Queen’s tackles St Stithians in Grey High Rugby Festival opener
Queen’s College will be aiming to build on a solid performance at the weekend when they take on St Stithians College in the opening match of the Standard Bank Grey High Rugby Festival, in Gqeberha, on Saturday.
Those two teams will set in motion an extravaganza of schoolboy rugby that features some of the country’s most exciting sides, culminating in the festival finale when Grey High takes on Hilton College in the last fixture on Monday afternoon, at 15:25.
It’s an early 08:00 start for Queen’s and St Stithians on the Kolisi Field, and both will be keen to make an early impression.
The Queenians have been in the thick of the action already this month, registering wins over Stirling High and Ooskus Gymnasium before suffering a narrow 17-20 loss to Pearson at the Graeme College Festival, in Makhanda, last Thursday.
It was a disappointing outcome for Queen’s coach Clinton Loest after Pearson produced a dramatic fightback with five minutes remaining to score two tries and turn a 10-17 deficit into a 20-17 win.
“I feel that was a game we should never have lost,” Loest said, “but we showed much improvement against a strong Brandwag team on Saturday to win that match.”
Queen’s triumphed 29-15 in that clash, finishing strongly to take control of the contest, which had been evenly balanced heading into the final quarter.
Down by two points, at 15-17, Brandwag made a costly error when they attempted to play out of their own 22, which led to an interception try under the posts by centre Thina Fenako.
Later, Queen’s produced a brilliant phase of continuity, which ended with Bongo Nyakaza diving over in the corner to seal the win.
Loest said early season festivals were important in their overall planning for the season. “We would like to see constant improvement in our overall game and these matches allow us to try various combinations and to look to settle on a starting lineup for the season ahead,” he explained.
“Both teams we play (they face Pretoria Boys High on Monday) are well-known rugby-playing schools and the games will be testing for our team.
“But we are ready to embrace that challenge as we ready ourselves for a tough programme ahead.”
FIXTURES
Saturday, 29 March
Kolisi Field
08:00 – Queen’s vs St Stithians
09:10 – Dale vs Northwood
10:25 – Pretoria Boys vs Kearsney
11:45 – Graeme vs Hilton
12:55 – Kingswood vs Durban High School
14:05 – Selborne vs Westville
15:25 – Grey High vs Michaelhouse
Pollock Oval
14.05 – St Charles College vs Port Rex
15.25 – Hudson Park vs Muir
Crusaders
14.05 – Ithembelihle vs Daniel Pienaar
Monday, 31 March
Kolisi Field
08.00 – Westville vs Dale
09.10 – Selborne vs Durban High School
10:25 – Hudson Park vs Kearsney
11.45 – Queen’s vs Pretoria Boys
12:55 – Kingswood vs Northwood
14.05 – Bishops v Michaelhouse
15.25 – Grey High v Hilton
Pollock Oval
11:45 – St Stithians vs Port Rex
12.55 – St Charles College vs Daniel Pienaar
14.05 – Muir vs Ithembelihle
Crusaders
14.15 – Mali XV v Woodridge
