Everraud shines for junior Sharks
The Sharks finished third, behind Western Province and Boland.
The local South Coast Warriors rugby teams had the weekend off, but one rugby player with South Coast links was in serious rugby action last week.
That was young Everraud Raynard, who was playing 8th-man for the Sharks U13 team at Craven Week in Pietermaritzburg.
Matches were played at Maritzburg College’s famous Goldstone’s field.
Everraud attends Penzance Primary, where he’s in Grade 7. He may be better remembered by locals for his swimming prowess, as he has only last year discovered he’s good at rugby as well.
On the field, Everraud has developed a reputation as a hard runner and ferocious tackler.
He’s not especially bulky but is deceptively strong.
His father, also Everraud, who is currently working in the Congo on cobalt mines, said their ‘wrestling’ matches may have contributed to this.
However, he suggested that it was probably coach Roland Norris’s conditioning programme that was the real reason.
He was disappointed to miss out on a milestone achievement for Everraud jr, but had his wife Michelle and younger son Enzo reporting back regularly.
Everraud put all these attributes on display at Craven Week, in an effort to help the Sharks win games.
By the end of the week, they had won three and lost one. The Sharks finished third, behind Western Province and Boland.
They beat Border 27-3, lost to Boland 27-10, beat Limpopo Blou Bulle 26-10 and beat Blue Bulls 21-10.
The loss came against Boland, and it was, ironically, the game where Everraud scored his only try of the tournament.
In the last week of the school term Penzance enjoyed a tour of the South Coast, with its U13 and U11 rugby teams playing games against Suid-Natal, Izotsha and the Warriors.
Everraud did not play in that as the Sharks boys were preparing for Craven Week.
With schools on holiday for a while now, Everraud can reflect on a successful rugby season, and then start to look ahead at the summer swimming season.
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