After three days of heavy downpours, the 2025 Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival kicked off in good weather on Thursday, and the schoolboy talent on show flourished in the sunshine.
It was not a good start, though, for host team Kearsney College, who were beaten by Hoërskool Dr EG Jansen to the tune of 29-24 in the fourth match of the opening day’s play.
As good as the boys from Boksburg were, they were helped in part by a number of unforced errors from the hosts, whose basics let them down.
Still, both teams ended up producing the most competitive game of the day.
In an expected result, the Durban High School team that had been unbeaten this year in five games were too much for Hoërskool Rustenburg, winning 41-7.
Given DHS’s form, they look like they could go unbeaten at the Kearsney Festival for the second year in a row.
The Cape newcomers to the festival, Durbanville, breezed past Dale College by a whopping 66-22, courtesy of some devastating attacking play.
The Eastern Cape outfit just couldn’t cope with Durbanville’s superior structure on both sides of the ball, with the boys in yellow-and-blue stripes scoring 10 tries in the end.
In the opening game of the day, Milnerton’s power play boosted them to a 34-18 win over the touring Zimbabwean team from Peterhouse Boys’ School.
This is the school that produced Springbok legend Tendai “The Beast” Mtawarira.
The Western Cape side dominated the game because of relentless attacking play, and the Peterhouse defence could not cope.
In the final match of the day, KZN powerhouse Westville were efficient in dispatching the Eastern Cape’s Framesby.
They won 31-0 thanks to clinical attacking, excellent defence and astute tactics.
Framesby won a similar amount of possession to Westville, but they did not know that to do with it.
Their route-one attack was easily dealt with by Westville, while the Durbanites were ruthless with every opportunity they got in the opposition danger zone.
The first day’s play suggests that local teams Westville and DHS are the teams to beat.
