It’s a wrap: Kearsney hosts another successful rugby festival
Various teams were awarded as the Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival came to an end on Monday, April 1.
FULL capacity crowds at the 15th Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival (KERF) were treated to a tournament played in great spirit and in beautiful autumnal conditions, with three teams returning home unbeaten.
Over the three play days, three teams won all their fixtures – dominant local KZN team Durban High School, polished festival debutants Rondebosch Boys’ High from Cape Town and Hoërskool Dr EG Jansen from Boksburg, who brought their typically physical brand of rugby.
The Spirit of the Festival trophy was awarded to Rondebosch Boys for their outstanding sportsmanship, fearless spirit and conduct on and off the field.
Durban High School (DHS) made it three wins out of three after another convincing display in their 38–7 victory over Pearson High School on the final day. As they had in earlier matches, DHS employed a slow-poison approach, sucking the life out of their opposition through their slow tempo and territorial control.
Newcomers Rondebosch Boys’ High sealed their third win at KERF with a 22–13 victory over fellow festival debutants Hoërskool Rustenburg. Despite resting several first-choice players, Rondebosch were a cut above on the day, after having already seen off the challenges of Westville Boys’ High and hosts Kearsney College earlier in the festival.
In one of the biggest upsets of the festival, an inspired Westville Boys’ High School performance lifted them to a hard-fought 25–22 win over Hoërskool Monument in the penultimate match of the weekend. Monnas were on top in the possession and territory stakes in the first half but just couldn’t make it count. The result marked Monnas’ first loss after their superb comeback win over Framesby on Saturday.
Nico Malan outclassed Glenwood High School 19–12 in a convincing performance. It was all Nico Malan from the get-go, with the Green Machine hardly firing a shot the whole game. The Humansdorp side looked hungrier and were relentless in the first half as they bagged their second win of the week. The scoreline was not a true reflection of Nico Malan’s dominance, and they may well feel aggrieved that they couldn’t finish off more of the chances that presented themselves.
A penalty in the final play of their game enabled Hoërskool Framesby to pip Worcester Gimnasium 36–34 in a firecracker match. Framesby’s physicality was on full display from the first whistle, but Worcester weathered an early storm to hit back hard and come close to claiming what would have been their third one-point win of the weekend.
In the first match of the final day, Gideon Jordaan’s personal tally of 20 points lifted Hoër Landbouskool Marlow to a 30–26 win over Hoërskool Noord-Kaap. Neither side had yet tasted victory at the festival. Mature decision-making and accurate goal-kicking proved the difference for the boys from the Karoo.
In addition to the High Schools’ Festival, 10 U13 teams enjoyed playing on the big stage and being part of the buzz of the inaugural Prep Schools’ Festival which ran concurrently on an adjacent field. Kloof Senior Primary and Chelsea Prep both won all their fixtures over the weekend.
A 2024 KERF 1st XV was selected from players of the 14 participating high schools. They are: Chris Cloete (Westville), Aka Boqwana (DHS), Cameron Veenstra (Kearsney College), Ernesto Oersen (Monument), Waylan Pienaar (Worcester Gim), Vuyolwethu Bavuma (Worcester Gim), Zian Marais (EG Jansen), Danre Pike (EG Jansen), Duwan Potgieter (EG Jansen), Gerhard van Aswegen (EG Jansen), Tom Barnard (Rondebosch), Aluthi Wesi (Rondebosch), Caleb Belelie (Rondebosch), David Simon (Rondebosch) and Randall John Davids (Rondebosch).
FESTIVAL RESULTS:
HIGH SCHOOLS:
Day 1 – Thursday 28:
Worcester Gim 26–25 Rustenburg
Hoërskool Noord-Kaap 7–59 Dr EG Jansen
Glenwood 14–6 Hoër Landbouskool Marlow
DHS 21–0 Nico Malan
Hoërskool Framesby 18–17 Kearsney College
Westville Boys’ 10–31 Rondebosch Boys’
Day 2 – Saturday 30:
Hoërskool Noord-Kaap 22–31 Nico Malan
Westville Boys’ 18–11 Pearson
Worcester Gim 38–37 Hoër Landbouskool Marlow
Hoërskool Rustenburg 0–45 Durban High School
Framesby 17–22 Monument
Glenwood High School 8–22 Dr EG Jansen
Kearsney College 8–22 Rondebosch Boys’ High
Day 3 – Monday 01:
Hoër Landbouskool Marlow 30–26 Hoërskool Noord-Kaap
Rondebosch Boys’ High 22–13 Hoërskool Rustenburg
Framesby 36–34 Worcester Gimnasium
Glenwood 12–19 Nico Malan
DHS 38–07 Pearson High
Monument 22–25 Westville Boys
Kearsney College 11–36 Dr EG Jansen
PREP SCHOOLS:
Day 1 – Thursday 28:
Highbury 5–10 KZN Development
Glenwood Prep 44–0 Westville Senior Primary
Kloof Senior Primary 10–0 Hillcrest Primary
Ashton Ballito Primary 31–0 Winston Park Primary
Chelsea Prep 31–14 Umhlali Prep
Day 2 – Saturday 30:
Winston Park 0–36 Kloof Senior Primary
Highbury 22–0 Ashton International Ballito
KZNRU Ibutho U13 Development 5–31 Glenwood Prep
Westville Senior Primary 5–36 Chelsea Prep
Umhlali Prep 50–12 Hillcrest Primary
Day 3 – Monday 01:
Kloof Senior Primary 29–21 Ashton Ballito
KZNRU Ibutho U13 Development Team 5–15 Westville Senior Primary
Hillcrest Primary 26–12 Winston Park Primary
Umhlali Prep 38–0 Highbury
Glenwood Prep 10–12 Chelsea Prep
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