Classic Clash of Colleges in Grahamstown
St Andrew's Report
In what was, on the whole, a tightly contested game, the St Andrew's College 1st XV ran out eventual 34-14 winners in their FNB Classic Clash against Graeme College on Lower Field this past Saturday.
Early mistakes and poor execution from the College team allowed Graeme to score first after a good break by their flyhalf, Mark Amm. The resulting line-out saw Graeme get a good driving maul going and they scored and converted to take a 7-0 lead.
A mistake by Graeme off the kick-off allowed College to put pressure on the Graeme defence but further mistakes cost College any points.
A clever box kick from College scrumhalf Guy Rushmere resulted in a mistake by Graeme which was punished by the College centre Charlie Fleming who scored under the poles, leveling the scores at 7-7.
Another try out wide to Guy Rushmere meant that College went into the lead for the first time. On the stroke of half-time William McAdam finished with a storming break down the left touchline to leave College 17-7 up at the break.
The second half started well for College with Matthew Hillary showing great athleticism and skill to dot down in the corner after a good line-out by the College forwards. A further try to substitute Buhle Matshaya, and another well worked try by Graeme College closed off the game at 34-14 in favor of the home side.
It was a wonderfully competitive day of rugby between the local rivals and the games were played in a fantastic spirit.
By Stephen Penney
Graeme Report
On Saturday, the rugby kicked off and the Graeme Junior coaching staff would be delighted with the outcome. Graeme won all six matches scoring 244 points and conceding 27 on the day, culminating in a 31-5 win in the u13A game.
The senior school found it a contrasting day, even though Graeme started the day with wins in the Under-14A and 5th team games. The St Andrews' 1st XV were definitely favourites on the day, and again Graeme would need to play well to combat their rivals in the FNB Classic Clash. St Andrew's had the upper hand in most the matches during the day, which included the 34-14 win in the 1st XV match.
In the 1st XV match, Graeme started very well by applying some tactical pressure through the boot of Mark Amm. This finally paid off as they mauled over from five metres out to take an early 7-0 lead.
Graeme had two penalty opportunities to extend this lead; however both chances were missed.
It wasn’t long however until the SAC boys got into their running and started to apply pressure on the Graeme College line. They dominated the last 15 minutes of the first half to score three tries. Graeme will however be disappointed at how little they made their opponents work for those three tries.
SAC led 17-7 at the half time break. SAC started the second half just as they had finished the first – dominating territory and starving the Graemians of the ball.
SAC scored another three tries to pull away from their opponents. Graeme did not give up and managed to score in the last play of the game making the final score 34-14 to SAC.
Special mention from a Graeme perspective must be made of Arnouw Nel who put in another good performance as he managed eight turnovers; and a number of tackles and carries for his team throughout the game. The Graeme side showed great tenacity and grit on the day, but it wasn’t enough to overcome St Andrew's on the day.
By Gregg van Molendorf
Teams
St Andrew's College: 15 Matt Royle, 14 Ryan Thompson, 13 Ant More, 12 Charlie Fleming, 11 Will McAdam, 10 Ryan Ford, 9 Guy Rushmere, 8 Miles Danckwerts, 7 Christian Roebert, 6 Alex Menage (captain), 5 Matthew Hillary, 4 Drew Ramsden, 3 Bame Malesu, 2 Chris Poole, 1 Basi Malesu
Graeme College: 15 Liam Agnew, 14 Yanga Bangisa, 13 Sihle Mginywa, 12 Dylan Rielly, 11 Eldrico Kivitts, 10 Mark Amm, 9 Romario Fritz, 8 Arnouw Nel, 7 Jeremy Beyleveld, 6 Intle Mancoko, 5 David McCallum, 4 Uminathi Anthony, 3 Bavu Manyakanyaka (captain), 2 Bongo Adams, 1 Thuso Mokhele
