THE first match on the second day of the Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival started with a moment’s silence in honour of Blake Kerdachi, the Grade 11 Thomas More schoolboy who died after collapsing in the plane on their return from a rugby tour to Hong Kong.
The Festival wrapped up with two teams which remained unbeaten in the festival and the announcement of three players who each received bursaries to the Sharks Academy for 2017.
Valued at over R100 000 each, recipients are Glenwood prop, Renier van Rooyen, and two Dale College players, fullback, Aphelele Fassi, and centre, Sibulele Mbana. This includes a contract with the academy in 2017, accommodation and a tuition bursary with one of its education partners.
In announcing the awards, Etienne Fynn, managing director of the academy, said the standard of rugby this year had been excellent, as had come to be expected of the festival.
“Even though there were some high-scoring matches, this was more about the quality of play than that the teams had been mismatched,” Fynn said.
“We believe that a player who shines at school doesn’t necessarily have the attributes to play senior rugby, but we believe these three boys will meet those requirements.” He said there had been an excellent pool of talent on display in the festival this year.
At the end of the festival, two teams remained unbeaten: Selborne College from East London and Glenwood High School from Durban. Dale College went into the final day unbeaten but were overpowered with a score of 5-32 by Glenwood in their third-day clash. Host, Kearsney, was also unbeaten until Monday, but went down 10-24 to HTS Middelburg in the final fixture of the festival. Middelburg’s win against the hosts was their only victory at the event.
The three-day event was well-supported with excellent crowds who were able to enjoy a high standard of competitive rugby in good weather. It was a successful event for organisers and sponsors, Standard Bank, Nashua Durban and The Sharks Academy.
DAY THREE RESULTS
SACS 10-10 Selborne College
Hoërskool Framesby 66-17 Hoërskool Noord-Kaap
Maritzburg College 8-47 Dr EG Jansen
Glenwood 32-5 Dale College
Kearsney 10-24 HTS Middelburg
DAY TWO RESULTS
Hoërskool Framesby lost to Dale College 17-46
Glenwood beat HTS Middelburg 17-6
Kearsney College beat SACS 39-36
Maritzburg College lost to Selborne College 7-18
Dr EG Jansen v Hoërskool Noord-Kaap 40-17
DAY ONE RESULTS
Kearsney College beat Höerskool Noord-Kaap 27-17
HTS Middelburg lost to Selborne College 14-22
Glenwood beat Dr EG Jansen 14-13
Maritzburg College lost to Dale College 16-25
SACS beat Höerskool Framesby 19-13
