Author: Shaun Goosen

St Andrew’s College 1st XV pipped Kingswood 1st XV 21-20 in a gripping K-Day encounter at City Lord’s in Kingswood College on Saturday. The win is the visitors’ fifth from the previous seven K-Day encounters, with Kingswood’s last victory coming in a 34-22 triumph in 2016. Kingswood, celebrating the school’s 125th anniversary this year, had won 10 of their 15 matches this season ahead of Saturday’s clash. Despite a monumental defensive effort, they were ultimately outdone by ill-discipline and a relentless St Andrew’s attack. SAC were rewarded for their fine form in 2019 with four of their players selected to…

St Andrew’s College 1st XV scored 13 tries in an 87-3 thrashing of Pearson High School 1st XV at Lower Field on Saturday 1 June. The hosts bounced back after falling 28-12 at Selborne College last week to record an 11th win from 14 matches in 2019. SAC continued to produce the unique brand of free-flowing rugby they have played all season, with their sublime handling and superior skillset proving far too much for Pearson on the day. Dylan Bowker opened the account for College before a Chadwin Spiers penalty narrowed the deficit. Benjamin Aliker added another try for the…

A well-drilled St Andrew’s College 1st XV powered their way to a comfortable 47-19 over Graeme College 1st XV at Somerset Field on Saturday. The visitors were coming off the back of a 66-5 romp of Parktown Boys’ High School in what was their eighth win in 10 fixtures in 2019. While Graeme were good in patches during the match, losses in concentration at crucial times cost them in the end. It didn’t take St Andrew’s long to open their account as powerful tighthead Bame Malesu bagged two tries inside the opening 10 minutes. Chris Poole added another from a…

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus hailed his side’s overall performance in their 23-12 win over the Wallabies at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Saturday. The result ensured that South Africa would finish as Rugby Championship runners-up to the All Blacks after the latter’s 35-17 victory over Argentina on Sunday morning. “We’re starting to win games now after making changes, which is a positive,” said Erasmus. “Obviously we didn’t play tactically well; I thought the guts the boys showed in the second-half proves that the character [in the side] is great.” The former Bok flanker pinpointed their encouraging…

South Africa made 169-tackles in their 23-12 win over Australia in Round Five of the Rugby Championship at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Saturday. The victory kept alive the Springboks’ slim title hopes and ensured they would finish in the top two of the competition for the first time since 2014. After completing a whopping 291-tackles against the All Blacks in their astounding 36-34 Wellington win a fortnight ago, the Boks were under pressure to maintain a similar standard without ball in hand this week. Rassie Erasmus’ charges’ display in PE would doubtless give them a…

Deon Davids is relishing his Southern Kings side’s Pro14 challenge after earning a valuable 38-28 victory over the Glasgow Warriors at the Madibaz Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Saturday. The win was the Kings’ first of the new season and just their second in the competition overall. The result also handed Dave Rennie’s Warriors their first loss of the new campaign, having won all three of their previous encounters. The Port Elizabethans scored three converted tries and a penalty to head into the break with a commanding 24-0 lead. Davids reflected on that powerful start. “We just built momentum; there…

The Southern Kings scored five tries in their 38-28 win over the Glasgow Warriors at the Madibaz Stadium at the Nelson Mandela University in Port Elizabeth on Saturday. The result marked the Kings’ first win this season and second in the competition overall. It also condemned Glasgow to a first defeat of the new campaign. After an initial missed penalty attempt by Masixole Banda, the hosts stormed into a commanding 21-0 lead courtesy of quickfire tries to Yaw Penxe, Martin du Toit and Rudi van Rooyen. The intensity and guile of those opening scores laid the platform for what was…

Here are the two line-ups for the two teams Southern Kings: 15 Masixole Banda, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Harlon Klassen, 12 Berton Klassen, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Martin du Toit, 9 Rudi van Rooyen, 8 Ruaan Lerm, 7 Andisa Ntsila, 6 Henry Brown, 5 JC Astle, 4 Bobby de Wee, 3 Luvuyo Pupuma, 2 Michael Willemse (c), 1 Schalk Ferreira. Subs: 16 Alandre van Rooyen, 17 Justin Forwood, 18 Martin Dreyer, 19 Stephan Greeff, 20 CJ Velleman, 21 Godlen Masimla, 22 Ntabeni Dukisa, Michael Botha. Glasgow Warriors: 15 Ruaridh Jackson, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Nick Grigg, 11…

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus expressed satisfaction at his side’s performance in Saturday’s 34-21 win against Argentina in Durban but stressed that they did remain a work in progress. Despite a convincing victory at Jonsson Kings Park in their Rugby Championship opener, Erasmus highlighted overeagerness at the breakdown as an area that still requires improvement. “[Argentina] fight hard at the breakdown and I think that at times we were awesome [in that department]. Sometimes we were so aggressive that we cleaned passed the ball and it was exposed. “It was definitely not a lack of body height and aggression. We almost…

South Africa produced a powerful physical effort to slay Argentina 34-21 in their opening Rugby Championship game at Jonsson Kings Park Stadium in Durban on Saturday. In what was the second Test of the 2018 edition following New Zealand’s 38-13 victory over Australia in Sydney earlier in the day, Rassie Erasmus’ charges earned their third win in five games since his assumption to the role of Springbok head coach. The Argentines were their typical abrasive selves, but battled to cope with the attacking flair of the hosts late on. Local Sharks boy Lukhanyo Am broke the deadlock with the first…