DYLAN JACK looks back at the schoolboy rugby days that took place across the country, including Paarl Boys’ High’s win over Monument.
PORTERVILLE RUGBY DAY
The annual Porterville Bulfees saw fixtures from U14 level between Paarl Boys’ High and Monument, as well as between Porterville and Robertson.
It was the main fixture between the U19A sides of Boishaai and Monument which caught the eye as a standout fixture of the weekend and the contest lived up to its billing.
An incredibly tight first half saw Boys’ High take a slim 10-7 lead into the break, with a try from No 8 Cameron Hanekom and penalty from Compion von Ludwig. This came after Monument had taken an early lead through a brilliantly worked try from fullback Luan van der Walt, who latched onto a kick over the top from Marco Botha.
Boys’ High had the better of possession and territory in the second half, but were excellently contained by the Monument defence. The Krugersdorp school leveled the scores at 10-10 when scrumhalf Franco Hallat kicked a penalty, but their hearts were broken when replacement back Keagan Smith scored the winner for Boys’ High, seeing them win the match 17-10.
GRAEME RUGBY DAY
At the annual Graeme Rugby Day in Grahamstown, Grey High were handed a stunning 17-10 defeat by Uitenhage-based Hoerskool Brandwag.
Another surprising result saw Muir College, also from Uitenhage, take a 6-5 victory against Dale College.
In other results, Hudson Park beat Nico Malan 19-12, Queen’s College claimed a 35-7 win against Pearson, Selborne fought to a 28-12 victory over Kingswood while Graeme College beat Marlow 21-18.
LOFTUS PRESTIGE RUGBY DAY
The Loftus Versfeld fields played host to some exciting schoolboy fixtures on Saturday as the likes of Stellenberg, Outeniqua and Paarl Gimnasium travelled to Pretoria.
The main game, which kicked off at 8pm, saw Paarl Gim take a comfortable 38-0 win against a competitive Pretoria Boys’ High team.
One of the standout contests was between Boland Landbou and HTS Middelburg. The Mpumalanga school were able to walk away as 24-19 winners in that game.
Meanwhile, Affies played on their own ground against Diamantveld from the Northern Cape and claimed an 85-10 win in a one-sided match.
In other results, Outeniqua beat Waterkloof 38-7, Montana beat Die Anker 34-31, Garsfontein beat Kempton Park 71-5, EG Jansen beat an Invitation XV 65-0, Stellenberg claimed a 27-3 win over Ellisras while St Alban’s College edged a tight match against Kroonstad for a 29-26 win.
BRACKENFELL RUGBY DAY
There were a few fixtures involving the bigger schools at the Brackenfell Rugby Day in Cape Town.
In the build-up to the main fixture, SACS ran out 57-6 winners against Bellville, Durbanville beat Strand 50-21 and a strong Oakdale side claimed a 66-0 over a Western Province invitational team.
The main fixture saw the host school narrowly beat Swartland 17-10.
KWAZULU-NATAL
Finally, there were a handful of non-rugby day fixtures between KZN schools.
Northwood continued to show the growth in their rugby programme as they drew 14-14 with Maritzburg College.
Hilton traveled to Glenwood and beat the home school 14-10, Kearsney College beat Clifton 29-10 and Westville claimed a convincing 52-7 win against DHS.
The fixture between Michaelhouse and St Charles was called off due to the spread of the Covid-19 virus.
Photo: Deborah Redelinghuys
