Graeme College had a tough start to the derby rugby day against Nico Malan on Saturday 2 June. There were some epic contests that went down to the wire, but Nico Malan seemed to keep edging Graeme at the final moments of the respective games.
With time up, the Graeme Second team conceded a penalty in front of the poles, which Nico Malan converted to snatch victory, which seemed to sum up the day for Graeme. With two games left in the day, Graeme had not managed to win a game, however, the u16 A side then produced an incredible performance, underpinned by their enormous defensive abilities. Graeme won their first game by the smallest of margins setting up the final showdown of the day.
The Nico Malan First team side had been in fine form and the Graeme side knew just how difficult the task ahead of them was. The match was a mouth-watering encounter. Nico Malan played with the wind in the first half and put Graeme under lots of pressure with some good tactical kicking. The game followed the script that Nico Malan had wanted, and they found themselves 13-0 up at half time after using the wind superbly well.
Graeme started the second half off with a game changing try early. What followed was a fantastic second half performance from the Graeme side, as they went into the lead for the first time. Nico Malan hit back to take a 18-17 lead with only a few minutes remaining. Graeme, however, continued their second half onslaught and produced another moment of excellence as they scored close to full time, to win 18-24. They needed to be at their very best to beat a very impressive Nico Malan side.
The Graeme junior school had a great set of fixtures against Grey, which were keenly contested. Grey won the big games, but Graeme managed to get in a few great wins.
Summary of Results
Senior rugby vs Nico Malan:
Nico Malan 40-0 Graeme U14B
Nico Malan 19-12 Graeme U14A
Nico Malan 33-26 Graeme U15A
Nico Malan 45-5 Graeme U15A
Nico Malan 51-0 Graeme U16B
Nico Malan 5-7 Graeme U16A
Nico Malan 21-7 Graeme 4th
Nico Malan 24-12 Graeme 3rd
Nico Malan 15-12 Graeme 2nd
Nico Malan 18-24 Graeme 1st
Junior rugby vs Grey:
Graeme U9 A 0-19 Grey U9 A
Graeme U13 D 0-34 Grey U12 C
Graeme U11 C 10-33 Grey U10 B
Graeme U11 A 0-37 Grey U11 A
Graeme U13 B 12-19 Grey U13 C
Graeme U13 C 36-0 Grey U13 D
Graeme U11 B 43-14 Grey U11 C
Graeme U11 D 5-31 Grey U10 D
Graeme U13 A 19-43 Grey U13 A