Article: Greg Cohen
The KES Festival returned to us, boosting big names like Northcliff and Jeppe Boys.
Day 1 greeted us with sunny conditions in Johannesburg. Northcliff put on a spectacle beating Trinityhouse 40-12. Next up Durbanville, fresh off a brutal tour to Noord-Suid, got the win over Nico Malan despite going behind early, despite going behind early the men from the Cape won 50-21. Ben Voster beat Centurion 22-13 in a tightly contested affair which saw Ben Voster score late in the game. Next up Eldoraigne beat a Jeppe Invitational Team 20-12 – valuable experience for the budding talent of Jeppe. Hosts KES came up against a Queens College team determined to beat the Reds on home turf and very nearly did. It was 29-29 with just seven minutes left. KES kicked a penalty goal and scored out wide to extend the score to 37-29 before Queens scored in the last movement to narrow the deficit to one point. The last match of the day saw Northwood beat Hudson Park 25-19.
Day 2 conditions were similar to the first, ideal for running rugby early on but deteriorated in the rain later in the day. Durbanville made it two from two games as they brushed aside Centurion 66-7. Nico Malan beat Trinityhouse in the next match 24-5. Eldoraigne went two from two games beating Ben Vorster 33-3 in the following game. Queens College opened their account at the festival beating Northwood 26-3. Next up Jeppe Invitational won a closely fought game against Hudson Park, 16-10. Hosts KES closed the day with a strong 32-3 win against Dale College. Both teams stood together for a minute’s silence in honor of a tragic passing of a Dale student in a fantastic show of solidarity from the KES boys.
Day 3 started with Northwood beating Centurion 24-3. The conditions did not play their part and it was a mud bath from the very beginning. Next up Queens College took Durbanville apart 41-11 in what was initially billed as a competitive game. Hudson Park dispatched Trinityhouse 61-3. Ben Vorser scored with just two minutes left to break Nico Malan hearts, winning the game 19-18. Jeppe Invitational grabbed their second win in a very competitive game against Dale College winning 14-10. Hosts KES closed the tournament in style beating Eldoraigne 33-7.
Our team of the festival:
15) Lindani Dweba (Hudson Park)
14) James Nero (Durbanville)
13) Sesethu Mpaka (Queens)
12) Lwanele Gaba (Queens)
11) Kabelo Tekane (KES)
10) Thulani Tshabalala (Jeppe)
9) Brent Jackson (KES)
8) Siba Mahashe (Hudson Park)
7) Thabang Mphafi (KES)
6) Kgotso Moeketsi (Dale)
5) Kwakanya Kamteni (Queens)
4) Cohan Swart (Eldoraigne)
3) Gugu Masango (Jeppe)
2) Josh Dullisear (KES)
1) Joseph Zulu (Jeppe)
