North-West locals, Hoërskool Rustenburg, were crowned the Clover High Schools Sevens Series’ Champion of Champions winners on Saturday in Potchefstroom after a thrilling 19-17 win over the title-defending Westville Boys’ High.
Rusties played with the kind of grit and heart that defines a champion side.
They looked impressive when they won all their pool stage matches, but their dark horse status really began to show when they defeated Hoërskool Monument 24-19 in the Cup quarterfinals.
They then made everyone sit up and take notice when they overcame Grey College 17-10 in the Cup semifinals.
Grey, Monnas, and Westville had all looked like potential winners until their ambitions came crashing down after meeting the North-West side.
The Griffins may not have retained their title, but they posted the biggest win of the weekend, dominating Hoërskool Middelburg 45-0 in their opening match.
Grey College came close to matching Westville when they overran Dale College 43-0 in another pool stage game.
Hoërskool Kempton Park was the only side to tally 50 points or more, which they did when beating Potchefstroom Gimnasium 55-17 in the 21st/22nd place playoff.
Durban High School (DHS) was also extremely competitive. They finished third after a comfortable 28-12 win over Grey College.
Monument and Hoërskool Waterkloof put on a good show in their playoff clash, with Monnas clinching fifth after a thrilling 29-26 victory.
Welkom Gimnasium caught the eye and finished seventh after a 21-7 defeat of Die Hoërskool Menlopark. Their only loss came against Grey College, who won 36-21, which impacted Welkom Gim’s chances of progressing beyond the Cup quarterfinals.
RESULTS
U17
Pool A
Westville 45-0 Middelburg
Middelburg 10-29 Sentraal
Sentraal 12-30 Westville
Pool B
Nelspruit 35-5 Goudveld
Goudveld 5-31 Menlopark
Menlopark 17-14 Nelspruit
Pool C
Helpmekaar 35-17 Hentie Cilliers
Hentie Cilliers 5-42 DHS
DHS 27-24 Helpmekaar
Pool D
Potch Gimmies 5-26 Queen’s College
Queen’s College 5-40 Waterkloof
Waterkloof 47-5 Potch Gimmies
Pool E
Wesvalia 10-27 Dale College
Dale College 0-43 Grey
Grey 44-5 Wesvalia
Pool F
Welkom Gim 31-12 Clover Forward Foundation
Clover Forward Foundation 10-12 Zwartkop
Zwartkop 19-21 Welkom Gim
Pool G
Kempton Park 5-22 Potch Volkskool
Potch Volkskool 19-35 Monument
Monument 32-10 Kempton Park
Pool H
Fichardtpark 10-37 Rustenburg
Rustenburg 21-10 Northwood
Northwood 27-7 Fichardtpark
Bowl Quarterfinals
Middelburg 29-14 Goudveld
Wesvalia 14-17 Clover Forward Foundation
Hentie Cilliers 29-12 Potch Gimmies
Kemptonpark 17-19 Fichardtpark
Plate Quarterfinals
Sentraal 0-29 Nelspruit
Dale College 19-28 Zwartkop
Helpmekaar 31-7 Queen’s College
Volkies 14-33 Northwood
Cup Quarterfinals
Westville 29-0 Menlopark
Grey College 36-21 Welkom Gim
DHS 33-22 Waterkloof
Monument 19-24 Rustenburg
Bowl Semifinals
Middelburg 17-28 Hentie Cilliers
Clover Forward Foundation 31-26 Fichardtpark
Plate Semifinals
Nelspruit 24-28 Helpmekaar
Zwartkop 28-26 Northwood
Cup Semifinals
Westville 24-12 DHS
Grey College 10-17 Rustenburg
23rd/24th Place
Goudveld 15-33 Wesvalia
21st/22nd Place
Potch Gimmies 17-55 Kempton Park
19th/20th Place
Middelburg 45-17 Fichardtpark
17th/18th Place
Hentie Cilliers 21-28 Clover Forward Foundation
15th/16th Place
Queen’s College 12-31 Dale College
13th/14th Place
Sentraal 17-30 Volkies
11th/12th Place
Nelspruit 15-35 Northwood
9th/10th Place
Helpmekaar 24-21 Zwartkop
7th/8th Place
Menlopark 7-21 Welkom Gim
5th/6th Place
Monument 29-26 Waterkloof
3rd/4th Place
DHS 28-12 Grey College
Final
Rustenburg 19-17 Westville
