Friday 20 May saw a win for Grahamstown's schoolboy rugby, albeit in a defeat for the Eastern Province Kings. Old Andrean Sintu Manjezi captained the side in their 35-15 Currie Cup defeat to a Free State XV at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, with old Kingswoodian Somila Jho acting as Vice-Captain and chipping in with a try.
EP Kings took the lead through Michael Brink, who landed a penalty from 40 metres out in the sixth minute.
Free State responded with a try three minutes later through Joseph Dweba, with Sias Ebersohn converting successfully.
Brink had the chance to reduce the deficit to one point 15 minutes in with another 40-metre place kick. However, this time, he missed.
Free State responded by piling the pressure on the Kings, with Ruan van Rensburg finding a gap in the defence to dot down three minutes later. Ebersohn converted once again from next to the touchline.
The Kings hit back, subjecting their visitors to a brief spell of pressure in their 22. However, they were unable to break through.
27 minutes in, Athenkosi Mayinje finally sprinted his way in for a try. Brink’s conversion brought the Kings back to within touching distance.
The teams remained deadlocked until the brink of half-time, when Joseph Dweba dotted down under the posts for Free State. Ebersohn converted to send his team into the break 21-10 up.
The second half got off to a cagey start, with neither team exerting any significant pressure on their opponents. Free State took control of territory as the half wore on, but did not score until the 68th minute, when Tiaan Liebenberg crashed over from a driving maul. Ebersohn converted once again.
BG Uys dotted down for Free State's fifth try five minutes later, all but sealing the game. Ebersohn made no mistake in converting.
In the final minute, Jho added a consolation try for the Kings. Jordan Koekemoer missed the conversion and the Kings went down by 20. However, with K-day fast approaching, seeing Jho and Manjezi prosper will improve the mood at Kingswood and St. Andrew's.
