Glenwood Views Glenwood at Kearsney Festival

Glenwood High School is one of the top rugby schools in South Africa. Over the Easter Weekend, Glenwood had three fixtures at the annual Kearsnery Easter Festival. Alec van der Merwe of the Glenwood staff reports on each of the three matches.

Glenwood triumphs over EG Jansen with a last-minute conversion

In an absolute thrilling encounter, Glenwood took on EG Jansen in their first match at the prestigious Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival (KERF) yesterday. Everybody knew it will be a tough battle against the men from Boksburg, who boasts a dominating pack and pace from their backline players.

The game started at a ferocious pace with both teams passing the ball around and trying to break the advantage line.
EG Jansen took an early lead when Keagan Balfour ran a beautiful line to snuck through the defence, found Duane Bloem to the right who stepped inside and dived over. The conversion was successful and EG Jansen was leading 7-0.

Glenwood showed that the battle was on as they visited EG Jansen’s danger zone a few times but failed to convert.

EG Jansen stretched their lead when Kyle Potgieter went over for a try right under the poles – 3 minutes before half-time. He converted and the scoreboard ticked over to 14-0.

Glenwood refused to give up and made their way up field into their 22m. Blaine Golden got the pass from Jonas and nearly made it over. From the maul Jonas played it to the outside to Lehlohonolo Litabe who crashed over, giving Glenwood a sigh of relief. The conversion was successful, and the scoreboard was on 14-7

Both teams would be disappointed with their handling errors as they missed out on numerous opportunities. We were excited to see what the 2nd half would bring. EG Jansen players looked a little fatigued (probably from the altitude).

Early in the 2nd half, Glenwood were penalized for not releasing the ball on their 5m line. EG Jansen went with the tap and go but a good tackle brought them to ground. Nevertheless, a quick ball to the prop Brandon Pienaar gave him the opportunity to dive over. The conversion missed and the score was 19-7.

A strong run from Linden Roman inside EG Jansen’s 22m, when he found support from Nanto Sikholise, quick pass to Marthino van Wyk who cuts back inside to score. The conversion was successful, and Glenwood closed the gap, trailing by 19-14.

EG Jansen went into a period where they conceded a lot of penalties and Glenwood gladly accepted to take the three points on offer. Glenwood took the lead in the 55th minute with 20-19.

There was some excitement as EG Jansen’s hooker Kyle Pepler found some space and sprinted down the touchline. He made it all the way and a valiant effort from Carlo Cloete couldn’t stop him from reaching over to dot down. The conversion was successful and EG Jansen was in the lead with 26-20 and only one and a half minutes to play.

EG Jansen retrieved the ball from the kick off, trying to wind down the clock with short pick and go’s, but the Green Machine had other ideas. From the ruck the ball bounced out, quick play from Joe Jonas and Lehlohonolo Litabe brought Glenwood right up to their 5m line. A pass again to the left where Carlo Cloete found the gap and offloads to Steven Gibb who dives over. Glenwood trailing by 1 point with the conversion to come. From the touch line, far left, Jordan Hendrikse lined up his kick. With a solid, confident strike, the ball sailed through the uprights. Glenwood snatched victory from the hands of EG Jansen. What a remarkable comeback from the Green Machine – a battle right to the end!

Scorers

For Glenwood: 27 (7)
Tries: Lehlohonolo Litabe, Marthino van Wyk, Steven Gibb
Con: Jordan Hendrikse (3)
Pen: Jordan Hendrikse (2)

For EG Jansen26 (14)
Try: Duane Bloem, Kyle Potgieter, Brandon Pienaar, Kyle Pepler
Con: Kyle Potgieter (3)

Lightning won the Glenwood vs Selborne battle as the match is abandoned

Last played in 2013, the rivalry between these two schools playing in the Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival will be revived with both sides eager to claim the bragging rights on day two of the festival.

Glenwood were penalised for an infringement early on. Warrick Day put Selborne in the lead with an easy penalty. Selborne then extended their lead when fullback Sibusiso Javu broke the line and passed to left winger JP van Zyl who scored in the corner. The conversion was missed. Selborne was leading 8-0.

Selborne were in control, when 4 minutes later, they crossed the whitewash again. Lock forward Grant Pretorius picked up a loose ball from the ruck right on Glenwood’s 5m. The conversion was successful. Glenwood were trailing by 0-15.

