Ithembelihle keen to make their mark

New Brighton outfit can show potential at big Grey festival

OFTEN deprived of meaningful contests, leading Port Elizabeth township school Ithembelihle have a golden opportunity to show their potential when they take on Louis Botha Tech and Graeme College in the Standard Bank Grey High Rugby Festival this week.

The New Brighton outfit are among 20 first teams appearing in the festival as supporters prepare for a smorgasbord of schools rugby tomorrow and Saturday.

Besides the seniors, a total of 48 age-group teams will contest matches on six fields over the two days, meaning there will be 1 420 players in action during the tournament.

As well as four venues at Grey, games will be played at Old Grey and the Police ground.

Ithembe have always been a competitive unit, producing a steady flow of talented players.

One of them is Masixole Banda, who is making a name for himself as an exciting fullback for the Southern Kings Super Rugby franchise.

No doubt there will be others from their side lining up to prove a point this week and Louis Botha, from Bloem, and Graeme will not be taking anything for granted in their clashes.

While hosts Grey will have their hands full against Johannesburg opponents Jeppe and Parktown, Uitenhage schools Brandwag and Daniel Pienaar face equally tough challenges tomorrow.

Brandwag take on Durban High School, who were one of the top sides in KwaZulu-Natal last year. Whether they can maintain those standards remains to be seen.

Daniel Pienaar, who lost narrowly to Framesby at the weekend, will again be pushed against the perennially slick-running Dale team.

Always keen to move the ball, the Dalians will be a genuine threat if they can secure their fair share of possession.

Two other Border sides out to impress will be Queen’s and Hudson Park, both of whom registered notable wins at the weekend.

Queen’s shaded arch-rivals Dale 25-24, but will need to come back to earth for their clash with St John’s.

Hudson Park dealt comfortably with Cambridge in their clash on Saturday and you would expect them to kick off with a win in the day’s opening game against Despatch.

Despatch, however, have put a lot of work into their rugby and this is a chance for them to send a message to their rivals.

In the final two opening day matches, Muir face a strong examination against Parktown, while Pearson will be hoping to start on a high note when they take on St David’s.