Rustenburg topples Durbanville, Framesby takes down Peterhouse
Hoërskool Rustenburg vs Hoërskool Durbanville
In Saturday’s opening game on day two of the Standard Bank Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival, Hoërskool Rustenburg captured a dramatic 26-22 win over Hoërskool Durbanville, on Stott Field.
The Western Cape outfit had picked up a big 66-22 victory over Dale College on Thursday and they were focused on keeping that momentum rolling. Rustenburg, meanwhile, had been on the receiving end of a 7-41 defeat against Durban High School (DHS) in their opener, but they produced a stoic performance to come away with the spoils.
Durbanville didn’t hang about after the opening whistle and they were quickly on the scoreboard through hooker Juan Smit, who forced his way over after an effective driving maul.
Tristan Myburgh levelled matters for Rustenburg, thanks to a maul of their own, but another Durbanville drive led to a Zay-Winn Januarie score.
Despite Durbanville dominating possession and territory for most of the first half, Rustenburg’s good work on the deck enabled them to reject a number of their opponent’s attacking forays. De Wet Viljoen had the final say of the opening stanza when he landed a sublime 50-odd metre penalty, to extend coach Johann van Deventer’s side’s lead to 17-7 at the break.
Early in the second half, Rustenburg scrumhalf Adriano George finished off a sparkling attack, which was highlighted by swift ball movement. Durbanville, though, responded immediately through Ruan Vosloo.
The boys in green and orange were not to be outdone, however, and they scored further tries through hooker Xavier Steenkamp and winger Keathwyn Afrika to edge in front with less than 10 minutes remaining.
Despite a late fightback from Durbanville, some manful defending and smart tactical play secured Rustenburg a morale-boosting victory.
Hoërskool Framesby vs Peterhouse
Hoërskool Framesby rolled to a comfortable 45-19 win over Peterhouse in the second match of the day.
Both sides were searching for their first victory at the festival after the Gqeberha school was put to the sword in a 0-31 drubbing by Westville Boys’ High, while the Zimbabwean side had suffered an 18-34 defeat to Milnerton in their opener on Thursday.
In the first half, both teams showed plenty of positive attacking intent, and the first blow was struck by Peterhouse, with their flyhalf James Watt, breaking the deadlock with a converted try 15 minutes in.
Wian Holtzhausen hit back soon thereafter to level it for Framesby, before captain Eden Calitz put the Eastern Cape boys in front when he crashed over from close range.
Peterhouse was made to rue an unsuccessful Watt penalty attempt when a superb Calestin Felkers break and pop off the deck allowed Mondre van Heerden to collect and dive over under the sticks.
The scrumhalf sniped over for his second not long after that to give Framesby a comfortable 26-7 advantage at the interval.
The tourists were arguably better than the scoreline suggests, but their inability to execute the basics at crucial moments let them down.
After halftime, Framesby picked up where they left off and extended their lead through Holtzhausen’s second five-pointer.
Tries by flying fullback Munashe Masamha and Andrew Maringa narrowed the deficit for the boys in white, but two more tries by Jaco George, off the back of more Peterhouse errors, provided the final nails in the coffin.
SCORES
Rustenburg 26 (7) – Tries: Tristan Myburgh, Adriano George, Xavier Steenkamp, Keathwyn Afrika. Conversions: Ayden Willemse (2), Ricardo Enos; Durbanville – Tries: Juan Smit, Zay-Winn Januarie, Ruan Vosloo. Conversions: De Wet Viljoen (2). Penalty: Viljoen.
Framesby 45 (26) – Tries: Wian Holtzhausen (2), Mondre van Heerden (2), Adriano George (2), Eden Calitz. Conversions: Miles Feltham (5); Peterhouse 19 (7) – Tries: James Watt, Munashe Masamha, Andrew Maringa, Conversions: Watt, Maringa.
Scores
Framesby
Tries: Holtzhausen (2), Calitz, van Heerden (2), George (2)
Cons: Feltham (5)
Peterhouse
Tries: Watt, Masamha, Maringa
Cons: Watt, Maringa
