Grey College's Arie Vosloo tackles Andre de la Rey of Westville Boys' High during a match at one of the earlier editions of the Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival. Picture: Jacques Naude
THE POPULAR Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival is to be expanded in 2024, with additional high school teams joining the popular annual event while a primary schools festival will make its debut.
Going into its 15th year, the Kearsney Festival has grown into a highlight on the schools’ rugby calendar and attracts many of the country’s top-ranked rugby schools.
Next year’s event in Botha’s Hill will see 14 high school teams and 10 primary school sides participating over the three play days – Thursday, March 28 to Monday, April 1.
Four teams from host province KwaZulu-Natal will be in action. They are Glenwood, Durban High School, Westville and Kearsney College.
The three newcomers will be Rondebosch Boys’ High from Cape Town, Hoërskool Rustenburg from the North West and Hoërskool Brandwag from Benoni.
They will be joined again by two powerhouse teams from Gauteng in Hoërskool Monument (Krugersdorp) and Hoërskool Dr EG Jansen (Boksburg).
After an excellent inaugural outing last year, Worcester Gimnasium from the Western Cape will be back to showcase their attacking skills, together with Eastern Cape regulars Hoërskool Framesby (Gqeberha), HoërLandbouskool Marlow (Cradock) and Nico Malan High School (Humansdorp).
Kimberley’s Hoërskool Noord-Kaap will grace the festival with their exciting running rugby once again.
Schoolboy rugby plays an invaluable role in the development of South Africa’s rugby culture and instils the values of sportsmanship, teamwork and respect in young players.
To further this end, Kearsney is launching a primary schools festival in 2024, which will run concurrently with the high schools festival.
The presence of the younger players will add to the excitement and family-friendly atmosphere of the popular event.
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