RUGBY
St Stithians lost to Kearsney College 50-12
Kearsney College travelled to St Stithians College in Gauteng for their final fixture of the season.
St Stithians were on the scoreboard first with a sniping run from their flyhalf. With the conversion hitting the upright, St Stithians took an early lead.
Kearsney responded strongly with three unanswered tries of their own. The first was from Doan Nel with a clean break through midfield, and a final pass to Cameron Veenstra for Kearsney to lead 7-5.
A good turnover at the breakdown from Valentino Lenge gave him opportunity and space. He beat a number of defenders in a bit of individual brilliance, to score under the post. A successful conversion gave Kearsney a 14-5 lead.
With good possession, the ball was moved down the line to Bhuko Hlwatika who beat his defender to score in the corner and, with another successful conversion, Kearsney had a 21-5 lead.
St Stithians bounced back after their flyhalf gathered an exit kick, shrugged off the defender and scored next to the uprights, taking the half-time score to 21-12 in the visitors’ favour.
The second half produced some exciting running rugby from Kearsney, managing to score four unanswered tries. A good counter-attack from Daniel Eager, to set up an attacking ruck, resulted in the ball being moved to the edge, with Callum Steer crossing the line. A successful conversion gave Kearsney a 28-12 lead.
After a line-break from Valentino Lenge and sustained pressure on the line, Connor McIntyre picked up the ball from the base of the ruck and powered over for Kearsney’s fifth try. A successful conversion put Kearsney 35-12 ahead.
A cross kick from St Stithians in open play, gathered by Valentino Lenge, resulted in a 65m run away try from the winger, taking the KZN boys to 40-12.
Deep in their own 22, Kearsney’s Royden Madatt put through a well-place grubber that was collected by Cameron Veenstra. With one man to beat, he drew in the defender and passed the ball to Doan Nel who dotted down under the poles for a 47-12 lead.
In the final play of the game, Kearsney were awarded a penalty which was converted, to end the game with a comprehensive 50-12 victory over hosts St Stithians.
HOCKEY
St Stithians beat Kearsney 4-3
An exciting exhibition of hockey was on display in Johannesburg, where a 7-goal thriller saw Saints end Kearsney’s unbeaten run of form in term two.
Captain Matthew Mendes de Oliviera drew first blood for Kearsney with a clinical drag flick into the top right corner of the goals.
St Stithians supporters rallied behind their team to draw level and put Kearsney under the pump. Saints took heed of their support, scoring three goals over the course of two chukkas which the boys in maroon would have been upset to concede.
Mendes stepped up to score his second of the match and bring the game back into the balance.
St Stithians style of hockey, being aided by a supportive crowd and vocal bench, looked to rattle the Kearsney boys as a fourth goal made the mountain a little too high to climb.
Once more, Kearsney’s captain was called upon to provide some hope for his team. He did so with extreme precision – showcasing why he is one of the top players in the country. His goal secured his hat-trick in his final game for Kearsney.
Joeseph Clarkson and Lithabe Shweni were ruthless in defence, often stopping what was a shoe-in for a goalscoring opportunity for the hosts.
Being their last game for Kearsney, they too had an extra battery of energy in and out of possession, providing what was most probably their performance of the season.
A tough way to draw a close to what has been an incredible season for the men in maroon and their coaching team but, nonetheless, a season they can all be proud of.
Sports sent from Sue Miles at Working Words.