Relief came for Glenwood in the 17th minute when flanker Ethan Smit popped through a gap pressing up into Selborne’s 22m. Ethan found Parnel Ngobo in support before offloading to Blaine Golden who crashed over and scored Glenwood’s first try. The conversion was successful, but Glenwood was still trailing 7-15.

This try ignited their spark as Glenwood started to play their expansive attacking style of rugby they are known for. They put pressure on Selborne by playing in their half of the field. They were rewarded with a penalty, but Jordan Hendrikse made a mess of it and pulled it wide.

The teams went in to halftime with Selborne leading 7-15. Glenwood continued their dominance with strong carries and evading tackles, pressing up to their opponents 22m. Selborne again got penalized for being offside in a kickable position. This time Jordan Hendrikse made no mistake as he sent the ball through the uprights. Glenwood was closing in on Selborne, trailing by 10-15.

Flashes of lighting and then the siren, the players were sent off the field as a safety measure. A little while alter it was decided that the game would be suspended because of lighting.

This game was scripted as a riveting match, a game headlined as one of the biggest at the festival.

This was a disappointing end to a promising match with two teams taking the battle seriously. Just as Glenwood stamped their mark on this game, lightning won and both teams felt robbed.

Scorer

For Glenwood: 10 (7)
Try: Blaine Golden

Glenwood battle weather to beat Transvalia on last day of the Kearsney Rugby Festival

Despite the cold, misty and wet conditions, Glenwood ran in five tries to one in a one-sided affair when they played against Transvalia on Monday at the Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival.

Early pressure saw Transvalia go through a couple of phases inside Glenwood’s 22m. They were rewarded when hooker Bernand du Plessis picked the ball up from the base of the ruck right on the try line and forced his way over. The conversion successful. Transvalia leading early on by 0-7.

Glenwood went into overdrive from the kick off and their resilience brought them a penalty in a comfortable position. Hendrikse opened the scoring for Glenwood as he sent the ball spiralling through the post. Glenwood trailing by 3-7.

This seemed to jumpstart the Green Machine as they had a couple of quickfire scores late in the first half courtesy of Marthino van Wyk. From the set piece van Wyk received an inside ball as he stepped his way over the whitewash. The conversion was good, and Glenwood takes the lead 10-7.

Handling errors occurred due to the conditions with both teams kicking the ball up field to gain field and get into the opponent’s half. Glenwood won a line out just outside Transvalia’s 22m, sent the ball wide and after Luyanda Mbona dropped the ball, they quickly got it back to send winger Carlo Cloete over in the corner. The conversion was good, and Glenwood took control of the scoreboard on 17-7.

Glenwood won their line-out throw where Ethan Smit took possession and slipped through, looking for support. Ethan opted on the grubber ahead, chased it beautifully to dive on the ball with his momentum sliding him over the line. Hendrikse made no mistake with the conversion and Glenwood stretched its lead to a comfortable 24-7.

Straight from the kick-off, Joe Jonas kicked a whirlwind ball across the field. Transvalia’s wing picked it up and opted for the chip over but hooker Nanto Sikholise had other ideas as he jumped up, charged it down and sprinted all the way to score a sensational try in the corner. The try was converted. Glenwood had a healthy 31-7 lead going into the break.

After the half-time break Glenwood continued their dominance. Steven Gibb danced over the line with a smooth well executed backline move which put him into space. The try was converted, and six out of six for Jordan Hendrikse. Glenwood lead by 38-7.

Glenwood started changing their reserves, giving everyone well-deserved match time. The rest of the game was a bit of ping pong rugby as the game was played between the two 22m lines. Both teams struggled to find the try-line with a comical set of handling errors because of the conditions.

Glenwood played their best rugby of the festival in probably the worst conditions. This will surely give them the necessary confidence in their build up to Wildeklawer which is played in two weeks. Jordan Hendrikse impressed with his 100% kicking statistics in these conditions.

Scorers

For Glenwood: 38 (31)
Tries: Marthino van Wyk, Carlo Cloete, Ethan Smit, Nanto Sikholise, Steven Gibb
Con: Jordan Hendrikse (5)
Pen: Jordan Hendrikse (1)

For Transvali 26 (14)
Try: Bernand du Plessis
Con: Shaun Christie

By Alex van der Merwe