Ben Vorster beat Dale 49-46 on day one of the KES Easter Rugby Festival. In the other games, Westville, KES, Eldoraigne, Northwood and Wynberg also scored wins. THEO GARRUN reports.
Ben Vorster and Dale scored 13 tries between them in a game that saw the lead change hands twice in the final minutes and was won by Ben Vorster via an injury-time try.
Dale led 32-14 at the break and seemed to be running away with it, but Ben Vorster staged a rousing second-half comeback and scored three unanswered tries to go into a 39-35 lead with 10 minutes to go.
Dale got the next two tries to go 46-35 up, but Ben Vorster got two more, the last deep into injury time, to snatch the win.
Ben Vorster showed a willingness to run the ball from all over, and several of their tries were the results of great support play. All seven of their tries were scored by their forwards, and flyhalf WC Kriel converted all seven.
Dale centre Indi Tyeda contributed 26 points to their total via two tries, two penalties and five conversions.
Earlier in the day, Marlow and Eldoraigne also produced a thriller. It was won 33-31 by Marlow after Eldoraigne led 19-14 at half-time. Marlow went 26-14 ahead early in the second half and the win seemed safe for them, but Eldoraigne roared back, scoring three late tries to snatch the victory.
Westville and Wynberg were both up against weakish opposition – Nico Malan and Hudson Park respectively – but played disciplined rugby and scored some spectacular tries. Wynberg beat Hudson Park 37-0, scoring seven tries in the process, and Westville got six in their 34-0 win over Nico Malan.
With Easter falling during term time this year, a number of schools will be playing two games only. The hosts, KES, are one of those, and their 2nd XV filled in for them against Hentie Cilliers on Thursday. They beat them 36-15 in a game that was closer than the scoreline suggests.
Durban’s Northwood Boys’ High were also impressive. They beat Queen’s College 31-7 and are going to be too strong for Hentie Cilliers on Saturday.
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All the schools involved will be in action on Saturday and it’s going to be a long day. There are eight games, starting at 7:30am. The ones to watch will be Jeppe against Wynberg, Queen’s against Westville and KES vs Dale.
Day 1 results:
Westville 34 Nico Malan 0
KES 36 Hentie Cilliers 15
Eldoraigne 33 Marlow 31
Northwood 31 Queen’s 7
Ben Vorster 49 Dale 46
Wynberg 37 Hudson Park 0
