Day 3: Hilton win again at St John's

Hilton vs St David's

The first game of the final day of the St John’s College Easter rugby, saw Hilton College make it three wins from three matches, when they beat St David’s 24-10, in a rather tight fixture.

The score line may not seem so but the encounter, went right down to the wire, where Hilton in the end had to work hard to grind out yet another fine result.

The first half in particular saw a very low scoring contest, with both teams finding it really difficult to breach each other's defence. 

After a few close moments, St David's eventually found a way through, thanks to fullback Leo Michael's elusive running through the Hilton midfield to dot down close to the upright. Flyhalf Marcell Scheepers then stepped up and did what was asked of him, by converting the try to give St David’s a seven-point lead. 

The game was then very tight, with the next points only coming about 12 minutes later, after Hilton were awarded a penalty which fullback Gareth Schreuder converted to bring the score to 7-3 going into the break.

The opening few minutes of the second half played out in a similar fashion as the first, but with Hilton showing more dominance, keeping St David’s in their half. 

St David’s did however get an opportunity to extend their lead but the penalty was missed, just before Hilton managed to get themselves the lead for the first time with a converted try. 

With the score at 10-7 to Hilton, St David’s continued to give their best, which resulted in a penalty, which Scheepers this time around sent through the sticks to level matters at 10-10. 

That would be the last time St David’s put points on the board, even getting a player sin-binned on two occasions. Hilton used this to their advantage, crossing over through Mark Armstrong and getting a penalty try at the end to secure a 24-10 victory.

Scorers:

For Hilton:

Tries:  Gareth Schreuder, Mark Armstrong, penalty try

Cons: Gareth Schreuder 3

Pen: Gareth Schreuder

For St David's:

Try: Leo Michael

Con: Marcell Scheepers

Pen: Marcell Scheepers

Teams

Hilton: Dylan Davies, Dylan Thomas, Henty Beukes, Niaan Taljaard, Andrew James, Mark Armstrong, Patrick Mcveigh (captain), Lorenzo Palacio Apez, Gareth Schreuder, Ruan Wilmans, Rob Mattison, Grant Cousins, Olav Aadnesgaard, Roger Ellis, Siya Xulu, Brendan Beukes, Leftheri Zigiriadis, Brendan Naudé, Stu Roy, Jared Venter, Michael Teichmann, Guy Gillham, Michael Booth

St David’s Marist, Inanda: Liam van Rensburg, Motheo Moeng, Jordan Swart, Cameron Hyslop, James Macindoe, Khwezi Luthuli, Micael Farr, Simbainashe Kanyangarara, Andréw Cawood, Marcell Scheepers, Kieran Wrightson, Shawn Nayler, Gregory Kourie, Matthew Tollis, Leo Michael, Yuvaan Naidoo, Jordan Harding, Noah Pavlou, Ethan Breen, Braydon Gould, Sebastian Riva, Oliver Hinton, Connor Ivins

St John's vs Golden Lions Presidential XV, 27-8

Hosts’ St John’s College would have looked forward to ending their participation at their own festival with a great result, after going down to Helpmekaar and Hilton College in their other matches. The Lions were the next ones on the St John’s radar and the hosts’ did all the right things in most parts of the game, coming out 27-8 winners, in a highly entertaining fixture.

The match initially had a very slow start to it, but once the nerves were settled, St John’s were the first ones to cross the whitewash first, with captain Daniel Archer showing great leadership and initiative to leap over for a try from close range. Fullback Ruben Engelbrecht had no problems with the conversion, making it 7-0 to St John’s. 

Not too long after that the hosts were on another one of their many attacks, when wing Jacque Bohlmann picked up a pass from just inside the Lions 22m area, to slice past and dive over in the corner. Engelbrecht this time around failed to convert bringing the score to 12-0. 

The Lions after some time also got the opportunity to put points on the board through a penalty, which saw fly half Keegan van Schalkwyk cut the deficit to just nine points. 

The Lions quickly got more points on the board shortly after, with fullback Sino Tshontyi deceiving the St John’s defence and charging towards the blind side to score in the corner leaving the score at 12-8 after Van Schalkwyk missed the conversion.

The second half brought forth a more dominant performance from St John’s, who defended very well when it was asked of them. The hosts also showed a lot more discipline, making less errors and made it really difficult for the Lions to register a point in the half. Three tries were scored by the hosts, with the kicking the only thing stopping them from getting a slightly bigger winning margin.

Each of the St John's front row – Kaelin Wills, Taine Walker and Daniel Archer – scored a try.

