21 February 2024
(Feature photo: Former Springbok and Sharks’ winger Stefan Terblanche served as the MC at the official launch of the 2024 Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival, photo: Brad Morgan)
The 2024 Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival (KERF) was officially launched at Hollywoodbets Kings Park on Tuesday evening, where guests expressed their enthusiasm for the new format of the event, which now includes 14 high school and 10 primary school teams.
The high school field features three newcomers: Cape Town’s Rondebosch Boys’ High, Hoërskool Rustenburg, from the North-West, and Pearson High School, from Gqeberha.
Kearsney’s Director of Sport, former Springbok Waylon Murray, explained how he and his team go about inviting new schools to the event: “It’s a complicated procedure. We’ve got good relationships with schools that have come in the past. We want to honour the good relationships we have.
“It’s also good to look at up-and-coming rugby programmes that wouldn’t necessarily have the platform to come to a major festival like this, and to give their brand and their rugby team the exposure that they deserve for the good rugby that they played in 2023.”
Last year, Rondebosch recorded wins over their three southern suburbs rivals – SACS, Wynberg and Bishops – beating the first two twice and splitting the season’s series with Bishops.
Hoërskool Rustenburg enjoyed a superb season. One of their highlights was a win over Glenwood High, who won three out of three at the Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival.
Pearson, meanwhile, was part of many exciting games, with their 25-22 victory over Selborne College being a standout result.
It’s the first year of the primary schools’ festival, and its addition follows Kearsney College’s very successful hosting of primary school competitions alongside the Kearsney Hockey Fives and Kearsney Soccer Tournament.
“It was something that we have discussed in the past, and we have been trying to understand how we could implement it to make sure that it was a success,” Murray explained.
“We had to make sure there was enough buy-in from the community and the schools that we had identified, and it definitely adds a different element to our event. It is something that we are very excited about.”
At the launch, it was stressed that the Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival is not a tournament – there is no winner – but a festival where important values, like sportsmanship, teamwork, resilience and respect are encouraged.
The Headmaster of Kearsney College, Patrick Lees, in his speech, likened a rugby team to a symphony orchestra, where each player has a specific role to play which, when performed in concert with the rest of the team, produces a harmonious result.
Waylon Murray, during his address, spoke about how much thought goes into choosing which schools play one another. Last year, he said, there were 104 tries scored over the three days of action. The average scores were – on day one, 24-23; on day two, 28-14; on day three, 27-22.
Craig Polkinghorne, Head of Commercial Clients at Standard Bank, speaking on the major sponsor’s behalf, said: “We take great pride in the fact that a festival like this isn’t reserved for the elite. It’s not the top 20. There are schools from all over the country, from different backgrounds…And those people should be mixing and playing on the sports fields, because they are going to later on in life.”
“Diversity is a strength, and it’s what we must use in the country much more.”
Sharks’ CEO, Dr Eduard Coetzee, emphasised three key pillars in his speech – significance over success, purpose over perfection, and heritage over history.
He explained: “If we drive success, you won’t have a happy adolescence, because, as soon as we achieve success, the barriers move. Let’s rather focus on significance. When those boys run onto the field, teach them what it means to make a difference in people’s lives. Team them how important it is to be a part of a team, to serve one another.”
“Perfection is a moving target. As soon as you get there, it moves,” he added. “If you have a purpose, and it impacts other people, it changes their lives, the way we treat each other, the way we are kind to each other, the way we speak about each other. Let’s rather teach our kids to chase purpose over perfection.
History, Coetzee said, is something that divides people, in the South African context. Heritage is what binds us together.
“I think the Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival leaves a heritage,” he said, and shared three examples of how Jayden Hendrikse, Aphalele Fassi and he, personally, as a player at Kearsney in 1996, had been impacted by the event. All three are now key members of the Sharks organisation.
The KZN participants in the Easter Rugby Festival are unchanged, with Durban High School (DHS), Glenwood High School, Westville Boys’ High and Kearsney College representing the home province.
Gauteng is represented by two traditional powerhouses – Hoërskool Monument, from Krugersdorp, and Boksburg’s Hoërskool Dr EG Jansen.
Worcester Gimnasium, who impressed with their running rugby in their first appearance at the Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival in 2023, returns and joins Rondebosch to showcase the Western Cape’s rugby. The Eastern Cape sides include Nico Malan High School (Humansdorp), Hoërskool Framesby (Gqeberha) and Hoër Landbouskool Marlow (Cradock). Kimberley’s Hoërskool Noord-Kaap completes the line-up.
