Record crowds turned out for a superb demonstration of schoolboy rugby at the Pam Golding Graeme College Rugby day last Saturday.
Record crowds turned out for a superb demonstration of schoolboy rugby at the Pam Golding Graeme College Rugby day last Saturday.
1st teams, U16s and U14s from schools all over the Eastern Cape were there in force to kick off their 2016 season. The action started at 8am and continued until 5.30pm
As far as the Grahamstown schools went, three out of the four were victorious.
Nathaniel Nyaluza beat Port Alfred High School 19-5 and St Andrew's took control in the second half of their clash with Nico Malan to run out fairly comfortable 22-12 winners.
It was all even at halftime after a try apiece, but St Andrew's displayed some good running skills in the second half and opened up the Nico Malan defence to score three more tries, speedy wing Tim Bloem showing his pace to cross twice.
Graeme College had a tough task as they faced Marlow in the penultimate game of the day.
Marlow showed some elusive running skills among their backs to stack up a daunting 26-0 lead. At one stage, the Graeme defensive structures were sorely exposed and Marlow, with flyhalf Vaughen Isaacs often prominent, took full advantage to take control in the first three-quarters of the match.
However, when Graeme finally did get their tackling right, they were able to apply some pressure on their opponents and hit back in the final quarter with two fine tries to add some respectability to the score – which saw Graeme losing 14-26.
Kingswood and Queen's produced a thrilling finish to the day's play with a display of running rugby, mixed with courageous comebacks.
The Grahamstown lads showed they will be a handful for most teams this season and were 24-5 up by midway through the second half. Queen’s then fought back well, managing to score another 12 points in the last quarter. However, it was Kingswood who had the final say and they went on to win 31-17.
Overall, the action on the day seems to promise some great rugby to come in 2016 with some thrilling clashes on the cards as teams settle in to the winter sports season.
First team results:
Dale 22 – Pearson 3, Hudson Park 29 – Union High 26, Nathaniel Nyaluza 19 – Port Alfred High School 5, Grey High 50 – Stirling 0, Muir 12 – Cambridge 6, Selborne 36 – Framesby 10, St Andrew's 22 – Nico Malan 12, Marlow 26 – Graeme 14, Kingswood 31 – Queen's 17.
See more photos and report on Grocott's Mail Sport Facebook page, as well as Friday's edition of Grocott's Mail
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