Gericke are the u12 Marius Schoeman Sevens champions for 2023
Gericke Primary School from Ceres overcame all odds last night to beat Outeniqua by 12-10 in the Marius Schoeman u12 Sevens-tournament in Paarl to be crowned champions.
The u12 boys set the tone perfectly for what is a jam-packed weekend full of exciting rugby.
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In an epic finale to what had been an amazing day filled with the best barefoot rugby in the country, the Gericke boys fought doggedly to the end to upset the big boys from George.
Ruben Giliomee scored a sensational try to give his team the advantage. He was aware enough to spot the space in the backfield and after taking a penalty quickly and hoofing the ball upfield it was a foot race, which he was never going to lose.
The name should ring a bell for South African school sports lovers, his big brother, Luan Giliomee, was part of a very impressive Charlie Hofmeyr first team this year and was selected as part of the SA u18 Sevens team that earned bronze at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad and Tobago earlier in the year.
His sister, Lané, is an equally accomplished athlete, captaining the Western Province Netball team, and excelling in the 400m hurdles. She is also the deputy head girl at Charlie Hofmeyr, where young Ruben is sure to follow in his siblings’ footsteps, where both Luan and Lané were honoured as the sportsman and sportswoman of the year at the proud school in Ceres this year.
There was very little to separate the two teams throughout the match, tied at 5-all at the break, and both scoring only one additional try in the second half, the difference was the fact that Gericke scored under the post, allowing them an easy conversion, and then defended brilliantly to make life difficult for the boys from George.
When they finally got over the line they had to make do with the little bit of space left in the corner, and the conversion from the touchline was much more difficult, ultimately leaving them two points short.
Paarl Boys’ Primary beat an impressive team from Noord-Eind in the final for the Plate by 27-7, and two-time MS Sevens u12 champions, Bastion, had to settle for third place this year, after beating Durbanville in the playoffs with 24 unanswered points.
Last year’s champions, the hosts, Paarl Gimnasium, finished second best in the Bowl competition this year after they ran into the Bastion B-team and lost by 22-14.
Finally, Welgemoed took the Shield home after their 29-21 triumph over WA Joubert.
The action continues today with the u15 and u17 teams taking the field, and if the juniors were any indication of what to expect, you would not want to miss any of the games today.
All the results:
Pool A: Hugenote 17, Worcester 15; Panorama 33, Forward Foundation 14; Panorama 15, Worcester 12; Forward Foundation 14, Hugenote 12; Forward Foundation 19, Worcester 12; Panorama 29, Hugenote 17.
Pool B: Durbanville 20, Kenridge 12; Paarl Gimnasium 50, Drakenstein 5; Durbanville 10, Paarl Gimnasium 5; Kenridge 31, Drakenstein 7; Kenridge 22, Paarl Gimnasium 5; Durbanville 24, Drakenstein 10.
Pool C: Gericke 38, Hugo Rust 7; Noord-Eind 27, Durbanville II 0; Gericke 22, Noord-Eind 5; Durbanville II 17, Hugo Rust 0; Noord-Eind 31, Hugo Rust 0; Gericke 31, Durbanville II 5.
Pool D: Stellenbosch II 17, WA Joubert 10; Lochnerhof 29, Worcester II 0; Lochnerhof 27, Stellenbosch II 5; Worcester II 36, WA Joubert 19; Lochnerhof 27, WA Joubert 14; Stellenbosch II 24, Worcester 19.
Pool E: Brackenfell 27, Welgemoed 0; Outeniqua 26, Kathleen Murray 26; Outeniqua 24, Brackenfell 19; Kathleen Murray 26. Welgemoed 10; Brackenfell 24, Kathleen Murray 14; Outeniqua 38, Welgemoed 0.
Pool F: Eikestad 14, NTK RFC 12; Stellenbosch 36, Vooruitsig 5; Eikestad 52, Stellenbosch 0; NTK RFC 66, Vooruitsig 0; Eikestad 54, Vooruitsig 0; NTK RFC 35, Stellenbosch 5.
Pool G: Paarl Boys’ Primary 31, Coutrai 0; Bastion 51, Paarl Gimnasium II 0; Bastion 21, Paarl Boys’ Primary 19; Courtrai 17, Paarl Gimnasium II 5; Bastion 35, Courtrai 5; Paarl Boys’ Primary 57, Paarl Gimnasium II 0.
Pool H: Van Riebeeckstrand 31, Gordon’s Bay 0; Eversdal 28, Bastion II 5; Van Riebeeckstrand 31, Eversdal 17; Bastion II 36, Gordon’s Bay 5; Eversdal 38, Gordon’s Bay 5; Van Riebeeckstrand 45, Bation II 5.
Quarter-finals
Shield: Drakenstein 15, Worcester 10; WA Joubert 22, Hugo Rust 21; Welgemoed 26, Vooruitsig 0; Gordon’s Bay 26, Paarl Gimnasium II 5.
Bowl: Paarl Gimnasium 19, Hugenote 12; Worcester II 26, Durbanville II 24; Kathleen Murray 19, Stellenbosch II 14; Bation II 33, Courtrai 0.
Plate: Kenridge 25, Forward Foundation 7; Noord-Eind 43, Stellenbosch 7; Brackenfell 10, NTK RFC 0; Paarl Boys’ Primary 26, Eversdal 5.
Cup: Durbanville 22, Panorama 12; Gericke 17, Lochnerhof 10; Outeniqua 17, Eikestad 12; Bastion 17, Van Riebeeckstrand 12.
Semi-finals
Shield: WA Joubert 21, Drakenstein 19; Welgemoed 22, Gordon’s Bay 19.
Bowl: Paarl Gimnasium 24, Worcester II 12; Bastion II 24, Kathleen Murray 12.
Plate: Noord-Eind 33, Kenridge 12; Paarl Boys’ Primary 35, Brackenfell 10.
Cup: Gericke 21, Durbanville 5; Outeniqua 14, Bastion 0.
Finals
Shield: Welgemoed 29, WA Joubert 21.
Bowl: Bastion II 22, Paarl Gimnasium 14.
Plate: Paarl Boys’ Primary 27, Noord-Eind 7.
Cup: Gericke 12, Outeniqua 10; (Third Place) Bastion 24, Durbanville 0.
