Durban - Three KwaZulu-Natal schools descended on Kimberley to partake in one of South Africa’s biggest school sport festivals, the ABSA Wildeklawer Sport 2023.
KZN’s representatives were Durban High School (DHS), Glenwood High School and Maritzburg College.
The festival took place between April 23 - May 1 at Hoerskool Diamantveld, Kimberley and involved all the top rugby schools in the country.
Both DHS and Glenwood’s first teams won one game and lost one game.
DHS First Team Coach Peter Engledow said that they had a very successful tournament and was pleased with how his side performed.
“The boys stood up against the top traditional schools and had a belief in their potential. The boys also represented DHS well on and off the field, displaying the values that we come to expect from our boys, Our first team narrowly lost to Paul Roos 21-14 and we as a squad are disappointed by that, but we bounced back nicely vs HTS Drostdy winning 64-17 and scored some great tries,” said Engledow.
Engledow said that the Wildeklawer Festival was a great challenge and he thought it was an ideal opportunity for the boys to be seen. He hoped that through this tournament, some of them will be able to study further and play rugby after school at a higher level. He shed light on how this will prepare them for their next game against Hilton College in the midlands.
“We have a very tough fixture ahead this Saturday against Hilton College away. That right now is the only thing I am focusing on. Player fatigue is always going to be a problem for our boys, but sometimes their passion overrides this. We are very excited to play Hilton on Saturday. However, coming off a solid victory over Michaelhouse, Hilton will surely be the favourites at home,” said Engledow.
Glenwood High School Director of Sport John Duncan was impressed by the ‘never say die’ attitude of the Glenwood Boys.
“This was best exemplified by the first team who fought back from a 16-0 deficit to clinch the game against Welkom Gimnasium in the final seconds, after the hooter,” said Duncan.
Duncan said it was a huge honour to be invited to one of, if not, the premier school rugby events in the country. He said it was a great opportunity for Glenwood to test themselves against the best rugby teams in the country, and they will draw inspiration from this heading into their next fixture.
What impressed me the most about this festival was the quality of rugby that was on display and it would lead to anyone being optimistic about the future of South African Rugby. I was also impressed by the organisation and planning to host a festival for over 4 000 participants,” said Duncan.
The Independent on Saturday