Despite contrasting fortunes this season, Kingswood College can expect to face a fired-up St Andrew’s College outfit at their Lower Field fortress in one of South African schools’ rugby’s biggest derby clashes on Saturday.
Widely known as K-Day, the annual festival combines cultural and sporting contests involving the two private schools and Diocesan School for Girls (DSG), culminating in the first team rugby showdown. Kickoff is at 15:30.
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As excitement builds among thousands of supporters, the rugby sides have been preparing for what is unquestionably their biggest challenge of the season.
This season’s fixture list has not been kind to St Andrew’s, and last week’s encounter against Selborne College in KuGompo City was a reflection of much of their campaign.
Apart from one or two heavy defeats, the Andreans have seldom been completely outplayed and have often found themselves on the wrong side of narrow scorelines, including a 21-24 loss to Selborne last Saturday.
Now they must summon every ounce of effort to contain the Kingswood onslaught. The visitors have repeatedly shown how dangerous they can be when afforded space in which to operate.
James Badenhorst shifts back to No 8 for St Andrew’s and is expected to play a pivotal role in the forward exchanges, particularly with influential lock Josh van Zyl and prop Sivatho Mjali still sidelined.
Will Stevens will inevitably shoulder a significant responsibility through his incisive running and accurate boot, while flyhalf David Chorley and scrumhalf Ethan Hayes will need to control the tempo and dictate proceedings if St Andrew’s is to keep their opponents on the back foot.
Kingswood may not have enjoyed a flawless season, but in recent matches, they have demonstrated the threat they pose when allowed to impose themselves, recording emphatic victories over Port Rex, Brandwag, and Westering.
Captain Ross Thompson knows, however, that his side will have to raise their standards against a polished St Andrew’s outfit. He will urge his teammates to put previous results behind them and focus solely on the challenge that lies ahead.
Twins James and Josh Mackenzie also have important roles to play, but Kingswood understands that nothing short of a complete team performance will be enough to erase the agonising memories of last year’s defeat, when they conceded a late try that snatched victory from their grasp.
In KuGompo City, Selborne will aim to secure another win when they travel to Cambridge on Friday for a 15.45 kick-off, while Hudson Park, fresh off a famous win over Dale College, will need to keep their feet on the ground against the home team, Stirling High, on Saturday, starting at 13.30.
Teams:
St Andrew’s College: 15 Will Stevens, 14 Max de Wet, 13 Qhawe Madikizela, 12 Caleb Pennington, 11 Michael Fowlds, 10 David Chorley, 9 Ethan Hayes, 8 James Badenhorst, 7 Warrick Campbell, 6 Kyle Schwechheimer, 5 Mark Ewing, 4 Harry Horwood, 3 Entle Ngcaba, 2 Ross Faber, 1 Stuart Stern
Kingswood: 15 Kungawo Badli, 14 James Mackenzie, 13 Luke de Villiers, 12 Sam Dunne, 11 Chad Roodt, 10 Christopher Zimmerman, 9 Ryan O’Sullivan, 8 Luniko Marivate, 7 Josh Mackenzie, 6 Hayden Holt, 5 Ross Thompson (captain), 4 Sandi Peter, 3 Junior Ndlazi, 2 Charl du Toit, 1 Sithenkosi Qabaka
Selborne College: 15 Edward Malinzi, 14 Zweletu Njoholo, 13 Iviwe Kabale, 12 Aaron James, 11 Sabelo Vuso, 10 Ncgali Daniel, 9 Titus Sweetnam, 8 Travis Enslin (captain), 7 Daniel Rushmere, 6 Lwandle Bacela, 5 Mozesh van der Byl, 4 Ayden Freitag, 3 Daniel Naude, 2 Nicholas du Toit, 1 Qamani Matiti.
