Despite wet and rainy conditions, supporters flocked to the Oval for three days of exciting rugby as Lily White Rugby and Football Club hosted their Easter Tournament.
Despite wet and rainy conditions, supporters flocked to the Oval for three days of exciting rugby as Lily White Rugby and Football Club hosted their Easter Tournament.
Lily White celebrated 120 years of the club's existence since its founding in 1894 by inviting 12 teams from the South Eastern district (Sedru) to compete. Eight of these took part, including long-time rivals and local powerhouse, the Grahamstown Brumbies.
Like many involved with Lily Whites, event organiser Lizo Zake is quite emotionally invested in the club. Commenting on the 120-year landmark anniversary, he said, “It feels great because it’s part of our heritage and the club comes from Tantyi.”
Speaking ahead of the contest, Zake said he believed the team had a lot of potential and that they would be contending for the final. He did admit, though, that the Brumbies had a very strong side and would also be strong contenders.
The tournament produced fast-paced, exciting rugby with many games being tightly contested. The competition kicked off on Saturday with an exciting match between the Grahamstown Brumbies and the Rosebuds, from Alicedale.
The game set a good tone for the tournament, with the Brumbies coming out with some hard and tenacious rugby to win the game 21-13.
Much to the entertainment of the local supporters, the weekend continued to produce exciting rugby and found Lily White in the semi-finals against Winter Rose on Monday.
The tournament hosts fought hard for a chance at the final, but found themselves losing 6-12 after a few too many opportunities missed and some excellent running rugby from Winter Rose.
After a convincing win over Old Collegians in their semi-final, the Brumbies beat Winter Rose 32-0 to take first place overall, followed by Winter Rose RFC in second place and Lily White RFC in third.
