For once, Hoërskool Strand‘s captain Rohan Bezuidenhout didn’t get onto the scoresheet. Instead, the Eagles‘ loose forward Joshua Lourens dotted down twice as Strand won 31-7 at Melkbosstrand on Saturday.
Fullback Henry Hess, outside centre Preston-Lee Tobias, and scrumhalf Waldo Newton all bagged a try each, and certainly profited from having Bezuidenhout at inside centre rather than in his usual position at eighthman.
He turned defence into attack, catching out Melkies with line breaks as they were moving in the opposite direction, forcing the hosts to scramble to prevent the visitors from scoring.
Melkbosstrand also struggled to create much front-foot ball as Strand enjoyed the majority of possession.
Nonetheless, they fought back and garnered a consolation try from flank Beuren Geduld, one of their standout players throughout the season. Flyhalf Leathan Lewis added the extras.
While it was not an ideal finish to their season, Melkbosstrand has some positives to work with. Their U16s produced a strong season, losing only to Stellenberg High and Hoërskool Durbanville, both Premier A League schools. Melkbosstrand was unbeaten against their fellow Premier B League schools.
As for Strand, they’ll be happy to end a season that delivered mixed results triumphantly. They finished with eight wins and 10 defeats, with five of their victories coming in the second half of the season.
Clinical finishing by their wings helped Hoërskool Brackenfell to close their season triumphantly. They defeated Hoërskool Tygerberg 26-20 at home on Saturday.
Left-wing Migile Carelse, a regular try-scorer, added two more to his season’s tally, while right-wing Derose Manya crossed for a try, too. Flyhalf Yusuf Hannibal pulled the strings to set up the flyers out wide, and he also slotted three conversions to secure victory.
Lock Manya Prayer put in an impactful shift and dotted down Brakkies‘ fourth. He was an enforcer at the breakdown and in the lineouts, which made it hard for the Tigers to distribute the ball quickly.
It was a tough season for Tygerberg, who mustered only four wins from their 15 fixtures. Among those, there were some really close losses in matches they’ll feel they could have won.
Brackenfell completed their 2026 campaign with seven wins, a draw, and nine losses, and will seek more consistency in 2027.
Scorers:
Hoërskool Strand 31 (19) – Tries: Joshua Lourens (2), Henry Hess, Waldo Newton, Preston-Lee Tobias. Conversions: Leathan Lewis (3). Hoërskool Melkbosstrand 7 (7) – Try: Beuren Geduld. Conversion: Craig Solomons.
Hoërskool Brackenfell 26 – Tries: Migile Carelse (2), Derose Manya, Manya Prayer. Conversions: Yusuf Hannibal (3). Hoërskool Tygerberg 20 – No information received from Tygerberg.
Other results:
U19
II: Strand 14 Melkbosstrand 20, Brackenfell 12 Tygerberg 32.
III: Strand 19 Melkbosstrand 20, Brackenfell 19 Tygerberg 20.
IV: Brackenfell 10 Tygerberg 29.
U16
A: Strand 20 Melkbosstrand 28, Brackenfell 27 Tygerberg 14.
B: Strand 29 Melkbosstrand 31, Brackenfell 17 Tygerberg 5.
U15
A: Strand 19 Melkbosstrand 15, Brackenfell 13 Tygerberg 12.
B: Strand 12 Melkbosstrand 14, Brackenfell 14 Tygerberg 27.
U14
A: Strand 10 Melkbosstrand 6, Brackenfell 41 Tygerberg 25.
B: Strand 34 Melkbosstrand 0, Brackenfell 5 Tygerberg 5.
C: Brackenfell 12 Tygerberg 22.
