Curro Nelspruit will clash with Hoërskool Bergvlam at the u/16 Mpumalanga Medium Schools finals on Saturday July 13 at Hoërskool Standerton.

It is the largest high school rugby league in the province.

The league consists of 11 schools from Mpumalanga and the top four teams of each age group competed in the semis.

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Bergvlam’s u/16s sealed their spot in the final after a thrilling one-point win against Hoërskool Hoogenhout.
Penryn’s first team missed out on a spot after losing to Standerton, 38-21.

Three teams from Curro made it to the finals. In the u/14 match Curro played against Hoërskool Volksrust and won 61-12.

Graeme Stewart from Curro Nelspruit said, from the start it was evident that Volksrust would struggle to contain their runners.

“Our team played a running game and the back line had plenty of space to attack from. Our winger, Taku Tederera, proved to be a thorn in the Volksrust side, scoring four tries on the day and scrum half, Cilliers van Heerden slotted eight out of nine conversions.

The second half saw Volksrust score two tries against the run of play,” he said. In the u/15 match, between Curro and Hoërskool Standerton, the local school won 54-12.

Stewart said in the opening stages of the match Standerton had the majority of the possession, but the fast line speed of their defenders forced them backwards and shut down any attack. In the second half, Curro shifted gears and increased the tempo. In the u/16 game, Curro took on Hoërskool Volksrust, winning with 20-13.

Stewart said these two sides last met at u/14 level and their team won 40-0, but the semi-final was expected to be a much closer affair.

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“This team has only lost two matches in three seasons and do not know how to lose,” he said.
This sets up an interesting final against Hoërskool Bergvlam. During the league stage, Curro were 24-14 victors.

Tristan and Jaydan Louw, coaches of Bergvlam, said the success of the u/16s was a team effort as a whole, not of a single player. “The unity in our team is very strong.”

In the second team semi-finals, Generaal Hertzog beat Standerton, 7-5.

Xolani Grootboom, head of Penryn College sport, said it was an honour to host the Mpumalanaga Medium Schools semi-finals, with nine matches played.

“Penryn’s first team lost their game against Standerton and will play for the third/fourth place. The team had a great season and played great rugby,” he said.