Previously, KERF included four u13 primary school teams, who started each day’s play at the event. Now, though, primary schools will have their own stage, Roberts Field.
The teams for the inaugural u13 festival are Ashton International College Ballito, Chelsea Prep, Glenwood Prep, Highbury Prep, Hillcrest Senior Primary, Kloof Senior Primary, Umhlali Prep, Westville Senior Primary, Winston Park Primary and the KZNRU Ibutho Development Team.
Together with The Sharks, KERF’s successful Boots & Balls outreach initiative will again collect new and used sports kit, with a focus on rugby gear. All donated kit will be sorted, refurbished and distributed to selected schools and clubs. Participating teams and the public are requested to leave kit in designated collection bins at the main field.
The festival is designed with the family in mind and there will be numerous food outlets, a refreshment tent, a fun KidZone, and ample on-site parking available on the beautiful Kearsney campus.
Fixtures and festival information are available on www.kearsney.com
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PLAY DAYS OVER THE EASTER WEEKEND
Day 1: Thursday, 28 March
Day 2: Saturday, 30 March
Day 3: Monday, 1 April
FIXTURES
HIGH SCHOOL FIXTURES
| DAY 1 | THURSDAY 28 MARCH | ||
| 09h00 | Worcester Gimnasium | vs | Hoërskool Rustenburg |
| 10h20 | Hoërskool Noord-Kaap | vs | Hoërskool Dr E G Jansen |
| 11h40 | Glenwood High School | vs | Hoër Landbouskool Marlow |
| 13h00 | Durban High School | vs | Nico Malan High School |
| 14h20 | Hoërskool Framesby | vs | Kearsney College |
| 15h40 | Westville Boys’ High School | vs | Rondebosch Boys’ High School |
| DAY 2 | SATURDAY 30 MARCH | ||
| 07h40 | Hoërskool Noord-Kaap | vs | Nico Malan High School |
| 09h00 | Westville Boys’ High School | vs | Pearson High School |
| 10h20 | Worcester Gimnasium | vs | Hoër Landbouskool Marlow |
| 11h40 | Hoërskool Rustenburg | vs | Durban High School |
| 13h00 | Hoërskool Framesby | vs | Hoërskool Monument |
| 14h20 | Glenwood High School | vs | Hoërskool Dr E G Jansen |
| 15h40 | Kearsney College | vs | Rondebosch Boys’ High School |
| DAY 3 | MONDAY 01 APRIL | ||
| 07h30 | Hoër Landbouskool Marlow | vs | Hoërskool Noord-Kaap |
| 08h50 | Rondebosch Boys’ High School | vs | Hoërskool Rustenburg |
| 10h10 | Hoërskool Framesby | vs | Worcester Gimnasium |
| 11h30 | Glenwood High School | vs | Nico Malan High School |
| 12h40 | CLOSING CEREMONY | ||
| 13h00 | Durban High School | vs | Pearson High School |
| 14h20 | Hoërskool Monument | vs | Westville Boys’ High School |
| 15h40 | Kearsney College | vs | Hoërskool Dr E G Jansen |
PRIMARY SCHOOL FIXTURES
| DAY 1 | THURSDAY 28 MARCH | ||
| 10h00 | Highbury Prep | vs | KZNRU Ibutho U13 Development Team |
| 11h00 | Glenwood Prep | vs | Westville Senior Primary |
| 12h00 | Kloof Senior Primary | vs | Hillcrest Senior Primary |
| 13h00 | Ashton Ballito Primary | vs | Winston Park Primary |
| 14h00 | Chelsea Prep | vs | Umhlali Prep |
| DAY 2 | SATURDAY 30 MARCH | ||
| 10h00 | Winston Park Primary | vs | Kloof Senior Primary |
| 11h00 | Highbury Prep | vs | Ashton Ballito Primary |
| 12h00 | KZNRU Ibutho U13 Development Team | vs | Glenwood Prep |
| 13h00 | Westville Senior Primary | vs | Chelsea Prep |
| 14h00 | Umhlali Prep | vs | Hillcrest Senior Primary |
| DAY 3 | MONDAY 01 APRIL | ||
| 10h00 | Kloof Senior Primary | vs | Ashton Ballito Primary |
| 11h00 | KZNRU Ibutho U13 Development Team | vs | Westville Senior Primary |
| 12h00 | Hillcrest Senior Primary | vs | Winston Park Primary |
| 13h00 | Umhlali Prep | vs | Highbury Prep |
| 14h00 | Glenwood Prep | vs | Chelsea Prep |
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