Glenwood continued their outstanding form with a comprehensive win on the third and final day of yet another highly successful Standard Bank Easter Rugby Festival, hosted so professionally (as always) by Kearsney College, but the two other KZN10 school first teams – Kearsney and DHS – ended up on the wrong side of the scoreboard.

Glenwood (31) 38 Transvalia (7) 7

With rain falling steadily, the conditions were not conducive to running rugby and yet Glenwood’s handling was barely affected.

Mistakes in the wet by Transvalia cost them points as the Glenwood boys were quick to counter-attack, which led to tries against the run of play.

Tracey van den Aardweg feature image: Glenwood wing Carlo Cloete en route to touchdown time against Transvalia.

Transvalia scored in the first five minutes following a maul, hooker Bernard du Plessis breaking from the back to dive over, for a converted try by Shaun Christie (7-0).

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A penalty by Glenwood ace Jordan Hendrikse made it 3-7. Glenwood, more adept in the wet, scored their first try when centre Martino van Wyk sliced through; again converted by Hendrikse.

The lead changed hands in the Green Machine’s favour (10-7).

Then a kick, chase and gather saw Green Machine winger Carlo Cloete race away from the defence to score in the corner.

Once again the prolific Hendrikse boot spliced the uprights – this fine young talent seems to revel in the challenges placed on him by touchline conversions (17-7).

Two further converted tries, first by flanker Ethan Smit and the second by hooker Sikholisa Nanto saw Glenwood into a comfortable 31-7 lead at the changeover.

Transvalia flank Tiaan Visser contends Glenwood and the mist. Photo Tracey van den Aardweg

When play restarted, the mist was billowing in and conditions worsened. The rugby, however, continued to enthrall, with good running and good defence.

Glenwood scored again through fullback Steven Gibb and, with the conversion, the Durban lads went into an unassailable 38-7 lead.

Scores:
Glenwood: Tries: Smit, Cloete, Van Wyk, Nanto, Gibb; Conversions Hendrikse (5); Penalty Hendrikse
Drostdy: Try Du Plessis; Conversion Christie

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Kearsney College (3) 8 Welkom Gim (7) 21

The final game of the 12^th Standard Bank Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival was between hosts Kearsney College and Welkom Gim.

The prevailing conditions were not good.

Kearsney opened the scoring with an early penalty by Jordan Bamber. The Welkom Gim backs battled to employ their trademark running style, so knock-ons and losing their footing was all-too prevalent.

Welkom Gim lock forward Christo Steyn forced his way over for Welkom’s opening try; converted by Marchall Andrews, for the Free State side to lead 7-3.

The rest of the half saw Welkom coming close, but they could not add to their tally, leaving the halftime score 7-3.

Connor de Bruyn of Kearsney outwits the Welkom Gim defence. Photo Tracey van den Aardweg

With conditions darkening and thick mist coming in again, the rugby was a forwards game.

Kearsney stood up to the challenge and eighthman Massimo Fierro opened the scoring in the second half, going over in a flurry of bodies in the corner.

This put the hosts 8-7 in front with 20 minutes remaining.

Welkom were awarded a penalty and Andrews added the three points to put his side into a 10-8 lead; with the mist making it difficult to see across the field at this stage.

This lead was increased when Andrews converted his second penalty and Welkom led 13-8 with 13 minutes remaining.

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A try was scored in the far corner by Welkom wing Morne Maastriet, which increased the lead to 18-8.

Andrews was deadly with his boot even in these conditions, and he added his third penalty for Welkom Gim to lead 21-8.

Kearsney pressed for the last few minutes but could not get over the line, leaving Welkom deserved winners by 21-8.

Point scorers:
Welkom: Tries Steyn, Maastriet; Conversion: Andrews; Penalties: Andrews (3)
Kearsney: Try Fierro; Penalty: Bamber

The packed grandstand witnesses HTS Drostdy lock Rob Adshade securing clean lineout ball vs DHS. Photo Tracey van den Aardweg

DHS (12) 19 HTS Drostdy (20) 27

The first of the KZN10 sides to play on Day 3, DHS, muscled up against the Western Cape’s HTS Drostdy from the Western Cape.

The latter had won their first game against Middelburg, but lost their second match to Welkom Gim. DHS were looking for their first victory, having lost to Transvalia and EG Jansen.

