charges, no one else continued the good work the duo had produced. Matsha top-scored with a run-a-ball 32, while Rew struck 31 in only 17 deliveries.

Mariano arrived at the crease in the 12th over, following a crucial run out of Morteza Manack by Cayden Sunker. St David’s required 61 runs from 52 balls. On a good batting pitch, everyone would expect St David’s to canter home. However, the pitch was slow and the boundaries huge, which meant that the match hung in the balance.

Mariano, though, took St David’s close to victory before Jared Stern, after joining him in the middle, smashed a game-changing six off the second ball he faced to turn the innings in St David’s favour. That big blast left St David’s chasing six off of six balls as the contest headed into the final over. Mariano and Stern ran a couple of twos and two singles to seal the victory.

Zaakir Hanslo was the pick of the St Stithians’ bowlers, snaring three wickets for 14 runs in four overs. Cayden Sunker, Tahseen Hanslo and Thomas Collins took a wicket each.

Summarised Scorecard

St Stithians 117/9 (Ombesa Matsha 32, Thomas Rew 31; Jason Rowles 4/27, Kyle Butler 2/25); St David’s 118/8 (Roberto Mariano 24*, Morteza Manack 23; Zaakir Hanslo 3/14, Cayden Sunker 1/27).

St David’s won by two wickets.

Noordheuwel has been on a good run of form, racking up victories, ahead of their Schools SA20 Lions region semifinal tie against Monument on Friday.

Etienne Janse van Rensburg‘s charges booked a spot in the semifinals thanks to a batting masterclass from Ethan Smith, who struck an imperious 179, which helped Noordheuwel to an emphatic 232-run victory over South Hub last week.

Monument, meanwhile, dealt with Queens High, winning by six wickets, to secure their spot.

Smith was to the fore again on Tuesday as Noordheuwel claimed a tight eight-run win over Jeppe High School for Boys. The opener top scored with an outstanding 41-ball 55 that featured four fours and three sixes. He also shared a 74-run opening stand with Tidimalo Moeketsane,  which was Noordheuwel’s highest partnership of the match.

Smith’s effort was complimented by JD Bezuidenhout, who bagged a sharp four wickets for 17 runs in four overs to prevent Jeppe from chasing down their total.

Noordheuwel successfully built on that victory by subjecting Northcliff to a nine-wicket defeat in front of the Noordheuwel faithful 24 hours later. Janse van Rensburg did not need Smith to see his side home, this time around. The coach moved the regular opener down the order, leaving Corné Botha to display his class with an unbeaten half-century to see his side to another win.

Botha stroked eight fours and blasted three sixes for his 65 off 39 deliveries. He also shared an unbroken 80-run second-wicket partnership with Brandon Pieters (30) as they chased down Northcliff’s low score of 121.

Botha’s outstanding all-rounder qualities were on show throughout the contest. Earlier in the day, he had bagged three wickets for 13 runs in two overs to send Northcliff reeling. His bowling effort was complimented by Marius Penning, who picked up three wickets for 37 runs in three overs. The other four bowlers – JJ Basson, JD Bezuidenhout, Gomolemo Sibi, and Sage Pretorius – claimed a wicket each.

Etienne Janse van Rensburg, Noordheuwel’s head of cricket, will be hoping that his side can continue its productive run of form in their tie against their Krugersdorp rivals, Monument.

Summarised Scorecards

Noordheuwel 139/5 (Ethan Smith 55, JJ Basson 22*; Sipho Potsane 2/25, Shreshth Kumar 2/28); Jeppe 131/8 (Tiago Almeida 40, Sipho Potsane 19; JD Bezuidenhout 4/17, JJ Basson 2/21). Noordheuwel won by eight runs.

Northcliff 121/10 (Alexander Wiest 35, Kyle Davis 33; Corné Botha 3/13, Marius Penning 3/37); Noordheuwel 125/1 (Corné Botha 65*, Brandon Pieters 30*; Alexander Wiest 1/25). Noordheuwel won by nine wickets.

Potchefstroom Volkskool claimed their sixth consecutive North West title on 16 October, doing it in some style by romping to an emphatic 10-wicket win over their neighbours Potchefstroom Gimnasium in the final.

Relive all the action on SuperSport Schools – (www.supersportschools.com)

The chaos began after Volkies’ opening bowler, Berno de Klerk claimed the wicket of the Gimmies’ captain, Tommie Botha, on the last ball of the fourth over.

De Klerk and fellow opening bowler Dian Liebenberg then proceeded to dismantle the visitor’s batting lineup as Gimmies crumbled to a mere 27 all out.

