Kearsney falls short while Glenwood, Westville, and Monnas finish KERF unbeaten
A spirited second-half comeback by Kearsney College wasn’t enough as they went down 26-24 to UK’s Hartpury College on the final day of the Standard Bank Kearsney College Easter Festival at the Scott field on Monday.
The hosts were eager to make it back-to-back wins after edging Dr. EG Jansen 17-12 on day two.
Their pursuit for victory started in the worst way possible after being forced to defend in their half for ten minutes.
Things got worse soon for the Durban side as Hartpury received a penalty inside Kearsney’s 22 meter and opted for a lineout. From there on, the visitor’s maul collapsed, and they quickly played the ball through the hands until it reached deadly winger Dan Williams who dotted in the far-left corner for his side’s first of the game.
It only took the visitors two minutes to add another try as lock Joe Pauling crashed over after his side retained the ball from the kick-off.
The UK side scored again in the 22nd minute to take a 19-0 lead before Kearsney flank James Francke dotted down in the corner after intelligent play from wing Junior Dlamini who kept the ball in the field to bring the home side back into the contest.
Hartpury led 19-5 at the interval.
The second stanza saw Kearsney make several changes with two props, Anele Cele and Luca Veronesi, alongside scrumhalf Chad Croshaw making their way to the field, and they made an immediate impact.
Their scrums started improving while Croshaw contributed a try, converting it much to the delight of the home supporters.
The home side pushed hard and scored twice through Roydan Madatt and Jack Rankin.
However, with a minute left, it was too late as the earlier try by Hartpury skipper Mason Watkin proved to be the difference.
The home side fell two points short, finishing what they’ll consider a disappointing festival after winning one out of three matches.
Sonny Greenman and Dan Williams stood out for Hartpury, while Chad Croshaw will be proud of his performance from the bench.
Other results on day three saw victories for Glenwood, Westville, and Monument as the powerhouse teams left the festival with 100% win rates.
The three sides have been impressive from day one, and on the final day scored 120 points between them, with Glenwood being the big winners by beating Worcester Gimnasium 57-8.
The Green Machine were superb in attack, scoring as early as the first minute through hooker Keagan Goosen, who crashed over after great play from Andrew Martins and center Okonto Chijundu.
The onslaught continued from the Durban side when captain Lithemba Mfupi and prop counterpart Bongani Dlamini displayed dominance in their ball carrying while gaining metres over the advantage line.
Mfupi was inspirational, scoring a try of his own before a score by center MJ Schoeman saw the Durbannites rush to a 19-0 lead in 13 minutes.
Gimnasium tried to fight their way back into the encounter but managed only three points from the boot of Carick Kustoor before another try by lock Liam Terblanche saw Glenwood lead 26-3 at the break.
Glenwood then turned up the notch in the second stanza, scoring 31 points. Schoeman and Terblanche doubled their tallies, while late tries by replacements Zukisani Tom and William van Vuuren put the icing on the cake.
Having led 10-5 at the break, Hoèrskool Monument produced a spectacular second-half display to brush off Dale College by 41 points to 5 in their last game at Kearsney.
The men from King Williams Town suffered a huge blow early in the game when outside center Athenkosi Msileni saw red for a dangerous tackle (head contact) on a Monnas player.
Despite keeping themselves in the game in the first half, ill-discipline cost Dale in the second stanza. Their defence opened up, and it rained tries as Ceano Everson (2), Jamal Feldman, Jody Schambreel, and Nathan Venter scored to seal the victory in style.
In another highly contested matchup, Westville scored 12 unanswered points in the second half to record a 22-10 win over the festival’s underachievers Dr. EG Jansen. Fullback Tshegofatso Ramaloko and center Likhona Finca were influential in the tries scored by their team.
Durban High also finished on a high, edging out Marlow, 32-25 with a try at the death by the center, Zingce Simka.
Gqeberha’s Hoèrskool Framesby was also amongst the winners on the final day. An inspirational performance by seasoned campaigner Logan Muller and tries by Sean Vermaak, Tiaan Pretorius, Hein Terblanch, Logan Muller, and Ryan Rousseau sealed a 35-5 victory for the side.
Scorers:
Kearney College 24 (5) – Tries: James Francke, Chad Croshaw, Roydan Madatt, Jack Rankin. Conversions: Chad Croshaw (x2). Hartpury College (UK) 26 (19) – Tries: Dan Williams (x2), Joe Pauling, Mason Watkin. Conversions: Sonny Greenman (3).
Worcester Gimnasium 8 (3) – Tries: Carick Kustoor. Penalty: Kustoor.
Glenwood High School 57 (26)- Tries: Keagan Goosen, Lithemba Mfupi, MJ Schoeman (x2), Liam Terblanche (x2), Jordan Hargreaves, Zukisani Tom, William van Vuuren. Conversions: MJ Schoeman (x3), Tyrique Hardnick(x2), Jaco Williams.
Hoèrskool Monument 41 (10) – Tries: JC Oosthuizen, Daylon Myners, Nathan Venter, Ceano Everson (x2), Jamal Feldman, Jody Schambreel. Conversions: Daylon Myners (x2). Dale College 5 (5) – Tries: Liyabona Matyana.
Westville Boys’ High School 22 (10) – Tries: Karabo Maimane, Caleb Dreydon, Tebogo M’khomazi. Conversions: Tshegofatso Ramaloko (2). Penalty: Ramaloko. Hoërskool Dr E G Jansen 10 (10) – Tries: David Twala, Ruben Green.
Marlow Landbou 25 (13) – Tries: Dempers Meyer, Aiden de Villiers, HD Aucamp. Conversions: Gideon Jordaan (x2). Penalty: Jordaan (x2). Durban High School 32 (13)- Tries: Siseko Mani, Maurice Willemse, Amahle Mazibuko, Zingce Simka. Conversions: Deano Boesak (x3). Penalties: Boesak (2).
Hoërskool Framesby 35 (14) – Tries: Sean Vermaak, Tiaan Pretorius, Hein Terblanche, Logan Muller, Ryan Rousseau. Conversions: Logan Muller (5). Hoërskool Noord-Kaap 7 (7) – Try: Stone Coates. Conversion: Eldridge Jack.
