Daniel Pienaar fly the flag
Daniel Pienaar Technical High will test their might against the best schools rugby Sevens teams when they represent the Eastern Province at a national tournament next month.
They were crowned champions of the Asem School Sports Interprovincial tournament after a gutsy 21-14 win over their Uitenhage counterparts Brandwag in the final on Saturday.
Assistant coach Dawie Human said the team had not started the tournament strongly, but definitely grew as the tournament progressed.
“We are very happy about the result. The team played really well in their last match, because we certainly did not start too well,” he said.
“But as we got closer to the knockout matches, it was evident to see that they were starting to believe in themselves and their abilities.”
Human said the semifinal and final were particularly good performances, with the team peaking at the right time.
“I think we showed a lot of fighting spirit, especially in the last few matches,” he said.
“Many of the guys are new to schools Sevens as they only started playing this year and they have shown a lot of growth over the last few weeks, and that is great to see.”
Looking ahead to the national leg, Human said the team would be putting in a lot of hard work.
“We will be working very hard over the next month, so we can take our best unit to the competition.
“I think going into that competition, we need to keep more possession of the ball, but in saying so, we also need to solidify our defensive effort.
“If we can nail those two aspects of our game, we will be ready for anyone who crosses our path,” he said.