The DHS U18 Sevens team participated in their own festival this past weekend, putting on some scintillating performances throughout. In what was arguably the strongest fielded tournament to date, the DHS tournament has seen its stock rise to become the premier tournament on the KZN circuit. An exciting challenge awaited the “Horseflies” as they kicked off their competition on Friday evening, convincingly beating Pinetown 55-0 and Voortrekker (Pmb) 46-0 in their group games.
Saturday morning delivered yet another glorious Durban Spring Day and saw “School” take on a very good St Charles team who had previously won the Voortrekker tournament the week before. Although DHS started brightly, they were unable to deliver their normal standards of performance and allowed St Charles to get their tails up. In the end, St Charles won the tightly contested affair 19-24 producing the surprise of the tournament.
With the team finishing second in their group, it meant they were due to play Hilton in the Cup Quarter Final. DHS, stung from their previous match, reacted with the venom we expected and shone in a very one sided affair against a highly accomplished Hilton team. SA Schools players Sanele Nohamba and Celimpilo Gumede shining in this one way affair. This result set up a Semi-Final match against St Charles, one they were eager to avenge.
The “Horseflies” were at their best, producing an all-round effort that would be hard for any team to match. Captain Cham Zondeki was brilliant in this encounter as he has been all season, and DHS ran out comfortable 33-12 victors.
This victory saw the DHS side take on their closest rivals Glenwood in the final. Both teams sporting a star-studded cast in what was to be a mouth-watering encounter. Glenwood took an early lead and led 14-0 at the break. They extended the lead to 21 points and all look lost for the home team. However, in true DHS style the team dug deep and produced a fine set of phases to run home two quick fire tries to set up a dramatic end to the game. However, the final piece of play was marred with controversy, as DHS saw an 8-man Glenwood produce a try to thwart the DHS efforts. Amid great confusion, the try was allowed to stand as Glenwood ran out 14-28 winners, allowing the DHS team the opportunity to illicit the graciousness we have come to expect from these top quality boys. Congratulations must be extended to the Glenwood team who produced some fine Sevens rugby on the day.
It was to be another excellent festival hosted by South Africa’s leading Sevens school, Durban High School. We thank all the schools that participated for their ongoing support of this great format of the game!
Scott Mathie
1st Team Sevens Rugby Coach/Head of Rugby
Photos of the game by Neville Bailey are available for viewing on his Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/pg/nevillebaileyphotos/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1747099565586732
See all the photographs on:
https://www.facebook.com/nevillebaileyphotos/