Scorers

For St John's:

Tries: Daniel Archer, Jacque Bohlmann, Kaelin Wills, Taine Walker, Jack Montgomery  

Con: Ruben Engelbrecht

For Golden Lions XV:

Try: Sino Tshontyi

Pen: Keegan van Schalkwyk

Teams

St John's: Kaelin Wills, Taine Walker, Daniel Archer, Alex Groves, Luke Clowes, Thomas Mortimer, Ntokoso Dlamini, Taine Maynard, Michael Bate, Bismarck Olivier, Jacques Bohlmann, William Davis, Jack Montgomery, Thomas Kilbourne, Ruben Engelbrecht, James Ives, Estiaan van der Walt, Luke Whitehouse, Liam Thomas, Brandon Henwood, Cameron Lengacher, Zedi Gondwe, Clayton Pather

Golden Lions XV: 1 David Omuluwa, 2 Sifiso Khumalo, 3 Zenandi Hlubi, 4 Malcom Mngomane, 5 Troy Griffin, 6 Jonathan Humphries, 7 Karl Schler, 8 Luke van Greuning, 9 Sven Bradley, 10 Keegan van Schalkwyk, 11 Kwanele Notyawe, 12 Bomgumenzi Mbatha, 13 Thabang Maake, 14 Llewellyn Ellis, 15 Sino Tshontyi,16 Shawn Gobey, 17 Innocent Nkhasi, 18 Wian van der Westhuizen, 19 Daniel Owuh, 20 Micael Musundi, 21 Tinashe Gowere, 22 Brendan Swarts, 23 Brian Mzamba

St Alban's vs Eye of the Tiger, 45-7

St Alban’s once again produced yet another dominant performance to end their time at St John’s College unbeaten, after recording an emphatic 45-7 win over Eye of the Tiger. Eye of the Tiger on the other hand leave the festival licking their wounds, after failing to get a win in this year's visit.

St Alban’s were again clinical in their finishing with flyhalf Sifiso Nhlapo leading proceedings very well with the boot. The first points in the game, however, came courtesy of fullback Blane Campbell who stormed past a couple Eye of the Tiger defenders to dot down in the corner. Nhlapo followed the try up with a great conversion from a fairly challenging position. 

St Alban’s were not done yet, with wing Watkins Keelen intercepting a loose ball and running swiftly for over 50 metres to slide in under the sticks for a converted try. The last bit of action in the first half saw St Alban’s fullback Campbell grab his second of the game, with Nhlapo keeping his 100% kicking tally intact, taking the score to 21-0 at the interval.

The second half saw very much of the same, with St Alban’s continuing to dominate the match but with Eye of the Tiger not quite throwing in the towel just yet. St Alban’s managed to cross the chalk three times, courtesy of a double from flank Gronum Vium and one from Sifiso Nhlapo who converted his own try. Eye of the Tiger did however get a consolation try through Ruben Daniels. 

That in the end didn’t stop St Alban’s from having the last word in the match, when they scored just before the hooter to make it three wins from three games in the 2018 festival.

Scorers:

For St Alban's:

Tries: Blane Campbell 2, Watkins Keelen, Gronum Vium 2 Sifiso Nhlapo, Aidan Ridgway

Cons: Sifiso Nhlapo 5

For Eye of the Tigers:

Try: Ruben Daniels

Teams

St Alban's: Mashudu Muleya, Keelen Watkins, Luke Teixeira, Wilbert Munda, Campbell Blane, Ronaldo Daniels, Josh Strydom, Siseko Mvenya, Vium Gronum, Kian Turner, Simon Miller, Rhys Fulford, Tapiwanashe Katete, JP Bleeker, Sbewu Fipaza, Sam Stevenson, Jono Neubert, Cameron Davis, Luyanda Mpafa, Aidan Ridgway, Tafadzwa KumbiraiLuke Sweetlove, Gonzalio Tavidan

Eye of the Tiger:  Abrie Heyberg, Njabulo Dlangalala, Morné Smit, Zander Hamilton, Johannes Kruger, Anam Mngcambe, Ashley Geldenhuys, Endrico Claasen, Thabo Matiso, Sifiso Nhlapho, Simthembile Mahlathi, Marvin Loggenberg, Marshall Schreuder , Keanu Martin, Linda Qumpula, Chesnay Adams, Loyiso Dunjani, Waylin Arendse, Miyelani Ngobeni, Ruxario Martin, Ruben Daniels, Burton Booysen, Keegan Janse van Rensburg

Paul Roos vs Nelspruit, 68-0

Paul Roos were undoubtedly the best side at the St John’s College Easter Rugby Festival, racking up a massive 210 points in just three games. Their final match saw them take on Hoerskool Nelspruit, who they comfortably cruised past 68-0.