Drostdy opened the scoring with a penalty by flyhalf Carlton Pietersen after just five minutes.

DHS scrumhalf Jayden Cederos then chipped ahead for Sim Ngcobo to dot down ahead of the defence, to take a 7-3 lead after a successful conversion by Ngobani Dlamini.

Drostdy’s Pietersen converted his second penalty to narrow the gap to one point (7-6).

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Centre Roann Jansen picked up the ball after a kick ahead to score under the poles and, with Pietersen converting, the lead changed to Drostdy (13-7).

Shortly thereafter Brian Dosemba went over in a flurry of bodies to narrow the gap to 12-13 and then a break by Pietersen fed fullback Keane Galant, who scored, leaving an easy conversion for Pietersen to make the half-time score 20-12 to Drostdy.

DHS were the first to score in the second half when Kaid O’Neill went over, converted by Ngobani Dlamini to again make it a one-point game (19-20).

The Cape boys increased their lead when flank Wynand du Plessis scored again, converted by Pietersen, for a 27-19 lead.

Rain started falling, which made handling more difficult. Both teams came close to scoring again, but the board remained 27-19 to Drostdy, giving them their second win of the festival.

Point scorers:
DHS: Tries Dosember, O’Neill, Ngcobo; Conversions Dlamini (2)
Drostdy: Tries Jansen, Du Plessis, Galant; Conversions Pietersen (3); Penalties Pietersen (2)

BIG UNIT: Drostdy prop Diaan Hoffman looks for a gap in the DHS defence. Photo Tracey van den Aardweg

*****

Other results: Selborne 20 Framesby 14; HTS Middelburg 32 PBHS 27; Noord Kaap 24 EG Jansen 21

* The 20-14 Selborne win was their second of the festival, this after Saturday’s fixture against Glenwood was abandoned due to lightning… with the outcome still very much in the balance.

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What looked to be a thriller in the making was sadly extinguished when lightning forced the Glenwood vs Selborne match to be abandoned. Of the other KZN10 teams, hosts Kearsney went down by 5 points to Framesby while EG Jansen had too much in the tank for Durban High School.

Tracey van den Aardweg feature image: A panoramic view of a DHS vs EG Jansen lineout at the Standard Bank Kearsney Easter Festival.

Glenwood 10 Selborne 15 (match abandoned – lightning)

The game many were anticipating between Glenwood and Selborne, last played in 2013, was the final game of the second day. Both teams had been victorious in earlier matches, Glenwood snatching a win against EG Jansen in the final seconds, whilst Selborne won comfortably against Noord-Kaap.

An early penalty in the game by Warrick Day put Selborne into a 3-0 lead. JP van Zyl on the wing scored a try a little while later, to increase the lead to 8-0.  Lock Grant Pretorius stormed over midway in the half, converted by Day, for Selborne to lead 15-0.

Glenwood then scored a typical Glenwood try; when the ball passed through a number of hands ending with prop Blaine Golden scoring, converted by Jordan Hendrikse. Glenwood were back in the game 7-15 down at halftime.

Shortly after the break in dark conditions, Hendrikse narrowed the gap to 10-15 when he converted a long penalty from close to the touchline.

With lightning in the vicinity and the alarm sounding, the match was sadly suspended, and it was later decided the game should be abandoned.

Point scorers:
Selborne 15 Tries Van Zyl, Pretorius; Conversion Day; Penalty Day
Glenwood 10 Try Golden; Conversion Hendrikse; Penalty Hendrikse

Kearsney College 21 Framesby 26

The third match of the day saw hosts Kearsney College taking on Hoërskool Framesby, a well-conditioned unit from Port Elizabeth.

Framesby opened the score with a try by eighthman Ruan Claassen, converted by Juandre Liebenberg, for a 7-point lead after two minutes.

Kearsney came back with a try from a penalty close to the try-line, when fullback Derick Marshall burst over and, with the successful conversion by Cade Carmichael, the scores were level 7-7.

Kearsney scrumhalf Jordan Bamber sets his backs away against Framesby. Photo Tracey van den Aardweg

With Framesby winning the lion’s share of the ball, two further tries were scored, the first by flank Christo Grobler and the second by fullback Sebastian Brandt.

