Oakdale claimed a 46-21 victory over hosts Affies, while there were wins for Stellenberg, Paarl Gimnasium and EG Jansen on day one of the Noord-Suid tournament on Tuesday.

The second major schools rugby tournament kicked off in Pretoria on Tuesday, shortly following the conclusion of the Monument Centenary Festival on Monday.

With the likes of Paarl Gim, Monument and a highly rated Oakdale side in action, the first day of the Noord-Suid tournament did not disappoint at all.

Following the second-team curtain raisers, EG Jansen and Welkom Gim were the first U19 teams to play and it was the Boksburg school who came out with a reasonably comfortable 38-7 win, after leading 26-0 at half time.

Paarl Gim then took the field, looking to build on their victory over old rivals Grey College at the Monument Festival. Unfortunately, Garsfontein did not put up too much opposition after falling 21-0 down at the break, with Paarl running away with the game in the second half to bag a massive 84-0 victory.

It was the evening games that provided the real highlights of the day.

Despite coming into their match against Monument as underdogs, Stellenberg once again showed the growth of their rugby programme with a historic 34-33 win. The Cape side went into the break leading 22-12 but, after a great fightback from Monument, the Krugersdorp school stole back a 33-29 lead going into the final couple of minutes. However, an intercept try in the last 30 seconds of the encounter gave Stellenberg a well-deserved win.

In the final match of the day, hosts Affies took on an Oakdale team that has been touted to achieve big things this year. Oakdale showed why they are so highly rated with a magnificent performance in all aspects of the game. The Riversdale school scored some sensational tries, but were equally brilliant on defence when Affies started to ask some serious questions of them in the second half.

The festival will continue on Wednesday, with Paarl Boys’ High, Menlopark, Helpmekaar and Grey College all in action.

Day 1 results (Tuesday, 27 April) 

EG Jansen 38  Welkom Gim 7

Garsfontein 0 Paarl Gim 84

Monument 33 Stellenberg 34

Affies 21 Oakdale 46

 

Day 2 fixtures (Wednesday 28 April)

1:15pm – HTS Middelburg vs Duineveld

2:30pm – Waterkloof vs Durbanville

4pm – Noordheuwel vs Paarl Boys High

5:30pm – Helpmekaar vs Outeniqua

7pm – Menlopark vs Grey College