1 April 2025
(Article by Marlowe Bloem)
The 2025 Standard Bank Grey High Rugby Festival brought together, mostly, a collection of top Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal schools to do battle on the rugby field at 1st XV, u16A and u14A level in Gqeberha. An easy conclusion after the event finished on Monday is that KZN rugby is in good health.
Durban High School (DHS), Northwood School, Westville Boys’ High, St Charles College, and Kearsney College all went two for two at 1st team level, with the first three appearing to be the teams to beat in the KZN province in 2025. Hilton College and Michaelhouse produced some good rugby, too, but lost a game each.
Hilton beat a good Graeme College side 27-17 in their first match. However, they fell 7-20 to a highly motivated Grey High team in the last game of the festival.
Michaelhouse’s search for a first win of the season continues. The crazy thing is it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that ‘House could have won each of those five games, all against top opposition, including Helpmekaar Kollege, Northwood, DHS, Grey High, and Bishops.
They held Grey High to a thrilling 28-28 draw, which was the first time in 2025 that the Gqeberha boys had failed to win this season. They had previously won against Hudson Park and subsequently beat Hilton.
Unfortunately for Michaelhouse, some lapses of concentration allowed Bishops to score a 25-17 victory over the Balgowan boys in their second match.
For more YouTube highlights, please visit the SuperSport Schools Plus channel. We’re now creating their highlights, so you will find plenty more of KZN’s top schools in action there.
DHS was dominant, winning by 21 points against Kingswood and by 30 against Selborne. Northwood showed off a similarly rugged defence, blanking Dale College 24-0 and beating Kingswood 33-14.
Westville played some outstanding running rugby, especially in a 45-12 demolition of Selborne in their opener. They weren’t on their game against Dale in their second outing but still came away with a comfortable 28-13 victory.
Marlowe Bloem ran an eye over the Griffin in their 33-point win over Selborne and came away impressed.
Coach Zander Erasmus‘s side was clearly very well drilled, he said. “They will be looking to challenge the likes of DHS and Northwood for at the top spot among the other Durban and KZN schools this season.
“Selborne were not at their best. However, it is still early on in the season, and I’m sure that they’ll take away a lot from this match. They are one of the top traditional schools in the Eastern Cape.”
Bloem said Westville’s attacking play included some lovely offloads and quick passing that delivered the ball out wide quickly.
Unsurprisingly, fullback Zekhethelo Siyaya was a standout performer. His reading of the game is his biggest asset, but he’s also blessed with speed and strength and a healthy collection of diverse skills.
Saints took on HTS Daniel Pienaar and Port Rex Technical High. Both were hard-fought contests, but the Pietermaritzburg boys grafted their way to victory, beating Daniel Pienaar 26-13 before holding off Port Rex to score a 19-15 win.
Kearsney gave themselves a big boost with a tight 28-26 defeat of Pretoria Boys High in their first game. That was followed by a 41-31 defeat of Hudson Park, which the One-Stripe had pretty much sewn up when they took a 41-19 lead with only six minutes remaining.
DAY ONE RESULTS
St Charles College 26-13 HTS Daniel Pienaar
Grey High School 28-28 Michaelhouse
Westville Boys’ High 45-12 Selborne College
Durban High School 41-20 Kingswood College
Hilton College 27-17 Graeme College
Kearsney College 28-26 Pretoria Boys High
Northwood 24-0 Dale College
Queen’s College 13-13 St Stithians College
Hudson Park 36 Muir 15
Daniel Pienaar 31 Ithembelihle 13
Other Results
u16: SACS 26, Selborne College 10; Grey High School 40, Michaelhouse 10; St Charles College 14, Hudson Park 12; Kingswood College 26, St Alban’s College 5; HTS Daniël Pienaar 14, Dale College 8; Rondebosch Boys’ High 50, Graeme College 13; St Stithians College 19, Muir College 5
u15: Westville Boys’ High 33, Selborne College 5; Rondebosch Boys’ High 15, Graeme College 7; Grey High School 29, Michaelhouse 27; Hilton College 35, SACS 24; St Charles College 44, Kingswood College 7; Muir College 22, Hudson Park 12.
u14: St Charles College 7, Hudson Park 7; Grey High School 51, Michaelhouse 10; Rondebosch Boys’ High 31, Graeme College 0; Selborne College 50, Muir College 0; SACS 17, Hilton College 5; Grey High School II 5, HTS Daniël Pienaar 0; Queen’s College 59, Kingswood College 5.
DAY TWO RESULTS
St Charles College 19-15 Port Rex
Queen’s College 17-14 Pretoria Boys High
Kearsney College 41-31 Hudson Park
Durban High School 35-5 Selborne College
Westville Boys’ High 28-13 Dale College
Muir 26-12 Ithemblihle
Andrew Rabie 19-5 Mali XV
St Stithians 19-17 Port Rex
Grey High 20-7 Hilton College
Other Results
u16: Grey High School 13, SACS 10; St Stithians College 24, Hudson Park 12.
u15: Grey High School 33, SACS 17; Westville Boys’ High 55, Hudson Park 0; Selborne College 18, St Charles College 10; Michaelhouse 54, Diocesan College 7; Dale College 11, Muir College 0.
u14: Hilton College 20, Rondebosch Boys’ High 12; Grey High School II 17, Hudson Park 0; Selborne College 14, St Charles College 7.
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