THE standard of rugby in local township schools is beginning to show great improvement.
This was evident at the recent FNB Eastern Cape Classic Clashes Festival for u/18 teams in Gqeberha, where Spandau Secondary of Graaff-Reinet was crowned champion.
“The tournament is really a great opportunity for the young talented players to showcase their skills and agility in front of the Eastern Province (EP) Craven Week selectors,” said the secretary of the EP High Schools Rugby Association, Neville Botha.
“Our township schools are eager to play rugby, even those that were not playing at all. They want to be involved because they see that the standard is growing.”
The final was a hard-fought battle played on Workers’ Day in the Madibaz Stadium.
Spandau beat Ndzondelelo High (Zwide) 24–14 after leading 12–7 at halftime. Spandau scored four tries to two.
After scoring two early tries it looked as though Spandau was in for an easy ride. Spandau put the opposition under pressure straight away with strong scrummaging and aggressive tackling.
Ndzondelelo started their comeback with some strong forward drives, and fought back to take the lead 14–12 shortly after half-time.
Spandau scored to make it 19–14, but Ndzondelelo again attacked with everything they had.
This was a crucial stage of the match, as a try by Ndzondelelo would have levelled things up once again.
The crowd witnessed some incredible defence from Spandau though. Ndzondelelo actually crossed the try line five times in this period, but could not get the ball down for a try.
This tenacious defence broke the spirit of the Ndzondelelo players and eventually Spandau got into the opposition’s half to score another try, to seal the victory.
There were many stoppages for injuries in the final that could indicate the players need to work on their conditioning, but it was also their third consecutive day on the field.
A lot of talent was on display over the three days, especially in the teams which played in the semi-finals – when Spandau beat Mary Waters and Ndzondelelo got the better of Asherville.
A lot of basic mistakes were made, but all 12 teams would have benefited enormously from participating at the festival and will no doubt improve as the season progresses.
Results
Wynberg 35, Grey 8; Andrew Rabie 15, Cillie 13; Pearson 10, Nico Malan 7; Daniel Pienaar 17, Framesby 17; St Andrew’s College 24, St Andrew’s College 23; Westering 31, DF Malherbe 10; Kingswood 36, Stirling 11; Otto du Plessis 30, Despatch 14.
Fixtures
Today: David Livingstone v Chatty, Patterson v Chapman, Sanctor v Booysen Park, Arcadia v Bertram, Gelvan v Bonzai.
Saturday: John Walton v Molly Blackburn, Bergsig v Andrew Rabie, Grey v St Andrew’s, Cillie v Kirkwood, Pearson v Kingswood, Brandwag v Outeniqua, Graeme College v Volksskool, Nico Malan v Marlow, Despatch v Daniel Pienaar, Gill College v DF Malherbe.
