Mike Greenaway|Published4 hours agoWatch VideoWestville, Kearsney, DHS continue winning ways on day two of Easter Rugby Festival

Bukho Sotaka scores for Westville in their victory over Helpmekaar at the Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival in Durban. Kearsney College were welcomed with a roar when they took to Stott Field for a Saturday afternoon Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival(KERF) showdown with Hoërskool Transvalia. Both sides won their first festival games on Thursday — Kearsney by 43-14 over Rustenburg and Transvalia by 26-5 over Peterhouse from Zimbabwe — so both were eager to keep their clean records intact.

For the hosts, No 8, Nhlanhla Ndlovu, fullback Lwazi Mbebe, and Daniel Miskey at flyhalf pulled the strings to telling effect, and they fully deserved their 33-13 victory. Transvalia will take heart from their efforts in the second half, which they edged 10-7. For a third year in succession, Durban High School and Hoërskool Rustenburg did battle at KERF.

DHS had finished KERF with an unbeaten record on the previous two occasions, and they were intent on repeating that feat this year. Rusties tested the Horseflies early on by keeping the play tight, but DHS defended with determination to keep the action around midfield. The final score was close to the sides’ previous KERF results, with DHS winning 45-0 in 2024 and 41-7 in 2025.

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Yet, Saturday’s final score of 38-7 was a little unkind to Rustenburg. They impressed with their never-say-die attitude, but in the end, they succumbed to the unrelenting pressure from DHS. Peterhouse from Zimbabwe and Milnerton opened the day’s play, just as light early morning mist cleared over Botha’s Hill.

The contest was a showdown between teams that like to run the ball, and it delivered a thrill-fest. The Capetonians were first onto the scoreboard when their captain Chadlin Sellidon slotted a penalty from 40 metres out after five minutes. But when the final whistle sounded, Peterhouse had avenged an 18-34 defeat against Milnerton at KERF in 2025, to finish with a 29-23 win this year.

In the third clash of the day, with barely a minute played, Zwartkop opened the scoring against Dr EG Jansen, when flank Luan Wepener forced his way over after some fluent play from the Pretoria side. The tiredness that showed in the Zwartkop ranks early in the game appeared to evaporate, and, with committed defence, they closed out the game and recorded a hard-fought 41-32 victory over EG Jansen. The first match of Saturday afternoon was about redemption for Framesby, after they were run off their feet by Westville on Thursday.

For Glenwood, beaten by Helpmekaar in their opener, it was a chance to make their many local supporters happy. From the opening whistle, one could sense greater urgency in Framesby’s approach, but the Green Machine was uncompromising, and that made for a hard-hitting contest. Both sides showed their willingness to run the ball, and both showed equal enthusiasm for closing down space as quickly as possible.

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