World Schools Festival comes to an emphatic end

PAARL, 7 April 2018 – The weeklong Oakland World Schools Festival came to an emphatic end with a sold-out Paarl Boishaai’s Brug Street Stadium being treated to high-quality and entertaining schoolboy rugby on Saturday.

The festival lived up to its aspirations of creating camaraderie among rugby-loving schoolboys from around the world sharing knowledge and experiences.

The tournament featured 10 of the top schools in South Africa and 10 of the best school teams from around the world.

The final day was characterised by tight battles, the odd runaway victory and edge-of-your seat entertaining rugby.

The final schoolboy game of the day between Paarl Boys’ High School and Christchurch Boys’ High provided the hosts an opportunity to exact revenge on the New Zealand side.

Christchurch Boys’ High spoilt Boishaai’s spotless record in New Zealand last year, when they beat the South Africans 38-36.

Revenge was sweet for the South African side, and while the score line may suggest they found easy access across the advantage line, it was anything but a walk in the park.

Boishaai brought the curtain down on the celebrations claiming a 28-7 victory over the touring side and gave the ardent local supporters much to cheer about.

The South African sides walked away with the inaugural Oakland Cup trophy, a Ryder Cup-style contest between South Africa and the Rest of the World.

The home sides will have the bragging rights for the next year after beating the Rest of the World 36-4.

Carinat Sports Marketing Managing Director and ex-Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer announced the tournament would return in 2019 from March 24 to 29 and the venue would be revealed in due course.

“The festival surpassed all expectations and it was a humbling experience to see rugby-loving countries, from the giants to the so-called minnows, share our passion for the game,” Meyer said.

Paarl Boys’ High vs Christchurch Boys’ High (New Zealand):

 Scorers:

Paarl Boishaai 25 (8): Tries: Ewan Roos (2), Vian van der Sandt, Cullan van der Merwe. Conversion: Trent Sirvetsen. Penalty: Trent Sirvetsen.

Christchurch Boys’ High 7 (0): Try: Max Hughes. Conversion: Ollie Lewis.

Affies  vs AP Dragons (Pacific Islands)

Scorers:

Affies 17 (10): Tries: Heinrich Bischoff, David Jacobsz, Eric Sherman. Conversion: Regardt

Roets.AP Dragons 5 (5): Drie: Uta Fale.

Grey College vs Hartpury College (England)

Scorers:

Grey College 60 (31): Tries: Ian Small-Smith (3), Ross Braude (2), Werner Gouws, Lesley Botha, Joubert Schoeman, Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Zander du Plessis. Conversions: Du Plessis (5).

Hartpury College 0.

Paarl Gimnasium vs Unión Argentina U18 (Argentina)

 Scorers: 

Paarl Gimnasium 38 (23): Tries: Stravino Jacobs, Van Eeden Hanekom, Dean Nieuwoudt, Hein Strauss. Drop goal: Charl Janson. Conversions: Janson (3). Penalties: Janson (3).

Jaguares 36 (5): Tries: Nicolas Roger Farias, Totas Vanni, Rustias Salustierra, Mannuel Berstein, Juan-Manuel Gonzales, Martin Avellaneda. Conversions: Roger Farias (3)

Hilton College vs Rhinos Rugby (United States)

Scorers: 

Hilton 78 (29): Tries: Ruan Wilmans (2), Gareth Schreuder, Roger Ellis, Robert Mattison, Joseph Elphick (3), Patrick McVeigh, Jared Venter, Siyabonga Xulu. Doelskoppe: Schreuder (7), Bryce Trodd (2). Strafdoel: Schreuder.

Rhinos Rugby 19 (12): Tries: Latu Kolopeaua, Ethan Howard, Moses Sepvona. Doelskoppe: Austin Kikuchi (2).