Rugby: St Andrew's vs Graeme - St Andrew's College

Rugby: St Andrew’s vs Graeme

Service of Thanksgiving and Appreciation in honour of our retiring Bishop
May 6, 2023
St Andrew’s College USA Rugby Tour
May 10, 2023

Rugby: St Andrew’s vs Graeme

On Saturday 6 April we were hosted by Graeme College for our annual derby day. This event has been going on for over 140 years. This year did not disappoint and the rugby that was produced, and the spirit between the schools, was excellent throughout the day.

Graeme College had the better of the junior games with our boys only managing to win the U16B game (41-0), with Adam Stone scoring a hattrick of tries and Daniel Arnold scoring 3 conversions. Our U14As were 7-5 up at halftime but could not hold out their opposition and had a tough second half. The U15As put in a good performance and were leading with 5 minutes to play when Graeme scored 2 quick tries to take the win away from our boys. A similar situation happened with our U16As who were also leading with 8 minutes to go, and unluckily conceded another try from a set piece at the end. This was heart-breaking for our teams who have tried so hard this year.

It was our seniors, however, who turned the tide. The 5ths started early with a solid 38-0 win on Knowling. The 4ths had to work hard for their 26-21 win. Our 3rds won 42-17 with solid performances from Matthew Gouws, Gareth Johnstone and a debut try for Zac Gray. One of our most difficult fixtures traditionally has been Graeme College 2nds, and particularly so at their home ground. Our 2nd team battled throughout and won 27-17. Their scoring was started by a well-run backline move finished by Aza Nonxuba. Further tries were followed by Ucwambu Mgudlwa, Mbulelo Mkosi and Nicholas Hall.

The 1st XV had a battle on their hands with a highly rated and motivated Graeme 1st team. Our boys started well and scored 2 good set-piece move tries through Jacques Cloete and Joe Bennie, putting us 12-6 ahead at halftime. Graeme College started the second half stronger and scored early. The second half was a tight affair with both teams not giving an inch. Graeme scored another try and converted under the poles. We replied with a great solo try from Jason Dovey in the wide channel. Graeme again scored after a long period of defending from our boys. This made the score 17-23 with 2 minutes to play. With the time basically up the boys chose to trust their line out, which they won and mauled. The ball came out to our backs and Sintu Mjali caught a great pass from Daniel Hickey to score next to the pole. With time up on the clock, Hickey calmly converted the try and the game ended 24-23 for St Andrew’s 1st XV.

If there was a courage award for this week it would go to all the senior boys who put their all into these games and never stopped fighting. Thank you to all the staff, parents and the boys for the support on the day. The players heard you.

We are sore, but we get up, to take on Grey this weekend. This is a wonderful opportunity to show our character. Nec Aspera Terrent!