IT has started! Although there is still plenty of cricket action on the school fields in Nelson Mandela Bay, the first rugby clashes have already created a lot of excitement.
It is still early days but the talk is that lovers of school rugby in the Bay and surrounds are in for a spectacular season.
And what better way to get the ball rolling than with the annual Mzwandile Mali Tournament which has revived township school rugby?
The first matches were played last week with the highlight being the Derby between Bonzai Sydenham and Bonzai Kariega.
There are always huge bragging rights to play for when these two sides meet. Sydenham was the team which celebrated after the battle.
They won 64-10 and could be a team to keep an eye on this year after finishing in third place last year.
Mary Waters started well in Makhanda by beating Nathaniel Nyaluza High 48-0. Mary Waters also looks like a huge factor in this year’s tournament.
There are 54 schools from six regions, Gqeberha, Makhanda, Maqoma, Komani, Alice and Keiskammahoek, competing in the tournament.
Another round of matches will be played today and the final of the Fort Beaufort region is already taking place on Saturday.
These matches are followed by the quarter-finals on February 28, the semis on March 3 and the final in the Wolfson Stadium on March 14.
There is fantastic prize money to aim for and the big one is the R50 000 going to the winning school.
Ndzondelelo High from Zwide was a well-deserved winner last year. They beat the Fort Beaufort regional winner, Thubalethu, in the final.
The defending champions started their campaign with a comfortable win over Zanolwai Secondary.
It was a runaway victory of 81-0 and Ndzondelelo indicated they have no intentions of parting with the title.
The Eastern Province High Schools Rugby Association (EPHSRA) has recently elected a new management and has announced the respective provincial coaching teams who must make sure the EP boys put their best foot forward this year.
Elric van Vuuren is still the main man. The former provincial player, the coach at Despatch High, has been named as the head coach of the EP under 18 Craven Week team for the fourth consecutive year.
- Let us know of your school’s big rugby dates this year – mail to steenkamphenk@gmail.com
