The 21st annual Graeme Rugby Day will once again welcome schools from across the Eastern Cape on Saturday 16 March. Graeme’s Somerset, Marais A and Marais B fields will see mighty schoolboy rugby battles take place between all of the different 16 school teams.
This year, the annual rugby day will include teams from Kingswood College, Mary Waters, PJ Olivier, St Andrew’s College, Port Alfred High School, Muir College, Queens College, Hoërskool Framesby, Grey High, Hudson Park, Hoër Landbouskool Marlow, Selborne College, Pearson High School, Dale College and the only non-Eastern Cape team, South African College Schools (SACS) from Cape Town.
Last year, Graeme’s Rugby day saw St Andrew’s claim a hard-fought 22-14 victory over Hudson Park, while Kingswood suffered a 13-22 defeat to Framesby. The hosts were highly disappointed with their encounter last year against Grey High, which ended in a surprising 5-34 loss against the PE side.
This year, the Makhanda (Grahamstown) local schools will be looking to kickstart their rugby seasons. The opening match of the day will be the highly anticipated match-up between the Mary Waters First Team and PJ Olivier. This will be the only local derby on offer for the local rugby fans, as the remainder of the local schools will clash with visiting sides in what can only be a great advertisement for rugby.
St Andrew’s have already got their season off to a winning start with their 47-12 victory over Hoërskool Nico Malan on Saturday 9 March. They will look to continue this start when they take on the invitational side from SACS in Cape Town. Kingswood College will follow with a match of their own against Pearson High School. The main match of the day will see the hosts take on Dale College in what promises to be an epic encounter.
As always, the 21st annual Graeme Rugby Day will mark the start of the local Schoolboy rugby season, and promises to highlight some of the best school’s rugby in the country. Food stalls, music, and all-round fun will be available, to complement the hard-hitting and high-intensity rugby on offer.
Graeme Rugby Day Fixtures
Somerset Field
08.00: Mary Waters High School vs Hoërskool PJ Olivier
09.10: Port Alfred High School vs Muir College
10.20: Queen’s College vs Hoërskool Framesby
11.30: Grey High School vs Hudson Park High School
12.40: Marlow Agricultural School vs Selborne College
13.50: St Andrew’s College vs SACS High School
15.00: Kingswood College vs Pearson High School
16.10: Graeme College vs Dale College
Marais A Field
08.00: Graeme College Under-15 vs Dale College Under-15
09.00: Graeme College Under-16 vs Dale College Under-16
10.00: Grey High School Under-16 vs Hudson Park High School Under-16
11.00: Kingswood College Under-16 vs Selborne College Under-16
12.00: Graeme College 3rd XV vs Nathaniel Nyaluza High School 1st XV
13.00: Cambridge High School Under-16 vs Albany Development Under-16
Marais B Field
08.00: Graeme College Under-14 vs Dale College Under-14
09.00: Grey High School Under-14 vs Hudson Park High School Under-14
10.00: St Andrew’s College Under-14 vs Cambridge High School Under-14
11.00: St Andrew’s College Under-16 vs Pearson High School Under-16
12.00: Muir College Under-14 vs Queen’s College Under-14
13.00: Muir College Under-16 vs Queen’s College Under-16
Stephen Kisbey-Green Photography 