Slugfest at Burger Field ends in a draw
A rollercoaster of emotions.
Relive all the action on SuperSport Schools. Link to the games.
The main match on the first day of the 27th Standard Bank St John’s Easter Festival produced excitement and a tough battle as both St John’s College and Kingswood College left it all out on the field. Eventually, they had to settle for a 17-17 draw.
Both teams defended with everything they had. However, the hosts dominated the contact points and the physical battle. Captain and 8th-man, Kyle Watson, led from the front for the Johannesburg school, putting in a massive shift on defence.
St John’s placed a lot of emphasis on turning defence into attack, which ultimately resulted in both of their tries, one of which was a well-deserved reward for Watson.
Flyhalf, Joe MacRobert, showed that he not only scores runs as a cricket player, but he can score tries on the rugby field, as well. MacRobert burst through after charging down a kick to open his side’s try-scoring account.
For the visitors, MacRobert’s opposite number, Praise Matsila, was exceptional. His tactical vision and eye for space helped the men on his outside, Vizi Labase (left wing) and Likhona Kepe (outside centre) find acres of room.
Labase broke through the St John’s defences, with time nearly up on the clock to get Kingswood within two points of the hosts. Matsila’s trusty boot, under severe pressure, levelled matters to cap off a wonderful first day of rugby.
Maritzburg College came to play as they pushed Boland Landbou all the way in their 32-17 defeat in the curtain-raiser. The side from the KwaZulu-Natal capital, against all expectations, bullied a much bigger Boland Landbou pack in most facets of the game.
The deciding moment in the contest, however, came when the Boland Landbou’s Jonah Lomu look-alike, Enslin Claasen, showed a clean pair of heels to round the College defenders on the outside for a visit on the other side of the whitewash.
It seemed as if the College boys, after 60 minutes of defending, had run out of steam. Openside flank, Hans Venter, capitalised on that, running it in from his 10-metre line to put the final nail in the Red, Black and White’s coffin.
Scorers:
St John’s College 17 (17) – Tries: Joe MacRobert, Kyle Watson. Conversions: Bryson Walker (2). Penalty: Walker. Kingswood College 17 (3) – Tries: Likhona Kepe, Vizi Labase. Conversions: Praise Matsila (2). Penalty: Matsila.
Boland Landbou 32 (17) – Tries: Jayden Brits, Xavier Vorster, Enslin Claasen, Hans Verster. Conversions: Retagon van Rooi (3). Penalty Van Rooi. Maritzburg College 17 (5) – Tries: Phiwayikosi Hubheka, Luyanda Kunene, Struan Oosthuizen. Conversion: James Salvin.