This time Liebenberg converted to give Framesby a 19-7 lead, which they held until the break.

Early in the second half hooker William Moffat ran 30m after forwards had dominated, to score under the uprights. Liebenberg converted once again for Framesby to lead 26-7.

With 10 minutes remaining Kearsney fullback Marshall broke through a number of tackles and, from a subsequent ruck, the ball went to centre Luke Wilson who sniped through, scoring under the crossbar.

Jordan Bamber converted and Kearsney had narrowed the gap to 14-26.

In an entertaining finish Kearsney kept the pressure on Framesby and centre Connor de Bruyn scored, converted by Bamber, to bring their points to 21-26.

Point scorers:
Framesby: Tries Brandt, Claassen, Grobler, Moffat; Conversions Liebenberg (3)
Kearsney: Tries Wilson, Marshall, De Bruyn; Conversions Carmichael, Bamber (2)

DHS 12 EG Jansen 39

After a full day of running rugby and a darkening sky, two jerseys, both navy and yellow, made it difficult for the referee and spectators alike. EG Jansen did have a yellow stripe over the shoulders which helped slightly.

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The visitors to KZN went into a 3-0 lead after five minutes when Kyle Potgieter converted a penalty. This was increased five minutes later, when flank Jandre Odendaal showed pace and strength to dot down, but the conversion was inside, leaving EG Jansen 8-0 up.

With DHS defending and EG running with the ball, an intercept by Brian Dosemba led to an 80m dash to score under the poles, which Shakur la Douce converted, bringing the score to 7-8 which remained until the halftime whistle.

Early in the second half, a mistake by the DHS defence saw a pop kick land in the hands of Odendaal who strolled over for his second try, converted by Potgieter, for a 15-7 lead.

EG Jansen eighthman Franco Enslin beat the defence to score and increase their lead to 20-7.

With DHS’ heads beginning to sag, prop Brandon Pienaar forced his way over, this time converted by Jason Edward, for the Boksburg boys to lead 27-7.

DHS responded when centre Macneil Jenner scored after a move down the left flank to increase their score to 12.

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EG Jansen were not finished though, and flyhalf Leshley October dotted down to increase their lead to 32-12. With time up on the clock, Duane Bloem scored the final try, converted by Edwards, for a 39-12 win.

Point scorers:
EG Jansen: Tries Odendaal (2), Enslin, Pienaar, October, Bloem; Conversions Potgieter, Edwards (2); Penalty Potgieter
DHS: Tries Dosember, Jenner; Conversion La Douce

Other results
Welkom Gim 32 HTS Drostdy 16; Transvalia 17 PBHS 22; Noordkaap 27 HTS Middelburg 21

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A thrilling 1-point Glenwood first XV win highlighted the KZN10.com action. The Green Machine prevailed 27-26 over Dr EG Jansen in scoring the match-clincher in the dying seconds.

The two other KZN10 teams Durban High School and Kearsney gave their opponents a thing or three to think about but came up on the wrong side of the points’ margin.

Feature image Travis Nightingale: Flyhalf vs Flyhalf – Glenwood’s matchwinner JordaHendrikse and EG Jansen’s Kyle Potgieter.

GLENWOOD (7) 27 EG JANSEN (14) 26

It was a bruising battle between the EG Jansen boys from Boksburg and their Durban counterparts. In the match-deciding last quarter, Glenwood went into a 1-point lead for a brief period before EG Jansen snatched it back.  Glenwood did not give up and scored in the final seconds to win the nail-biter.

The first half was 3 minutes old when EG Jansen centre Duane Bloem burst through. Flyhalf Kyle Potgieter’s conversion put the Boksburg Bombers 7-0 up. EG extended their lead midway through the half when Potgieter carved open the defence for his converted try (14-0).

Glenwood hit back in the last seconds of the half when centre Lehlohonolo Litabe flew over, converted by number 10 Jordan Hendrikse for a 7-14 score at half-time.

The game was played at a fast pace, and the tackles ferocious, which led to handling mistakes.  A kick-ahead by EG Jansen led to an error in the red zone and 125kg prop forward Brandon Pienaar powered over (19-7).

