Standard Bank Grey High Rugby Festival preview
Often deprived of meaningful contests, leading Port Elizabeth township school Ithembelihle to have a golden opportunity to show their potential when they take on Louis Botha Tech and Graeme College in the Standard Bank Grey High Rugby Festival in PE this week.
The New Brighton outfit is among 20 first teams appearing in the festival as supporters prepare for a smorgasbord of schools rugby on Thursday and Saturday (April 27 and 29).
Besides the seniors, a total of 48 age-group teams will contest matches on six fields over the two days, meaning there will be 1 420 players in action during the tournament. As well as four venues at Grey, games will be played at Old Grey and the Police ground.
Ithembe have always been a competitive unit, producing a steady flow of talented players. One of this is Masixole Banda, currently making a name for himself as an exciting fullback for the Southern Kings Super Rugby franchise.
No doubt there will be others from their side lining up to prove a point this week and Louis Botha, from Bloem, and Graeme will not be taking anything for granted in their clashes.
While hosts Grey will have their hands full against Johannesburg opponents Jeppe and Parktown, Uitenhage schools Brandwag and Daniel Pienaar face equally tough challenges on Thursday.
Brandwag takes on Durban High School, who were one of the top sides in KwaZulu-Natal last year. Whether they can maintain those standards remains to be seen, but they will be certainly fired up to prove a point.
Daniel Pienaar, who lost narrowly to Framesby at the weekend, will again be pushed against the perennially slick-running Dale team.
Always keen to move the ball, the Italians will be a genuine threat if they can secure their fair share of possession.
Two other Border sides out to impress will be Queen’s and Hudson Park, both of whom registered notable wins at the weekend.
Queen’s shaded arch-rivals Dale 25-24, but will need to come back to earth for their clash with St John’s.
Hudson Park dealt comfortably with Cambridge in their clash on Saturday and you would expect them to kick off with a win in the day’s opening game against Despatch.
Despatch, however, have put a lot of work into their rugby and this is a chance for them to send a message to their rivals.
In the final two opening day matches, Muir faces a strong examination against Parktown, while Pearson will be hoping to start on a high note when they take on St David’s.
Fixtures for Grey High Rugby Festival
Thursday, April 27
(first teams unless stated)
Philip field
08.50: Hudson Park v Despatch, 10.10: Brandwag v DHS, 11.30: Muir v Parktown, 12.50: Queen’s v St John’s, 14.10: Daniel Pienaar v Dale, 15.30: Grey High v Jeppe
Pollock field
08.50: Daniel Pienaar U16 v Dale, 10.10: Grey Unicorns v Eezi Fana, 11.30: Grey U16 v Jeppe, 12.50: Ithembelihle v Louis Botha, 14.10: Pearson v St David’s
Police field
08.50: Brandwag v U16 v Selborne, 10.10: Pearson U16A v Grey U16B, 11.30: Dale U15A v Daniel Pienaar U15A, 12.50: St Alban’s U16 v Nico Malan, 14.10: Parktown U16 v Muir
Pyott field
08.30: Queen’s U16 v St John’s, 09.50: Queen’s U15 v Nico Malan, 10.50: Grey U15 v Hudson Park, 11.50: Brandwag U15 v St John’s, 12.50: Despatch U16 v Hudson Park, 14.10: Framesby U15 v Selborne
Gordon field
08.30: Grey U14B v Despatch U14A, 09.30: Grey U14 v Hudson Park, 10.30: Queen’s U14 v Nico Malan, 11.30: Framesby U14 v Selborne, 12.30: Daniel Pienaar U14 v Dale, 13.30: Brandwag U14 v St John’s, 14.30: Parktown U14 v Muir
Old Grey field
08.30: Pearson U14 v St David’s, 09.30: Parktown U15 v Muir, 12.30: Pearson U15A v Grey U15B
Saturday, April 29
Philip field
08.50: Muir v St David’s, 10.10: St John’s v St Andrew’s, 11.30: Jeppe v DHS, 12.50: Daniel Pienaar v Louis Botha, 14.10: Graeme v Ithembelihle, 15.30: Grey v Parktown
Pollock field
08.30: Grey U16A v Parktown, 09.50: St Alban’s U16A v Eezi Fani, 11.10: Dale v Pearson, 12.30: Brandwag v Hudson Park, 13.50: Unicorns v Despatch, 15.10: Selborne U16 v Daniel Pienaar
Pyott field
08.30: Nico Malan U16 v Jeppe, 09.50: Grey U15 v Selborne, 10.50: Graeme U16 v St John’s, 12.10: Grey U16B v Muir U16A, 13.40: Queen’s U16 v Despatch, 15.00: Brandwag U16 v Hudson Park
Police field
08.30: Dale U16 v Pearson, 09.50: Nico Malan U15 v St John’s
Gordon field
08.30: Graeme U14 v St David’s, 09.30: Daniel Pienaar U14 v Parktown, 10.30: Framesby U14 v Hudson Park, 11.30: Framesby U15 v Hudson Park, 12.30: Grey U14 v Selborne, 13.30: Grey U14B v Muir U14A, 14.30: Grey U15B v Muir U15A
Old Grey field
08.30: Nico Malan U14 v St John’s, 09.30: Despatch U14 v Eezi Fana, 10.30: Queen’s U14 v Brandwag, 11.30: Queen’s U15 v Brandwag, 12.30: Daniel Pienaar U15 v Parktown, 13.30: Dale U14 v Pearson, 14.30: Dale U15 v Pearson.
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