Dramatic late try seals it for Graeme

GRAEME College recorded a dramatic rugby victory over Queen’s in Queenstown on Saturday, crossing for a try after time was up.

With Queen’s dominating the senior games, the first team knew they had a tough encounter ahead of them.

Graeme looked threatening at times but struggled to look after possession in the first half.

Queen’s managed two tries from deep in their own half, with their deadly backline punishing Graeme errors. When they scored a third try to lead 19-0 at the break, all seemed lost for Graeme.

Graeme struck early in the second half through a well-worked series of phases, which sparked the side into action. They ended up scoring four tries in the second half and defended with great tenacity.

Queen’s only managed a penalty in the second half, which came with 45 seconds left to put them 22-21 ahead.

Graeme had one last chance from the kickoff to fight back.

Somehow, Thuso Mokhele regained possession from the kickoff and then Graeme put together countless phases of possession as they gave everything in search of the points they needed for the win.

The pressure eventually took its toll on the Queen’s defence as Sixolile Lamani crossed over in the corner, securing an unbelievable win.

The Graeme junior school headed off to Westering Primary for their annual fixture and started the day perfectly.

Graeme won five of the seven matches before Westering struck back, winning the U11A and U13A matches.

The U13A game was a tight battle, with Westering sneaking home with a 24-21 win.

The derby against Queen’s started on Friday evening, with three hockey games.

The first team managed to hold Queen’s at bay, but struggled to create many chances of their own.

Graeme goalkeeper Liyabona Nkombisa was pivotal in his team staying in the hunt, and Chris Gleaves came within a whisker of putting Graeme ahead just before half time.

Queen’s eventually broke through the Graeme defence late in the second half and then struck again a few minutes later to secure a deserved 2-0 victory.

On the rugby field, the Graeme U14A side started the fixture off with an unconvincing first-half performance, going into the break at 7-7.

They hit their straps in the second half, becoming unstoppable to win 56-12.

The Graeme U16A side showed brilliant determination in defence the week before, and managed to carry that over to the Queen’s fixture, holding on for a memorable 17-10 win.