Ballito was well represented at the junior inter-provincial club rugby tournament in Pretoria last weekend, boasting 13 players across five age group teams.

The players were selected to the KwaZulu-Natal Duikers, a representative team picked from club rugby teams across the province.

The Duikers rubbed shoulders with some of the best schoolboy players in the country, taking on the Golden Lions, Blue Bulls and Valke at the Harlequins Rugby Club in Pretoria.

Jayden Marais, William Robson, Zaid Ebrahim, Cameron Cohen and Logan van Wyk all featured for the U13 team which finished third overall, beating the Valke 36-3 in the bronze medal match.

Joshua Buchanan was the lone U14 representative, also claiming a bronze medal after beating the Valke 31-3.

Kyden Ward, Jacobus Visagie, Nathan Venter, Sifiso Mayiwa and Qwethu Khoza all played for the U15 team who earned a close-fought third place, beating the Valke 14-12 in their final match.

Samuel Herselman finished fourth with the U16 squad, while Thalenta Phakathi was part of KZN’s best performing team, the U18s.

The U18 team played out the game of the tournament against the Lions on Saturday, ultimately losing out by just two points (29-27) to claim second place overall.

“It speaks volumes for the Dolphins junior coaching staff to have so many boys selected,” said Dolphins chairman, Mark Svenningsen.

“The teams were picked by an independent panel of selectors, including coaches from the Sharks Academy and are the best from across the whole of KZN club rugby. Who knows, maybe we see one of these boys in the 2031 Rugby World Cup!”

Aside from the players who competed, Dolphins’ junior head coach Jared Stanford was also selected to manage the U15 team.

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