Bukho Sotaka scores for Westville in their victory over Helpmekaar at the Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival in Durban.
Image: Gaby Swanepoel
Kearsney College were welcomed with a roar when they took to Stott Field for a Saturday afternoon Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival(KERF) showdown with Hoërskool Transvalia.
Both sides won their first festival games on Thursday — Kearsney by 43-14 over Rustenburg and Transvalia by 26-5 over Peterhouse from Zimbabwe — so both were eager to keep their clean records intact.
For the hosts, No 8, Nhlanhla Ndlovu, fullback Lwazi Mbebe, and Daniel Miskey at flyhalf pulled the strings to telling effect, and they fully deserved their 33-13 victory.
Transvalia will take heart from their efforts in the second half, which they edged 10-7.
For a third year in succession, Durban High School and Hoërskool Rustenburg did battle at KERF. DHS had finished KERF with an unbeaten record on the previous two occasions, and they were intent on repeating that feat this year. Rusties tested the Horseflies early on by keeping the play tight, but DHS defended with determination to keep the action around midfield.
The final score was close to the sides' previous KERF results, with DHS winning 45-0 in 2024 and 41-7 in 2025. Yet, Saturday’s final score of 38-7 was a little unkind to Rustenburg. They impressed with their never-say-die attitude, but in the end, they succumbed to the unrelenting pressure from DHS.
Peterhouse from Zimbabwe and Milnerton opened the day’s play, just as light early morning mist cleared over Botha’s Hill. The contest was a showdown between teams that like to run the ball, and it delivered a thrill-fest. The Capetonians were first onto the scoreboard when their captain Chadlin Sellidon slotted a penalty from 40 metres out after five minutes.
But when the final whistle sounded, Peterhouse had avenged an 18-34 defeat against Milnerton at KERF in 2025, to finish with a 29-23 win this year.
In the third clash of the day, with barely a minute played, Zwartkop opened the scoring against Dr EG Jansen, when flank Luan Wepener forced his way over after some fluent play from the Pretoria side.
The tiredness that showed in the Zwartkop ranks early in the game appeared to evaporate, and, with committed defence, they closed out the game and recorded a hard-fought 41-32 victory over EG Jansen.
The first match of Saturday afternoon was about redemption for Framesby, after they were run off their feet by Westville on Thursday. For Glenwood, beaten by Helpmekaar in their opener, it was a chance to make their many local supporters happy. From the opening whistle, one could sense greater urgency in Framesby’s approach, but the Green Machine was uncompromising, and that made for a hard-hitting contest. Both sides showed their willingness to run the ball, and both showed equal enthusiasm for closing down space as quickly as possible.
Miles Feltham, who controlled the game confidently from flyhalf for Framesby, opened the scoring with a cleanly struck penalty kick in the seventh minute of the contest. There was no evidence of the team that had folded under pressure in their opener. The Gqeberha school was up for the challenge.
Having escaped a potential hammer blow, Framesby worked their way up the field and prop Handré Schnetler powered over from a quickly taken penalty to reduce the deficit to one. Feltham slotted the conversion, and with that, the Gqeberha gang led 15-14.
When Glenwood was awarded a penalty with eight minutes left, 44 metres out, but dead in front of the posts, Loutz had the distance but not the accuracy, and Framesby maintained their narrow lead. As time expired, the Green Machine launched a late attack, which eventually won them a penalty in a similar position to the one from which Loutz had missed a short while earlier. This time, his effort was slightly short and to the left, and Framesby heartily celebrated a morale-boosting win.
Helpmekaar were motivated to take on the challenge of Westville Boys’ High in the final game. Stott Field was rocking, and it offered both teams a prime stage to score a statement win.
After a frenetic first 50 minutes, the pace slowed slightly towards the end of the match, for Westville to win 33-17.
FIXTURES
Day Three, Monday, April 6
08:00 Transvalia vs Framesby; 09:20 Glenwood vs Dr EG Jansen; 10:40 Peterhouse vs Rustenburg; 12:00 Ogwini v Mowat Park; 12:50 Closing ceremony; 13:00 Westville vs Milnerton; 14:20 Durban High School vs Helpmekaar; 15:40 Kearsney vs Zwartkop