Glenwood employed quick hands for centre Martino van Wyk to breach the whitewash. Hendrikse added the conversion and struck a penalty goal soon after to ensure that EG Jansen’s healthy 12-point lead was suddenly whittled down to a shaky 2.

And Hendrikse was not done yet. A 40-metre penalty goal put Glenwood into a 20-19 lead. It was the first time the never-say-never Green Machine had taken the lead – and with just 5 minutes remaining.

EG Jansen came storming back when hooker Kyle Pepler ran 40m down the touchline to score a converted try in the corner, and with that the lead changed back to EG Jansen 26-20.

With time up on the clock the Green Machine fed the ball left and Steven Gibb went over in the corner. The BMT that is Jordan Hendrikse threaded the needle from the touchline to give the game to Glenwood 27-26 win in an intense, super-charged finish.

Point scorers:
EG Jansen: Potgieter (11), Pepler (5), Pienaar (5), Bloem (5)
Glenwood: Van Wyk (5), Litabe (5), Gibb (5), Hendrikse (12)

KEARSNEY COLLEGE (11) 11 PRETORIA BOYS HIGH (12) 27

Kearsney traditionally open their Standard Bank Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival and this year, the 12^th, it was against Pretoria Boys. Kearsney had the better of the first half, but it was all PBHS in the second half for a 27-11 win.

Kearsney lock Max Immelman looks to find a hole in the PBHS defence. Photo Travis Nightingale

It was Pretoria who scored first when winger Tim Glatthaar beat the cover defence to score in the corner (5-0).

The Kearsney forwards began dominating and after 17 minutes it was prop forward Bradley Taylor who opened their scoring with a try, after the forwards had advanced 15m with pick-and-go driving. 5-5 became 8-5 when KC scrummie Jordan Bamber slotted a penalty.

Boys High rallied for Glatthaar to go over for his second try following broken play in the Kearsney red zone. Flyhalf Justin Cross’s two-pointer took PBHS to 12-8 but Bamber banged over a penalty on the stroke of half-time to leave the Pretoria lads hanging on to the lead at 12-11.

The second half saw a change with Pretoria exerting most of the pressure. Early in the half scrumhalf Jaden Collaros ran 20m through the defence to score and Cross’s conversion saw Pretoria increasing their lead to 19-11. A long-range penalty by Cross increased it further to 22-11.

Aidan Bristow, PBHS captain and flank, scored the final try which was converted for the 27-11 final outcome.

Point scorers:
PBHS: J Glatthaar (10), J Collaros (5), A Bristow (5), J Cross (7)
Kearsney: B Taylor (5), J Bamber (6)

DURBAN HIGH SCHOOL (0) 12 TRANSVALIA (19) 34

It was a case of “if only” for DHS, who made too many mistakes and these were capitalised on by the boys from Vanderbijlpark.

DHS flyer Brian Dosemba outstrips the Transvalia cover defence. Photo Travis Nightingale

Transvalia scored 3 tries in the first half.  It took 19 minutes before flank Christiaan Burger dotted down. Lock forward Marno Swanepoel showed good skills 4 minutes later in going over the tryline and flyhalf Shaun Christie converted.  He also converted the next try, scored by lock Gareth Graham to take Transvalia into a 19-0 lead at the break.

From the kick-off flank Brian Dosemba stormed 50m, breaking two tackles to open the scoring for DHS.

Transvalia, looking the more accomplished with ball in hand, scored again when prop Anrich Botes stormed over. A few minutes later centre Ronan Elhers beat the defence to dot down. Neither touchdown was converted, leaving Transvalia 29-5 ahead.

With conditions becoming fairly dark, the DHS handling seemed to improve. Transvalia had, however, added to their try tally when fullback Marnus Theunissen touched down. With the scoreboard shining brightly, DHS centre Nhlakanipho Nene rounded the defence to score under the poles, converted by Ngobeni Dlamini for the final score of 12-34.

Try scorers:

Transvalia: Burger (5), Ehlers (5), Swanepoel (5), Botes (5), Graham (5), Theunissen (5), Christie (4)
DHS: Nene (5), Dosemba (5), Dlamini (2)

OTHER RESULTS
HTS Middelburg 14 HTS Drostdy 19; Selborne College 29 Noord Kaap 10; Welkom Gimnasium 25 Framesby 25