De Klerk bowled an impressive six-over spell. He sent down 36 deliveries, of which 31 were dot balls, on his way to a fine return of 3/13. The day, however, belonged to Liebenberg.

Bowling 48 dot balls in the 53 he delivered, the Volkies’ seamer piled on the pressure with his economical bowling, but it was the wickets’ column that stood out most. Potchefstroom Gimnasium had no answers to the challenge he posed. In 8.5 overs, Liebenberg captured a decisive 7/10, which utterly destroyed the Gimmies’ batting effort.

In stark contrast to the Gimnasium innings, the Volkskool batsmen made the pitch appear benign, knocking off the winning runs in no time at all. Requiring a paltry 28 to win, Diaan van der Merwe led the charge for Volkies.

He struck an unbeaten 18 from only 12 balls, which included two fours and a six. Louis van Wyk weighed in with two boundaries in his 11-run contribution as the Volkies rocketed to a one-sided victory in just 17 balls.

Summarised scorecard

Potchefstroom Gimnasium 27/10 (Extras 8; Dian Liebenberg 7/10, Berno de Klerk 3/13); Potchefstroom Volkskool 29/0 (Diaan van der Merwe 18*).

Potchefstroom Volkskool won by 10 wickets.

The annual Saints Water Polo Invitational, hosted by St. Stithians College, promises to be one of the highlights of the water polo calendar again this year.

Results | Day 1 

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Feature photo supplied by Debbi Adcock Photography

With the Schools SA20 reaching into all corners of South Africa, there were bound to be some mismatches, and so it proved when Kearsney College faced neighbouring Hillcrest High on Wednesday.

Kearsney’s lineup looked a little different with their matriculants no longer in action, but they had plenty of players with 1st XI experience and a good number who were recently named in Dolphins’ teams for national weeks at the end of the year.

Batting first, they got off to a good start, racing to 35 in the third over, but Jonty Wiggett was then caught by Marco Chessa off the bowling of Jaydon Chaythram for 11. That brought Keegan de Jager out into the middle to join Jason De Gryse and together they advanced the total to triple figures.

It took a run out to break their partnership. De Gryse was the unfortunate victim, having scored 46 from 23 balls, at a strike rate of 200, while putting on 69 from 31 deliveries with De Jager.

That run out led to a mini-collapse, with Hillcrest adding another two wickets in double-quick time to reduce Kearsney from 104/1 after 7.1 overs to 113/4 after 9.2.

De Jager, then, stepped up to take charge and shared a stand of 40 in four overs with Nicholas Munro, but the latter was responsible for only eight of those runs.

The number three batsman pressed on and received good support from Nic Comrie. Together they added 62 from 31 balls to take the total to 215/6 in the 19th over when Comrie was caught and bowled by Travis Whiteside for 36.

De Jager continued the onslaught and steered Kearsney to 243/6 from their 20 overs. He finished unbeaten on a superb 113 from 57 deliveries, which included 14 fours and two sixes.

Conor Lowe led the Hillcrest bowlers, returning 2/35 from four overs, but his economy rate of 8.8 per over was the best Hillcrest managed.

They stumbled out of the gate in their reply, with both openers, Brendan Franzel and Seth Surgeson, falling in the first two overs. That proved to be the start of an avalanche of wickets as Hillcrest’s batsmen arrived at the crease and quickly departed.

There was no destroyer-in-chief. In fact, no Kearsney bowler took more than two wickets, but all six bowlers employed enjoyed success.

Keegan de Jager added a return of 2/1 to his undefeated century, while Blake Pugh and Litha Gonya both claimed 2/4 from three overs. Opening bowler Jason De Gryse was, in the context of the Hillcrest innings, “expensive”, taking 2/9 in three, which underlines just how much Kearsney’s bowlers overwhelmed their opposition.

Dylan Jacobson and Lienan Sawyer shared the top score of seven, but Hillcrest’s innings also included five ducks and two batsmen dismissed for a single.

They were all out for only 26, leaving Kearsney the winners by a massive 217-run margin.

Summarised Scorecard

Kearsney College 243/6 (Keegan de Jager 113*, Jason De Gryse 46, Nic Comrie 36, Conor Lowe 2/35); Hillcrest High 26/10 (Keegan de Jager 2/1, Blake Pugh 2/4, Litha Gonya 2/4, Jason De Gryse 2/9).

Kearsney College won by 217 runs.

The annual Saints Water Polo Invitational, hosted by St. Stithians College, promises to be one of the highlights of the water polo calendar again this year.

The defending champions, Herschel Girls’ School from Cape Town, will start of their title defence against Crawford Lonehill of Johannesburg.

Results | Day 1

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Feature photo supplied by Debbi Adcock Photography