Graeme College first team manage to beat Pearson

IT was tough, but Graeme College played some enjoyable rugby matches when they came up against Pearson High in their annual derby in Grahamstown on Saturday.

Pearson started the day well, winning all the age-group rugby matches as their rival schools battled out some very closely contested encounters.

Interestingly, Graeme College managed to turn this around in the open category.

Graeme’s first team did not hit their straps on the day, but managed to do enough to win the encounter 24-15.

Both schools were playing their first game after the holidays – and it showed in a contest that was robbed of any momentum by numerous errors.

The Pearson side started the rugby match with a bang, scoring from the kick-off.

But the Graeme stars fought back hard and scored three tries – all converted – of their own in the first half.

Pearson added a second try and a penalty to make the halftime score 21-15.

In the second half, Graeme College dominated in territory and possession, but could not capitalise in the red zone as they made too many errors with the ball in hand.

They finally managed a penalty, with only five minutes left, to ensure a 24-15 victory.

Although Graeme will be frustrated at the level of their performance, the first team had shown character to win when they were not at their best.

The Pearson players must be commended for fighting bravely until the end.

Graeme are now gearing up for what should be an exciting mid-week fixture against Kingswood tomorrow.

The first team match will start at 5.15pm and should be a keenly contested fixture.

There should also be some massive and entertaining battles in the remaining matches. The Graeme juniors headed to Port Elizabeth to play against Herbert Hurd.

The visitors enjoyed the hospitality and played some good rugby on the day.

In fact, the schools shared some close contests, especially in the U13A and U13B games, which ended in draws.

Overall, Graeme will be delighted with the fact that they did not lose any of the games, returning home with three wins alongside the two draws.