Sports News from Kearsney College vs St Stithians
RUGBY
Kearsney 1st XV beat St Stithians 1st XV 26-25
Beautiful weather welcomed St Stithians to Botha’s Hill for the much-anticipated rugby fixture on Kearsney’s Founders Weekend in front of a lively old boys’ crowd.
A stolen St Stithians lineout by Thomas Franke saw the One-Stripe transition into strike mode and move the ball swiftly down the backline, for Bukho Hlwatika to score under the poles in the third minute of the game.
Four minutes later St Stithians scored from a change of direction lineout play, which was neatly converted from the corner to have the two teams poised at 7-7.
The next 20 minutes saw Kearsney give away a multitude of penalties which denied them territory and allowed St Stithians to attack relentlessly.
A three-pointer by the visitors’ flyhalf in the 22nd minute took them into a 10-7 lead, before a further unconverted try in the 33rd minute saw them 15-7 up at the break. This was a disappointing first half from the hosts, who had everything to play for in the second half.
Kearsney were first to strike after play resumed, with a superb attacking movement from a scrum which saw Lwandle Mkhize outstrip the defense, and score a phenomenal try in the 45th minute of the game. Doan Nel converted the all-important conversion, which enabled Kearsney to reduce the gap to 15-14.
A penalty and a converted try were next for St Stithians, taking them to a 25-14 lead, with five minutes remaining on the clock.
A driven lineout by Kearsney saw them fall short of the line, only for a clever pick-and-go which took them over, to trail 25-19 with two minutes on the clock.
With time running out, and only a minute to play, Kearsney were awarded a scrum from which they broke blind. They then moved the ball to the midfield where Keanu Williamson found some space. Mkhize miraculously linked back infield to find Williamson, who managed to drive over for a try in the corner.
This took the score to 25-24 in favour of the visitors, with Kearsney to convert from the edge of the field.
Showing massive big match temperament, and holding Kearsney’s hopes on his shoulders, Nel took it all in his stride and nailed the kick, giving Kearsney a fantastic one-point victory over St Stithians on their Founders Day.
HOCKEY
Kearsney 1st X1 beat St Stithians 1st X1 3-2
It was always going to be difficult for the young Kearsney team on their Founders Weekend to be hosting a St Stithians team which has performed exceptionally well over the season.
This was soon proven to be correct, as the visitors netted a goal within the first few minutes of the match. St Stithians put the hosts under serious pressure and they could easily have extended their lead in the first chukka.
Kearsney’s defence held out and they managed to keep the game at 0-1 until early in the 4th chukka; when Keegan de Jager converted a penalty corner for Kearsney, to level the score at 1-1 in the 50th minute.
St Stithians took the lead shortly thereafter, having been awarded a penalty stroke after one of their strikers was deemed to have been fouled by a Kearsney defender.
At this stage it looked as though the visitors would prevail and come away with the win. However, the never-say-die attitude of the Kearsney boys came to the fore.
Aaron Blackburn scored a deflection at the far post, and Ata Mazibuko then scored the winner with a tap in from a rebound off the St Stithians goalkeeper.
The hosts can be extremely proud to have ended a hard-fought match as winners, highlighting the tenacity and spirit they’ve shown this season.
SQUASH
Five Kearsney squash players have been selected to represent KwaZulu-Natal at the SA Schools Interprovincial Tournaments over the holidays.
Travelling to Stellenbosch for the u19 IPT event are Reece Clark (u19B), Liam Botha (u19C) and Adam Georgiadis (u19C).
Callan Botha and Joshua Coventry will both be playing in Johannesburg in the U14A provincial side.
