Nelson sparks Graeme to memorable win over Andreans

The brilliant predatory instincts of centre and captain Erin Nelson provided the spark Graeme College needed to score a memorable win over St Andrew’s in their schools rugby clash on the St Andrew’s Lower Field in Makhanda on Saturday.

Dominating the first half to lead 22-3 at the break, the Graemians held off a fighting comeback from their opponents to cross for two more tries in the second half, securing a well-deserved victory in a near-150-year old rivalry which has been dominated by St Andrew’s. It was the first win for Graeme since their victory in 2022.

Kingswood College made it two wins out of two at the Standard Bank Grey High Rugby Festival when they outgunned St Stithians 38-20 in their second match on the Kolisi Field in Gqeberha on Monday. On Saturday the Makhanda side had been stretched to the limits by St Charles College before winning 22-19, but this time they exerted greater control to register a comfortable victory. St Stithians drew first blood on Monday with a penalty by Matthew Anderson, but Kingswood quickly got back into the game. Inside centre Sam Dunne scored the first try of the match and there was nothing subtle about it as he took a pass on the 22-metre line and barged through to score. Anderson then added two more penalties as Saints took a 13-12 lead into the break. While blindside flank Josh Mackenzie delivered a top-notch performance on Saturday for Kingswood, his brother, right wing James, rose to the occasion on Monday, crossing for a brilliant hat-trick of tries. His first two tries were scored from kicks ahead by scrumhalf Ryan O’Sullivan and centre Luniko Marivate, while the third came when he burst away from a maul 25-metres out to make sure of victory for his team. Grey High used the cohesion of their pack to grind out a tough 34-12 win over Glenwood in difficult conditions on the second and final day of the festival on the Kolisi Field in Gqeberha on Monday. With a powerful westerly wind blowing down the field, neither side were able to produce the sort of running rugby for which they are renowned, and, in the end, it was the home side who managed the conditions better as they transformed a 17-5 halftime lead into the final victory. After scoring three tries in the first half, they were able to starve their KwaZulu-Natal rivals of possession in the second period, when the visitors had the wind at the backs and a chance to dominate the territory stakes. Instead, Grey employed a strong driving maul to send over Adam Fourie and Christopher Vosloo late in the game to put the final nails in the Glenwood coffin. Earlier in the half, scrumhalf Ryan Swarbrick delivered the Durban side a big blow when he took the ball from a maul about 20-metres out and darted through a gap to beat the cover defence for a brilliant try. That made it 22-5 and although fullback Rosco Williams crossed for a wonderful effort after a breakout from the halfway line, Glenwood could not penetrate the solid Grey defence easily. In the first half, flank Cole Bennett scored twice and wing Noah Mbizi once, all through driving mauls. Meanwhile, St Andrew’s and Selborne suffered tough defeats on the final day. St Andrew’s went down to Michaelhouse 41-5 and the East London team were outclassed by Drostdy 67-12. Daily Dispatch

Nelson is growing into one of the most exciting players in SA schools rugby and, although he didn’t cross the whitewash himself, he gave another influential display in midfield.

Within 14 minutes Graeme had built a 12-0 lead, with Nelson slicing through the defence both times to set up tries for fullback Lucritia Magau and scrumhalf Luke Doyle.

Flyhalf Ibenathi Kondile added a third when the Graeme forwards drove powerfully for the line, picking up the ball to force his way over.

St Andrew’s only got on to the board just before halftime through a penalty by Will Stevens, but they came out after the break with a renewed mindset and a determination to take the fight to their opponents.

Selborne College rose to the occasion where it mattered most – on the field of play – to register a notable win over the previously unbeaten Graeme College in a cracking encounter in East London on Saturday. It was a game which was typical of the outstanding school derbies in the Eastern Cape, with each side having their moments, and a score of 19-19 with 20 minutes to go, before Selborne finally pulled away to win 34-26. With lock Travis Enslin and centre Iviwe Kabale the standout players for Selborne, the home side put Graeme under sustained pressure from the start, and this allowed them to build a handy 12-0 lead through two tries. But Graeme showed why they are so highly rated this season, particularly when they are on the attack. With No 9 Luke Doyle calling the shots from the base of the scrum, and fullback Lucritia Magau a constant menace at the back, they bounced back with three tries to go ahead 19-12. It was then that the Selborne side showed their character by levelling the score, and although Graeme scored once more, the East London side capitalised on their chances to kick a penalty and score their fifth try to complete a week which will be remembered for many different reasons. Selborne’s tries came from Sabelo Vuso (2), Enslin, Kabale and Reece Rasmussen, with Riley Hansel kicking three conversions and a penalty. Tries for Graeme came from Doyle (2), Asakhe Ranuga and Lucritia Magau, with Erin Nelson kicking three conversions. Meanwhile in Gqeberha, Paul Roos Gym held off a spirited fightback from Grey High to triumph 28-15 in their King Price Derby Series clash on the Kolisi field. After leading 14-0 at halftime and then 21-5 six minutes into the second half, the visitors saw Grey fight back to within six points of their tally before they used their forwards to rumble upfield and eventually pulled away late in the game for a deserved victory. Grey were guilty of some defensive lapses in the first half and a burst of two tries by big centre Jean Hamman, who fought his way through several defenders to the line, and speedy wing Cadynn Samuels saw them shoot into a 14-0 lead after 13 minutes. Samuels took his chance when Grey failed to manage a kick ahead by scrumhalf Tristan Armitage, and the ball bounced kindly for the left wing as he outpaced the Grey defence in 50-metre dash for the line. Kyle Snyers was on song with his boot for Paul Roos in windy conditions, slotting both conversions. Grey High got onto the board in the 40th minute when a series of drives from the forwards saw prop Daniel Naude go over for a try. That was quickly cancelled out as No 8 Werner du Bruin got onto the end of a pass from a quick tap close to the Grey line, and there was no stopping him for the visitors’ third try. Then came Grey’s brightest period of the match. This time it was Paul Roos who made a basic error with a dropped pass, which saw wing Sikhu Xego snap up possession near the halfway mark to race to the tryline. That was followed 10 minutes later by an excellent backline move as Grey quickly moved the ball through the hands and right wing Noah Mbizi used nifty footwork to evade a few defenders for their third try. A scoreline of 21-15 with 19 minutes left had made it interesting, but Paul Roos quickly tightened things up. Although they missed a penalty, they took control through their forwards, and a 25-metre maul from the halfway line underpinned their intentions. They managed to stay in the right areas of the field, and the constant pressure eventually told when flank Christian le Roux burst over for their final try, converted by Snyers to complete the scoring. Daily Dispatch

