It came as no big surprise that Grey College won the U17 title at the Jim Fouché Sevens in Bloemfontein on Saturday. What was surprising, perhaps, was how hard they were pressed in the semifinals and final of the Clover High Schools Sevens Series event.
Grey, who cruised through Pool A, won by the same margin in both games, beating Diamantveld 24-19 in the semifinals and Welkom Gimnasium to lay claim to the silverware.
Diamantveld had finished top of Pool B, beating Fichardtpark 26-19 in the group’s decisive match, while Welkom Gim had an easier time of it in finishing first in Pool C.
Pool D was extremely competitive, with Trio, Duineveld, and Sentraal all winning two and losing one and accumulating eight points. Trio, however, finished first on points’ difference, with Sentraal in second, Duineveld in third, and Hoërskool Bloemfontein in fourth.
While Grey College won by five points against Diamantveld in the Cup semifinals, Welkom Gimnasium sneaked past Trio by a single point, winning 18-17. Trio went on to claim third place, scoring a slim 28-26 victory over Diamantveld.
Landboudal lifted the Shield after a 14-7 win over Wilgerivier, Duineveld held off Goudveld 17-12 in the Bowl final, and the GW Invitational side romped to a 42-17 victory over Sentraal in the Plate final.
There was nothing to separate Grey College 1 and Diamantveld in the U15 Cup final, which finished 21-21, but Grey won on the rule that the team that scores first is the winner in a match that ends in a draw.
Third place went to Sentraal after a 31-17 win over Trio 1.
Fichardtpark downed Jim Fouché 17-5 to lay claim to the Plate, Landboudal sneaked by St Andrew’s School 1 26-24 to capture the Bowl, and Goudveld beat Wilgerivier 28-10 in the Shield final.
RESULTS
U17 Section
Pool A
Grey College 36-7 Wilgerivier
GW Invitational 41-12 HTS Louis Botha
Grey College 40-14 HTS Louis Botha
GW Invitational 28-5 Wilgerivier
Grey College 28-14 GW Invitational
HTS Louis Botha 31-26 Wilgerivier
Pool B
Diamantveld 35-0 St Andrew’s School
Fichardtpark 43-5 Goudveld
Diamantveld 26-19 Fichardtpark
Goudveld 24-19 St Andrew’s School
Fichardtpark 38-12 St Andrew’s School
Diamantveld 49-5 Goudveld
Pool C
Welkom Gimnasium 40-5 Landboudal
Jim Fouché 17-12 Burgersdorp
Welkom Gimnasium 26-7 Jim Fouché
Burgersdorp 30-12 Landboudal
Jim Fouché 19-17 Landboudal
Welkom Gimnasium 19-0 Burgersdorp
Pool D
Trio 34-7 HS Bloemfontein
Sentraal 40-24 Duineveld
Trio 28-14 Sentraal
Duineveld 43-14 HS Bloemfontein
Sentraal 47-26 HS Bloemfontein
Duineveld 24-21 Trio
Shield Semifinals
Wilgerivier 34-12 St Andrew’s School
Landboudal 35-10 HS Bloemfontein
Bowl Semifinals
Goudveld 29-17 HTS Louis Botha
Duineveld 34-12 Burgersdorp
Plate Semifinals
GW Invitational 31-19 Fichardtpark
Sentraal 24-17 Jim Fouché
Cup Semifinals
Grey College 24-19 Diamantveld
Welkom Gimnasium 18-17 Trio
Shield Final
Landboudal 14-7 Wilgerivier
Bowl Final
Duineveld 17-12 Goudveld
Plate Final
GW Invitational 42-17 Sentraal
Cup 3rd/4th
Trio 28-26 Diamantveld
Cup Final
Grey College 24-19 Welkom Gimnasium
U15 Section
Pool A
Grey College 2 22-19 Duineveld
Sentraal 24-22 Trio 2
Sentraal 14-7 Grey College 2
Duineveld 28-22 Trio 2
Grey College 2 47-0 Trio 2
Sentraal 31-14 Duineveld
Pool B
Grey College 1 31-0 Fichardtpark
Landboudal 19-12 Goudveld
Grey College 1 41-0 Landboudal
Fichardtpark 21-0 Goudveld
Fichardtpark 47-0 Landboudal
Grey College 1 32-0 Goudveld
Pool C
Trio 1 50-0 St Andrew’s School 2
Jim Fouché 45-0 HTS Louis Botha
Trio 41-0 HTS Louis Botha
Jim Fouché 50-0 St Andrew’s School 2
HTS Louis Botha 50-0 St Andrew’s School 2
Trio 1 40-12 Jim Fouché
Pool D
Diamantveld 26-10 Welkom Gimnasium
St Andrew’s School 1 36-14 Wilgerivier
Diamantveld 51-0 St Andrew’s School 1
Welkom Gimnasium 14-5 Wilgerivier
Welkom Gimnasium 45-7 St Andrew’s School 1
Diamantveld 58-7 Wilgerivier
Shield Semifinals
Goudveld 17-12 Trio 2
Wilgerivier 5-0 St Andrew’s School 2
Bowl Semifinals
Landboudal 36-5 Duineveld
St Andrew’s School 1 33-29 HTS Louis Botha
Plate Semifinals
Fichardtpark 12-0 Grey College 2
Jim Fouché 38-21 Welkom Gimnasium
Cup Semifinals
Grey College 1 36-5 Sentraal
Diamantveld 31-19 Trio 1
Shield Final
Goudveld 28-10 Wilgerivier
Bowl Final
Landboudal 26-24 St Andrew’s School 1
Plate Final
Fichardtpark 17-5 Jim Fouché
Cup 3rd/4th
Trio 1 31-17 Sentraal
Cup Final
Grey College 1 21-21 Diamantveld
Grey College won because they scored first in the final.
