RUGBY ON THE FRONTLINE
Scrum down for top fare at festival
Northwood will be aiming to take home some special memories from their maiden appearance in the Standard Bank Grey High Rugby Festival when it takes place in Port Elizabeth on Thursday and Saturday.
The Durban outfit will join KwaZulu-Natal colleagues Durban High School at the festival and will be part of 25 first teams playing in the two-day sporting extravaganza.
A total of 80 matches from U14 to the first teams will be held on seven fields during the festival. Besides the Grey fields – Phillip, Pyott, Gordon and Pollock – games will also be played at the Old Grey, Crusaders and Police fields.
Northwood, who had a notable win over Maritzburg College recently, face a daunting task in that they are up against two of the top Eastern Cape schools, opening against the hosts on Thursday and then playing Selborne on Saturday.
However, director of rugby Jonathan Scruby said they were ready to embrace the challenge and were delighted to be part of the festival for the first time.
“Northwood have come a long way in a short space of time,” said Scruby. “We have never played Grey High before and are really excited at the challenge and opportunity that awaits us.
“We have nothing to lose and feel our rugby is in a place now where we can make sure we enter every game with the right mindset.
“We expect a massive battle and for any team in our position I would envision the hardest part will be to ignore the sense of occasion and just go out and enjoy ourselves.”
Having being offered the invitation, Scruby said they jumped at an opportunity to test themselves against some of the best teams in the country.
In their favour is that there is a good degree of continuity, with 12 players back from last year’s squad of 15.
Many hours spent with mental coach Justin Bodill has helped the squad to instil the values they want to carry through the season.
“The resilience and maturity the boys showed on the field was evident in that encounter [against Maritzburg College],” said Scruby.
“I think we would define the small things being done right as our strength, and our biggest concern is continually trying to make better people who, therefore, become better players. This is the daily goal of first team coaches Grant Bashford, Simon Vickers and Keegan Daniel.”
He added that rugby at Northwood was a platform they used to bring the school together, and they worked hard to instil the core values of chivalry and brotherhood.
“Outside of this our main focus at trainings will always be on fun and intensity. Trusting the processes, the score will always just be a by-product of the efforts mentioned beforehand.
“For us the Grey festival is all about the experience. We want our boys to appreciate the chance to be a part of something packed with so much tradition.”
I think we would define the small things being done right as a strength