25 April 2023
Pinnacle Schools’ Mike Greenaway shares a great story about two Kearsney Old Boys whose rugby careers have reunited them almost a decade after they ran out in the one-stripe kit. Look out for Mike’s fun forthcoming book on the Springboks, which is due for release shortly!
Two of the brightest rugby talents to be produced by the KZN schools’ system, James Hall and Tristan Tedder, are to be reunited at Paris club, Racing 92, nine years after they played together for Kearsney College.
The South African connection
The pair joins forces once more at Racing on 1 July. At the end of the World Cup in France, in October, they will be joined by Springbok captain Siya Kolisi at the club.
Flyhalf Tedder will be following in the footsteps of another great product of KZN, Patrick Lambie (Michaelhouse), who played for Racing in 2017 and 2018 before he was forced into early retirement because of a concussion issue.
Hall and Tedder playing as a unit at the club as 27-year-olds is a truly remarkable story and one that can only happen in the great game of rugby. They both grew up in Durban and attended DPHS. Together they went on to Kearsney College where they played through the age groups as an exceptional scrumhalf-flyhalf combination.
They matriculated in 2014 and went their separate ways, Tedder to the Sharks Academy and Hall to the EP Kings where he would go to play for the SA Under-20 team in 2016.
Careers in France
In another coincidence, they both left South Africa in 2016 to play in France. Scrumhalf Hall went to Oyonnax and Tedder to Perpignan, and they would often play against each other in the French Top 14.
Tedder has had stints at Toulouse (2016-2018), Bayonne (2018-2019), Toulouse again ((2019-2020), Beziers (2020), Toulouse once more (2021), and for the last two years, he has been with Perpignan.
Incidentally, three Tedder cousins played together for Kearsney in 2014. Stephen was a utility forward, Tristan a flyhalf and James played on the wing.
James Hall is the son of the renowned rugby and cricket player Anthony Hall. James famously kicked a 62-metre penalty for Kearsney and produced a 53-metre effort the following week.
He played 61 matches for Oyonnax from 2016 to 2019, and since 2019 has been a stalwart in the Stade Francais side (80 caps).
Now the long and winding road takes the two to Paris where they will join forces once more at Racing 92.
Perhaps they will recall the old saying at Durban Prep: “From small beginnings…”
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