The Herald (South Africa)

Graeme take on Grey in feast of rugby

-

EXCITED about hosting another festival, Graeme College are geared up to tackle one of the Eastern Cape’s big guns when they meet Grey High in the final fixture of the Pam Golding Properties Graeme Rugby Day in Grahamstow­n on Saturday.

This fixture will replace their traditiona­l mid-year match against the Port Elizabeth giants, a date which has often been plagued by a clash with the Meyer Sauerman week.

While the hosts would love to crown the occasion with a rare victory over their Port Elizabeth rivals, Graeme coach Jonty van der Meulen said the day went a lot further than just producing a winning result.

“This is a massive showcase for our school and it is really great to be able to host the Eastern Cape’s top sides in a wonderful festival of schoolboy rugby,” he said.

“The anticipati­on is not only about having such a big game against Grey, but also the chance for us as a school to make a contributi­on to rugby in the region.”

Van der Meulen acknowledg­ed that the team’s preparatio­ns had been hampered by other activities, most notably the first cricket team’s qualificat­ion for the Twenty20 national finals in Pretoria last week.

“We had seven players away for the weekend so we decided not to have a preseason match as planned,” he said.

“It has left us a bit short of match practice but one positive is that the guys are really itching to get onto the field to show what they can do.”

Captained by Bavu Manyakanya­ka, Graeme have a few members back from last year, but Van der Meulen said the bulk of the team would be made of players who formed part of a highly successful second team last year.

“They went through the season unbeaten and were always a good side coming through the age-groups,” he said.

A number of other intriguing matches will be part of the programme on the main field.

Brandwag have made a promising start to the season, with three straight wins, but face arguably their biggest test against Queen’s.

Cradock outfit Marlow Agricultur­al have had notable victories against Dale and Duineveld, which should send a message to East London powerhouse Selborne about what awaits them.

Kingswood were too strong for Muir last weekend, but know they will have a much stiffer examinatio­n when they take on Framesby in the main curtain-raiser.

 ??  ?? DETERMINED RUN: Graeme College fullback Eldrico Kivitts goes on the attack during their schools rugby clash against Queen’s in Grahamstow­n last year. Kivitts will be part of this year’s squad
DETERMINED RUN: Graeme College fullback Eldrico Kivitts goes on the attack during their schools rugby clash against Queen’s in Grahamstow­n last year. Kivitts will be part of this year’s squad

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from South Africa