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Looking back at Easter, looking forward to April 23

 





The Easter festivals have come and gone and the consensus, it seems, is that all of them were successful, That’s despite a deluge of rain of Friday and Saturday that would, in a regular week, probably have seen the scheduled fixtures abandoned because of the injury risks associated with playing on waterlogged fields, and the potential long-term damage to the playing fields themselves.

It wasn’t a regular week, though. After two years of no festivals – three, actually, because the 2019 Easter weekend was as rainy as this one, but with lightning too, so there was hardly any play then either, everyone was, therefore, so excited to be back that calling it off was never an option. 

Neither was, for most, opting to play two games only, even though that idea was gaining traction back in 2019 when the sports scientists began questioning the wisdom of teenagers playing three hard games in just five days. The invitations to the 2022 festivals will have gone out last year some time. Back then, remember, we were all wondering if school sport would ever return to normal. With that in mind, you can’t blame schools for suspending their principles and agreeing to three games over Easter.

That said, there were some good games over the weekend, and some shockers in the mud.

Results-wise, it should be noted that some of the top schools weren’t there. Grey College, Paarl Gimnasium, Outeniqua and Garsfontein – all top 10 regulars – didn’t play, and Affies only played once, and Paul Roos Gimasium twice.

There were some standout performances among those who did play. At Stithians, three schools – St Andrew’s, Bishops and Michaelhouse won all three of their games. Bishops, by all accounts are back to their best and they will challenge the top Cape schools this year, St Andrew’s didn’t face any of the real big hitters; and Michaelhouse showed by beating Maritzburg College on day one that they are going to be a force in KZN this year.

At KES the hosts were the only team to win three from three. Their one-point win over Queen’s College on day one will be remembered as a festival classic, and they managed the wet conditions brilliantly to beat Dale on the Saturday.

At St John’s, Paarl Boys’ High won three from three. Their win in the mud over Hilton on the last day showed that they have the tenacity to withstand sustained pressure; while they were too good for Helpmekaar, one of the top Golden Lions sides, on Saturday.

Down at Kearsney College, Monument were unbeaten. They beat Westville and Marlow on the first two days, and then dug deep to outmuscle the much-improved DHS in the mud on Monday.

There’s no rest at this level - except for those who didn’t play over the long weekend - and this Saturday Oakdale meet Grey College and Affies host Paarl Gim with teams that escaped the mud wrestling and are relatively fresh (Affies did play once at St John’s).

In other big clashes this weekend, Queen’s College and Dale are back at home for the first of their big derby clashes; Maritzburg College host DHS and Monument travel to Neslpruit.

Jeppe host Westville Boys’ High School in a multi-sport exchange that will see over 1000 boys in action on Friday and Saturday. KES travel to Pretoria Boys’ High for an away game that has, over the years, been quite tricky for them.

Down in the Western Cape its Boland WP vs Cape Town WP action aplenty. SACS play Boland Landbou; Rondebosch go to Paarl Boys’ High, Wynberg host Paarl Vallei, and Bishops get an opportunity to show how good they really are, against Paul Roos Gimnasium in Stellenbosch.

 

 

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