Cornwall Hill College made Kearsney sweat during Day 2 of ISRF
Kearsney College had to dig deep to hold on to a 15-7 lead against Cornwall Hill College on the second day of the Independent Schools Rugby Festival at St Andrew’s in Bloemfontein.
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Despite being a low-scoring game, the final match of the day provided plenty of excitement as the Cornwall Hill College boys kept asking questions of Kearsney, but the side from KZN was resolute on defence and managed to hold on to their lead.
Kearsney took an early 12-0 lead thanks to a try and conversion by their dynamic fullback, Daniel Eagar, and a try by the winger, Rogan Strydom but their opponents from Centurion never dropped their heads, and after their eighth man, Jon-Luc Snyman, got them on the board it looked like they found new energy and they kept within reach of Kearsney to the very end.
The hosts, St Andrew’s, realized some of the potential that they showed glimpses of on the first day.
After just coming up short 24-21 against St David’s Marist on day one, the home team put on an impressive performance to beat CBC Boksburg 46-5.
Their fullback and captain, Connor Nell, played a dream game, leading by example and scoring a hat-trick in front of the home crowd.
Clifton also had to hold on to survive an inspired second-half onslaught by St Stithians.
Despite looking strong and scoring three tries after the break, St Stithians had allowed Clifton to do too much damage in the first half and couldn’t make up the difference.
After this 29-19 victory and Saturday’s 29-8 win against Union High, they can leave the festival with a 100% winning record if they manage to beat CBC Boksburg in their final match.
Hilton also continued on their impressive run of form with their team of stayers blowing through St Alban’s College’s Invitational XV 64-3 after beating St Stithians 43-5 on the first day.
They face St David’s Marist on the final day and the team from Johannesburg will need to be at their best to avoid becoming Hilton’s third victim this week.
St. Andrew’s play against Kearsney in the main match of the final day and the home team will see this as a golden opportunity to show their intent by taking down a big name at their home festival.
The Kearsney boys have a day off to recover from the physical toll their last battle must have had, knowing they can also make it three from three if they beat the hosts on Wednesday.
Scorers:
Kearsney College 15 (12) – Tries: Rogan Strydom, Daniel Eagar. Conversion: Eagar. Penalty: Eagar. Cornwall Hill 7 (7) – Try: Jon-Luc Snyman. Conversion: Tshepo Malete
Clifton 29 (24) – Tries: Matt Hammond, Adam Selikow, Joshua Kennedy, Ebeneezer Mangue, Owen Field. Conversions: Kennedy (2). St. Stithians College 19 (0) – Tries: Bongani Mudzana, Chris Anderson, Francois Botes. Conversions: Chris Anderson (2).
St David’s Marist 61 (40) – Tries: Daniel Fellingam (3), Elliot Skei, Connor McWilliams, Nick de Zwart, Kuzivakwashe Majuru, William Alleman, William Hayton. Conversions: Luca Cabion (5), Diego Ferreira (3). Free State Development 0.
St Charles College 57 (33) – Tries: Raphael Ajibade (3), Matthew Urquhart (2), Keagan Lombard, KG Mashiloane, Dean Chiwese, Matthew Ludick. Conversions: Ukhanyo Ntsangani (6). Union High 0.
St Andrew’s 46 (22) – Tries: Connor Nel (3), Eduan van den Heever, Leon Athanasiou, Naudé Botha, Kamogelo Leshupi, Retshe Mokoena. Conversions: Nel (2), Botha. CBC Boksburg 5 (5) – Try: Cayden Milne.
Hilton College 64 (40) – Tries: Khanya Jekwa (2), Ollie Proudfoot (2), Rukudzo Madinga (2), Oli Gaboreau, Tristan Uys, Requilme Adonis, Unknown. Conversions: Michael Capes (6), Luke Warren. St Alban’s College XV 3.
Wednesday’s fixtures:
Hickling A: 08:00 – St Charles vs St Stithians; 09:10 – St Andrews vs Kearsney.
Hickling B: 08:00 – Hilton vs St David’s Marist; 09:10 – Union High vs Free State Development XV.
Victoria Park: 08:00 – Clifton vs CBC Boksburg; 09:10 – St Alban’s College XV vs Cornwall Hill.
