Kearsney, Clifton and Hilton finish ISRF undefeated
Kearsney College, Clifton and Hilton College return home undefeated after the Independent Schools Rugby Festival which took place at St Andrew’s in Bloemfontein this week.
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Despite a courageous effort by the hosts, Kearsney managed to hold on and protect a narrow lead, finishing their tour on a high against St Andrew’s School (10-5).
Neither side was willing to give an inch and it took 36 minutes before the first points were scored, when Kearsney’s dynamic flyhalf, Dan Eagar, ran a beautiful line, slicing open the home team’s defence to score the opening try well into the second half.
The St Andrew’s boys were determined to upset their guests from KZN and kept asking questions of the Kearsney defence, which, in turn, they managed very well.
With 12 minutes left on the clock, St Andrew’s big eighth man, Eduan van den Heever, rounded off a great lineout move to get his team on the board.
Smelling blood, St Andrew’s attacked relentlessly for the remainder of the game, but the Kearsney defence remained steadfast and Eagar added three more points to ensure that the hosts would need to score a try to win the game, which they failed to do in the remaining time.
Having scored all 10 of Kearsney’s points, Eagar was definitely the standout player for his team, but special mention should also be made of their collective defensive effort to deny St Andrew’s any more points.
Though they will be devastated by the fact that they couldn’t get a big victory on the final day, St Andrew’s have shown that their rugby program is on a positive trajectory with their performances this week.
In the game against Kearsney, Marco de Sousa (lock) and CM Geel (flyhalf) stood out for their work rate along with their captain and vice-captain, Connor Nel (fullback) and Matthew Simon (prop) who were also prominent for the Bloemfontein team.
Kearsney leave the tournament unbeaten, having seen off with the likes of St Alban’s College Invitational XV (47-12) and Cornwall Hill (15-7) on the previous days.
Hilton also managed to go three from three with a team of stayers after beating St David’s Marist 31-14 on the final day. They did away with St Stithians (43-5) and St Alban’s College Invitational XV (64-3) earlier in the week.
Their performance at the festival bodes extremely well for Hilton’s season next year when many of the boys who were in action this week will move into more permanent positions in their first team, having benefitted from the experience of this festival.
Clifton never tasted defeat either, beating Union (29-8) and St Stithians (29-19) before rounding off their week against Boksburg with a massive 73-0 romp.
Matt Hammond (lock) scored a hat-trick for Clifton in the final match.
Cornwall Hill College’s lightning-quick left winger, CJ Kapilikisha, also scored three tries in their 29-19 victory over the St Alban’s College XV on the final day.
Scorers:
Kearsney College 10 (0) – Try: Dan Eagar, Conversion: Eagar. Penalty: Eagar. St Andrew’s 5 (0) – Try: Eduan van den Heever.
Hilton College 31 – Tries: Xola Makongolo (2), Ricky Adonis (2), Ollie Proudfoot, Luke Warren. Conversions: Michael Crapes (4). St David’s Marist 14 – Try: D’Andre Moshonga. Conversion: Diego Ferreira. Penalties: Ferreira (3).
Cornwall Hill College 29 – Tries: CJ Kapilikisha (3), Angelo Papadopoulos, JL Snyman. Conversions: Tshepo Malete (3). St Alban’s XV 19 – Tries: Ofentse Sema (2), Joshua Kirkcaldy. Conversions: Joshua Verster, Wesley Ridgeway.
St Charles College 40 (26) – Tries: Matthew Urquhart (2), Stefan Veldsman, Sam Odell, Lazola Makuala, Rashid Isaacs. Conversions: Urquhart (5). St Stithians College 17 (0) – Tries: Luke Thottold, Tashinga Chingonzo, Thato Madziwanyika. Conversion: Chris Anderson.
Clifton 73 – Tries: Matt Hammond (3), Mackenzie Hagarth (2), Ebenezer Mangue (2), Khanya Mgabi, Junior Dlomo, Michael Langston, Joseph Rey, Joshua Kennedy. Conversions: Kennedy (5), Wandile Ngubane. CBC Boksburg 0.
Union High 66 – TBC Free State Development 0.
