THE search is on to find the best u/17 Sevens Rugby players in the province.
Eastern Province High Schools teams have a good record at the provincial Sevens tournaments, and are preparing to again make an impact at the tournament later in the year.
“Some talented players will be invited to trials at the request of the selectors and coaches,” explained the General Secretary of EP High Schools, Neville Botha.
He said the training squad will be put through their paces during sessions at Andrew Rabie High in Gqeberha on August 1, 8, and 15. The final trials will also be held at Andrew Rabie.
“Those will start at 14:00 on August 30, after which a squad of 12 players will be selected,” Botha said.
Next month there are two Sevens Tournaments which the EP selectors are very interested in. Many of the contenders for a place in the squad will be in action at the Grey High Sevens in Gqeberha, and the Nico Malan Sevens in Humansdorp. Matches at these tournaments will be highly competitive and will provide the selectors with a perfect opportunity to assess the available talent.
The action at Grey will be on August 16 and 17, and Nico Malan will host their tournament the next weekend, on Saturday the 24th.
Inter-school action continues on Saturday, and Framesby can follow up on their victory two weeks ago over Grey. They are at home in Gqeberha against St Andrew’s College from Makhanda. St Andrew’s won a tough game, 26–25, against Dale College this past Saturday, while Framesby had a bye.
Framesby will be full of confidence after the Grey victory, but if they under-estimate the visitors, it won’t be an easy match. Keep an eye on the tight head props, Thato Machoba (St Andrew’s) and Sean Vermaak (F), who have been key players for their respective sides this year.
Both teams have exciting attackers, and if the ball gets spread a bit this could be an entertaining affair.
Grey will have a bye this coming Saturday after a gutsy effort against the mighty Grey College in Bloemfontein. The home side won an exciting match 41–27, scoring six tries to four, but was pushed all the way by the Gqeberha boys.
It is also a busy time for the primary schools and the u/13 Academy Tournament will resume in Gqeberha tomorrow.
The second round of matches sees Kabega play Newton Park, starting at 14:30, and Verkenner will kick off against Charlo at 16:15.
U/19A Fixtures Saturday, July 27
Victoria Park v Andrew Rabie, DF Malherbe v Volkskool, Framesby v St Andrews College, Brandwag v Nico Malan, Despatch v Muir, Daniel Pienaar v Punt, Oakdale v Marlow.
U/19A Results, July 20
Pearson 29, Marlow 26; Grey College 41, Grey High 27; Ithembelihle 17, Ooskus Gim 12; Muir College 34, Woodridge College 10; Andrew Rabie 15, Otto du Plessis 14; Brandwag 28, Bergsig 17; Nico Malan 45, Daniel Pienaar 16; Kirkwood 38, Victoria Park 10.
