Hoërskool PJ Olivier hosted Kingswood School from Bath in the United Kingdom in a 1st team rugby encounter on the PJ sports field on Monday afternoon.
Hoërskool PJ Olivier hosted Kingswood School from Bath in the United Kingdom in a 1st team rugby encounter on the PJ sports field on Monday afternoon.
This is the first time since 1996 when Taunton toured South Africa that a touring team from the UK has visited PJ. “It was no wonder that there was great excitement at the school when PJ Olivier hosted Kingswood School, from Bath in the United Kingdom,” said Lyndon Brandt.
The rugby match was played in good spirits despite the very cold and windy conditions. It was a physical encounter with neither school giving an inch.
As their previous three matches were cancelled because their opponents’ schools being hit by flu, PJ were a bit rusty in the first half and were unable to convert opportunities into points, and were down 0-10 at half-time.
The second half was a completely different story with PJ raising their game and the pace of the match. Not long after the second half began a good bit of individual work saw vice-captain Theo Fortuin finding a gap to run in his side’s first try, which was converted by centre Elandre Human.
Not long after PJ’s try, Kingswood replied with their third try taking the score to 7-15 in favour of Kingswood. PJ went on to score a second try with some good basic rugby as the ball sped down the backline and Alvino Williams crossed over to score in the corner.
Human converted with a difficult kick in the strong wind. With minutes remaining, and against the run of play, Kingswood managed to score their fourth try and put the game out of PJ’s reach.
Final score was 14-22 to Kingswood. The English School’s coach awarded Jason Speckman of PJ the man-of-the-match award at a braai enjoyed by the two teams and their teachers.