First, prop Sivathi Mjalo powered over for a try and then, from the kick-off, lock Josh van Zyl crashed through a number of would-be Graeme defenders on a memorable 60-metre run downfield. When he was eventually hauled in, St Andrew’s were able to recycle the ball for Stevens to dash over.

At 22-15, the game was back in the balance, but then came a crucial period when Graeme were reduced to 14 men as Doyle was yellow-carded for a dangerous tackle.

But instead of St Andrew’s taking control, Graeme played with great common sense, holding onto possession and forcing their opponents to make all the play.

From one such move, pacy Graeme wing Asakhe Ranuga picked up a loose ball near the halfway line and there was nobody in front of him as he raced for the line.

Grey High used the cohesion of their pack to grind out a tough 34-12 win over Glenwood in difficult conditions on the second and final day of the Standard Bank Grey High Rugby Festival on the Kolisi Field in Gqeberha on Monday. With a powerful westerly wind blowing down the field, neither side were able to produce the sort of running rugby for which they are known and, in the end, it was the home side who managed the conditions better as they transformed a 17-5 halftime lead into the final victory. After scoring three tries in the first half, they were able to starve their KwaZulu-Natal rivals of possession in the second period, when the visitors had the wind at their backs and a chance to dominate the territory stakes. Instead, Grey employed a strong driving maul to send over Adam Fourie and Christopher Vosloo late in the game to put the final nails in the Glenwood coffin. Earlier in the half, scrumhalf Ryan Swarbrick delivered the Durban side a big blow when he took the ball from a maul about 20 metres out and darted through a gap to beat the cover defence for a brilliant try. That made it 22-5 and though fullback Rosco Williams crossed for a wonderful effort after a breakout from the halfway line, Glenwood could not penetrate the solid Grey defence easily. In the first half, flank Cole Bennett scored twice and wing Noah Mbizi once, all through driving mauls. Earlier, in one of the comebacks of the day, SACS sent shockwaves through the Kearsney camp to snatch victory with three tries late in the game. The KwaZulu-Natal side looked to have things under control when they led 27-14 going into the final quarter. But SACS had the strong wind at their backs and by keeping Kearsney deep in their own half they managed to force their way over for two tries to reshape the game as they edged into a one-point lead. For good measure, they added one more try to finish the match 33-27 ahead, leaving Kearsney to ponder what might have been at this festival after they lost to Graeme College by two points on Saturday. The Graemians and Parel Vallei finished the festival on a high with wins over St Charles College and Hudson Park respectively. Playing into the stiff breeze, Graeme were outstanding in the first half, led by elusive centre and captain Erin Nelson, as they piled on 29 points by the break, with St Charles scoring just one try. Nelson produced the try of the game as he showed why it is so dangerous to give him a hint of space, sprinting 50 metres to cross the whitewash. Other tries came from Selunathi Mfundisi, Luke Doyle and Asakhe Ranuga, while St Charles scored through Bongi Nkosi. Graeme did not maintain the same momentum after the break and St Charles came back with two good tries before the Makhanda team found some control again near the end to cross for two more tries to make it a decisive win. Parel Vallei got ahead against Hudson Park and stayed there to win 28-15, while Kingswood turned on the power to outgun St Stithians 38-20. Michaelhouse bounced back from their loss to Grey High to defeat St Andrew’s 41-5 and Drostdy had too much class for Selborne, winning 67-12. In the final match of the festival, Rondebosch beat KES 29-12. Day two results: Pearson 57 Mzwandile Mali XV 12 Kingswood 38 St Stithians 20 Parel Vallei 28 Hudson Park 15 SACS 33 Kearsney 27 Graeme 43 St Charles 17 Michaelhouse 41 St Andrew’s 5 Drostdy 67 Selborne 12 Grey High 34 Glenwood 12 Rondebosch 29 KES 12 Follow The Herald WhatsApp channel today and stay connected to the stories shaping our world. The Herald

Then Graeme went on the attack again, and eventually flank Akho Tonjeni forced his way over after brave defence from St Andrew’s to restore the visitors’ lead to a commanding 34-15.

Although St Andrew’s delivered one more riposte through wing Qawe Madikizela, there were only five minutes left after that and Graeme were able to manage play until the end to send their supporters slightly delirious.

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