Rams overcome St Stithians, Mali XV downs Clifton at Saints Easter Festival
St John’s College (Harare) played their hearts out to score a thrilling 24-21 victory over the hosts, St Stithians College, on Thursday, day one of the Saints Easter Rugby Festival.
The Lyme Park locals started with ferocious intensity. Their forwards provided scrumhalf Rory Bezuidenhout with quick ball, which he whipped out with haste from ruck after ruck, which enabled Saints to make metres with each carry.
That momentum eventually paid off when tighthead prop Larson Rujuwa muscled his way over the try line for the Saints‘ opening score from about five metres out.
However, the Zimbabwean outfit had no intentions of sitting idly by to receive further punishment. They slowly but surely clawed their way back into the game.
The turning point of the match came in the middle of the second half with the score at 10-7 in favour of the visitors.
Rams‘ outside centre Andile Ndlovu made a brilliant break from his own 10-metre line and hit the accelerator before passing out to hooker Sean Takaindisa, who made the dive for five in the left-hand corner.
From there, they did just enough to close out the contest and earn a hard-fought three-point win.
After a 7-7 first half, the Eastern Cape’s Mzwandile Mali XV outscored Clifton College 27-14 in the second half to claim a 34-21 victory.
The Durbanites scored first in the match through eighthman Liam Stocks. From a lineout inside the Mali XV’s 22, the ball was sent down the backline. Running a perfect line, as if he were a third centre, Stocks sliced through the defence and pinned the ball to the ground for his try.
Meanwhile, flyhalf Sibabalwe Gwinsta and fullback Marchellino Mars scored a try each for the Mali XV, and constantly troubled Clifton with their speed and agility.
While their flair and individual brilliance provided entertainment, it was the composite team’s cohesive and complete performance which ultimately earned them the win.
In a game between two foreign outfits, Hoërskool Windhoek mustered a 25-14 victory over the Hartpury College XV.
Playing with confidence, the Namibians scored four tries to grab a deserved victory. A drop goal by flyhalf, MC-Rein van Wyk, was the icing on the cake in their win.
Scorers
Hoërskool Windhoek 25 (10) – Tries: Carlos Florian, Xavier Bampton, Kalipa Mbuende, Bradley Beukes. Conversions: MC-Rein van Wyk. Drop Goal: Van Wyk. Hartpury College XV 14 (7) – Tries: Will Bennett, Cameron Marshall. Conversions: James Siberry (2).
St John’s College (Harare) 24 (3) – Tries: Tafara Chirambanegomo, Sean Takaindisa, Jacob Viki. Conversions: Sebastian Sarpo (3). Penalty: Sarpo. St Stithians College 21 (7) – Tries: Larson Rujuwa, Andrew Casewell, Kenneth Thring. Conversions: Tino Mambure (3).
Mzwandile Mali XV 34 (14) – Tries: Bongolethu Mxoli, Marchellino Mars, Onwabe Tanana, Siphesihle Persent, Athabile Magada. Conversions: Sibabalwe Gwinsta (2), Marchellino Mars. Penalty: Sibabalwe Gwinsta. Clifton College 21 (14) – Tries: Liam Stocks, Trent Bam, Cole Nienhuser. Conversions: Jack Snaith (2), Izah Roux.
