1 August 2023
The Saint Charles Sevens 1st team showed that its impressive results of the previous weekend – wins against Hilton College, Kearsney College and Voortrekker (Pietermaritzburg) – were par for the course by performing superbly in the Clifton Sevens at the Riverside Sports Club on Saturday.
Saints opened their account with a 27-17 win over the Michaelhouse 2nd VII. Then, playing only 20 minutes later, they were made to pay for a string of unforced errors, going down to the Hilton 1st VII 0-24. That result meant the boys from Pietermaritzburg finished second in their pool, which earned them a quarterfinal showdown with the Michaelhouse 1st VII.
Up against a quality side, Saints raised their game to record a hard-fought 12-7 victory. That put them into the final four, where they took on Kearsney College. It was another testing encounter, but Saint Charles came away with the semi-final win, taking the clash by a 22-12 margin.
Three from KZN in Commonwealth Youth Games Sevens team | Pinnacle Schools (pinnacle-schools.com)
The Final
They would face Westville Boys’ High in the final, after the Griffins sneaked a 19-17 victory over the Hilton College 1st VII in the other semi.
Fittingly, with the title on the line, it was a back-and-forth contest. When Westville hit the front with a converted try, Saints immediately fired back from the kick off to level matters. Then, however, Westville added another converted try to go into half-time 14-7 to the good.
Saints pulled to within two points immediately after the resumption with a try in the corner that went unconverted. That made the score Saint Charles 12-14 Westville Boys’ High. There was next to nothing in it.
Then, with time almost up, Saints found a winner, once more going over in the corner, to emerge with a 17-14 victory and the title of champions.
It was an appropriately thrilling end to a keenly contested event.
(Feature photo credit: Alexander Pascal, Grade 9, Saint Charles College)
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