The game was really great to watch if you were not a Nelspruit supporter, with Paul Roos playing entertaining running rugby with their backs and forwards complimenting each other very well. The match itself saw Paul Roos completely dominate the first half, crossing the white wash five times, with fullback Kade Wolhuter only missing one of his conversion attempts. Amongst the try scorers was fullback Wolhuter, who dotted down with the first five-pointer, barging his way over very early on. 

Prop Robert Rodgers was the next to register his name on the scoresheet, when he picked up off a ruck and leaped over. The other scorers in the first half were Tiaah Pretorius, Jean-Jacques Kotze and Remy Engelbrecht.

The second half was no different, with Paul Roos matching their first half performance, with just one tweak, of Kade Wolhuter converting all five of the second half tries. Nelspruit on the other hand did really try find something in the game but Paul Roos were just perfect on the day, with everything they tried to execute. 

In the end Paul Roos came out as 68-0 winners, averaging 70 points a game at the 2018 St John’s College Easter Rugby Festival.

Scorers:

For Paul Roos:

Tries: Kade Wolhuter, Robert Rodgers, Tiaan Pretorius 2, Jean-Jacques Kotze, Remy Engelbrecht, Jan-Corrick van der Watt, Bredan Venter, Regan van der Westhuizen, Cade Croy

Cons: Kade Wolhuter 9

Teams

Paul Roos: Robert Rodgers, Jean-Jacques Kotze, Joubert Grobbelaar, Jarod Cairns, Micardo du Preez, André Smit, Hermann Heins, Kobus Tubb, Xander Botha, Juan Mostert, Tiaan Pretorius, Brendan Venter, Regan van der Westhuizen, Cade Croy, Kade Wolhuter, Jan-Corrick van der Watt, Meiring Ebersohn, Mink Scharink, Johann Bouwer, Gerhard Cloete, Ruben Labuschagne, Remy Engelbrecht

Nelspruit: Banele Mthenjane, Jason Cornelius, Wian Otto, Isak Swanepoel, Miga van der Nest, Henko van der Merwe, Andy Fourie, Le Roux Louw, Jacques Mcquier, Tiaan du Plessis, Riandré van der Merwe, Stefan Smit, Jan–Rico Vermeulen, Gert Loubsher, Paul Rheeder, Chyle Van Zyl, Estian Schroeder, Cornel Broekman, Estian Potgieter, Rainder Spruyt, Timothy Townshend, Neil Henning, Anton Van Eijk

Helpmekaar vs Florida, 43-13

The difference between the two teams was chances taken vs chances missed. The score does not reflect the run of play as time and again Florida were bashing at the Helpmekaar line but they met adamantine defence which in a flash changed to Helpmekaar possession and a try.

Helpmekaar were willing to take chances and react at speed.  Florida managed that only once when fullback Tino Swanepoel raced swerving through the acres for a wonderful try.

Florida were attacking late in the second half but were penalised. Ten metres from his line Christiaan Bezuidenhout tapped the penalty and raced past defenders and down the field for a try. That try characterised Helpmekaar's approach to rugby.

Florida scored two penalty goals to lead 6-5 but Helpmekaar led 26-13 at half-time tries by Brink Marx, Juandré van Graan who charged down a kick and scored, a great moment for the prop,  Zach Boonzaaier and Zander du Toit.

Despite much possession and attacking opportunities, Florida did not score again while Marx, Quintusz Geyser and Bezuidenhout carried Helpmekaar to success.

Scorers

For Helpmekaar:

Tries: Brink Marx 2, Juandré van Graan,  Zach Boonzaaier, Zander du Toit, Quintusz Geyser, Christiaan Bezuidenhout

Cons: Tiaan Botes 4

For Florida:

Try: Tino Swanepoel

Con: Antonie Bezuidenhout

Pens: Antonie Bezuidenhout 2 

Teams

Florida: Andries van Aswegen, Tyron McQuier, Damian Calitz, Johan Coetzee, Dyllan Deysel, Zack de Jager, Vijoen Botes, Brink Bosman, Temba Mcunu, Antonie Bezuidenhout, Lizo Larakwang, Brandon Roberts, Eugene van Biljon, Kevin Du Plessis, Tino Swanepoel, Kyle van Aswegen, JP Oberholzer, Brandon Jankowitz, Ricardo Brough, Micheal Deale, Pieter Viljoen, Ewan Janse van Rensburg, Devon Booysen

Helpmekaar: André Stroiz, Jean Engelbrecht, Quintusz Geyser, Dean Potgieter, Michael Amiras, Hendri Hartzer, Zander du Toit, Alec Skudder, Marco van Staden, Frans Weideman, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Francois Jansen van Vuuren, Zach Boonzaaier, Wouter Louw, Tiaan Botes, Ricardo van der Merwe, Ruben Knipe, Eugene Maritz, Brink Marx, Ruan Nortje, Francois Breytenbach, Christian Smith, Francois Scholtz