Eggs, bunnies and rugga
It was not just eggs and bunnies during Easter in Joburg, but sheer rugby fever.
It was not just eggs and bunnies during Easter in Joburg, but sheer rugby fever.
St John’s College hosted its 26th Easter Rugby Festival and this formed part of the school’s 125th-year celebrations.
Two local teams – St John’s and the Lions Invitational XV – were in action on days one and two of the three-day festival that attracted top schools from across the country.
Maritzburg College made a return to the festival after a 14-year absence. On April 6, the Red Black White, as the team is fondly called, faced the Lions in the first game of day one on Burger Field.
St John’s sports reporter Sifiso Nyawo said Maritzburg made their intentions clear from the onset, bringing a physical approach and using their forwards well to rumble over the Lions’ gain line.
“Much of the first half consisted of Maritzburg running the ball, with the backs and forwards combining well to see them off to a well-deserved 36–0 lead at the break. The second half saw a better display from the Lions, who forced Maritzburg to make errors early on,” he said.
The Lions’ efforts were rewarded in the form of a consolation try, with Maritzburg continuing to dominate much of the territory and possession statistics. This powered the boys from Pietermaritzburg to a comfortable 50–5 victory.
Later on, a strong first-half performance by Welkom Gimnasium saw them overcome a second-half St John’s College challenge to win 28–12 as the day’s play drew to a close.
“The first half was dominated by Welkom as they raced to a 20–0 lead at the break. An intercepted pass was also detrimental to St John’s cause because it led to a try that set them back further on the points tally. Welkom was, however, full value for their lead, playing an exciting attacking game and capitalising on the Blues’ mistakes.”
The Blues turned up a different outfit in the second half, posting 12 points to the eight of Welkom. Welkom also never let up, with the Blues needing 13 points inside the last five minutes.
On day two, St John’s College clawed their way back to settle for a 20-all draw with Graeme College.
The visitors looked in top form in the first half, exploiting the St John’s defence with their skilful stepping and ferocious running. The St John’s Blues did well to stay in the encounter, keeping their opponents within touching distance. At the break, it was Graeme leading 17-5.
The second half saw incredible courage from the St John’s boys, who fought hard to come back from a bruising encounter. The Graeme boys looked like they enjoyed taking on the St John’s boys physically, but in the end, that may have led to their undoing, with players making more mistakes. The St John’s team pounced on the errors, more often than not opting to use their forwards to bash it up. This strategy paid off for the home team as they managed to level matters in the last move of the game. The conversion attempt let the hosts down and they had to settle for a 20-all draw.
Another nerve-wracking second-day game was between Welkom Gimnasium and the Lions Invitational XV on Burger Field, with the Free State team claiming a late 19-17 win.
The game was one of small margins. The Lions rose to the occasion against the dangerous Welkom team that had defeated hosts St John’s on day one. The first half’s action came in the form of a converted try for Welkom, while the Lions capitalised on a penalty. Both teams struggled, often losing the ball on crucial parts of the field. At the break, Welkom enjoyed more of the spoils, with a 7-3 lead.
The second half was a scintillating affair, which saw the scale tip towards the Lions for the first time in the fixture. Welkom was momentarily left shell-shocked as the Lions clawed their way to a 17-14 lead after having been 14-3 down in the first few minutes of the second half.
Welkom did get an opportunity to regain the lead, but it was squandered after they crossed the try line but ran the ball over the dead ball line. Moments later, however, they were back over the whitewash, scoring an unconverted try that saw them do enough to snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat.
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