Heat is on as Graeme festival kicks off
Top Eastern Cape schools, visitors head for Makhanda to help celebrate college’s 150th anniversary
There have already been some interesting challenges early in the schools rugby season, but the intensity is sure to move up a level when the GBS Graeme College Festival kicks off in Makhanda tomorrow.
This year’s tournament, running from tomorrow to Saturday to mark the school’s 150th anniversary, will provide further opportunities for a host of coaches to continue fine-tuning their teams for the upcoming season.
Besides demonstrating what the cream of the Eastern Cape schools have to offer, there will be some serious opposition from teams further afield as Grey College, Hilton and SACS each play two matches over the three days.
Cape Town side SACS are down for two fixtures which should attract a lot of interest.
They open the first team programme on the Somerset Field tomorrow against St Andrew’s, and will then be part of the festival climax when they take on hosts Graeme College on Saturday afternoon.
Both Graeme and SACS received excellent preparation for the festival in their weekend matches, with Graeme outclassing Daniel Pienaar 41-0 and the Cape Town outfit running rampant against Belville in a 59-14 result.
They both know, however, that the ante will be upped at the Makhanda festival as the teams seek to lay down a marker for the season.
Graeme have given themselves two proper challenges in SACS and Framesby, but coach Jonty van der Meulen said they were looking forward to playing against teams they rarely met.
“There is definitely a sense of excitement for the festival and we are looking forward to the two matches we have.
“They are two serious challenges, but it’s nice to play Framesby because we don’t have an annual fixture with them, while SACS, who compete in a very strong league in Cape Town, will be another great test.”
The first day should set the tone for an exciting three days of schoolboy rugby, with a number of appetising fixtures on the menu.
Kariega powerhouse Brandwag take on Hilton College from KwaZulu-Natal in the second fixture tomorrow and that should be a real blockbuster, while the Kingswood-Queen’s showdown, a regular feature of the traditional Graeme Rugby Day, is a match-up that seldom disappoints.
The first day winds down with what will be the ultimate test for Marlow Agricultural when they take on one of SA’s most successful rugby schools in Grey College.
The Cradock outfit have had some good game time this year, with three matches already under their belts.
Though they lost to the perennially strong Boland Landbou side at the weekend, the 22-17 scoreline suggests they put up admirable opposition.
And wins earlier this month against Jim Fouche and Selborne underlined their credentials.
Understandably, Grey College are a different proposition altogether and Marlow will have to show self-belief and determination in abundance to manage the challenge from the Bloemfontein giants.
Besides the first team programme, the Graeme campus will be a buzz of activity, with age-group matches taking place on the Marais A and B fields over the three days.
The first two days will see the teams from U14 to U16 in action and then Saturday hosts an U13 festival, a first for the annual Graeme event.