St John’s digs deep in win, Graeme impresses against Pretoria Boys High
Two matches marked by thunderous collisions and silky handling thrilled the sizeable crowd gathered for Saturday’s smorgasbord of action at the 28th Standard Bank St John’s College Easter Festival, in Johannesburg.
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The hosts, St John’s College, had to dig deep to overcome a spirited performance from Hoërskool Randburg, but two tries from openside flank Tumelo Bopape helped the hosts secure victory.
As expected, the home side came out firing, buoyed by a passionate crowd singing their support.
Lock, Allan Njanfang Patu, ignited the St John’s engine room. Though not the tallest second-rower, his relentless work rate and powerful ball carries consistently put the hosts on the front foot.
At fly-half, Gerald van Wyk led with composure and creativity. He’s in a rich vein of form and orchestrated play with authority.
For Randburg, their right-wing Bradley Butcher was a standout performer. The speedster twice carved open the St John’s defence to cross for long-range tries, which injected life into his team’s comeback hopes while firing up the crowd.
In the following fixture, Graeme College played with precision and intensity and delivered a clinical performance to secure a 25–10 win over Pretoria Boys High School.
Fullback Lucritia Magau was a constant threat. His strong runs from deep put the Eastern Cape side onto the front foot time after time.
Blindside flank Ayola Mali was in devastating form with the ball in hand. His crowning moment came when, from inside his half, he sliced through the host’s defensive line, exhibiting sharp acceleration and strength, with a powerful hand-off, to score one of the best tries of the festival.
The Candies‘ eighthman, Queenton Mncube, stood tall in defeat. He made his presence felt with his powerful carries and committed defensive work, and was rewarded with his side’s only try.
SCORERS
St John’s College 33 (19) – Tries: Tumelo Bopape (2), Luke Scott, Simon Musset, Lwandile Khupe. Comversions: Gerald van Wyk (4). Hoërskool Randburg 24 (5) – Tries: Bradley Buther (2), Kian Kritzinger, Jayden Oosthuizen. Conversions: Josh Wigget (2).
Graeme College 25 (5) – Tries: Ayola Mali, Erin Nelson, Lucritia Magau. Conversions: Ethan Bokbaard (2). Penalties: Aiden Walters, Bokbaard. Pretoria Boys High 10 (7) – Try: Queenton Mncube. Conversion: Blake Mager. Penalty: Mager.
