DURBAN High School U18 sevens team cruised to its third cup trophy victory this season as they obliterated the field at the Pionier Sevens festival in Vryheid.
The oldest and most established tournament on the circuit drew 16 teams from across the country who competed in very dry and hot conditions for the coveted trophy.
In the opening fixture on the Friday afternoon, DHS won against Northern opponents, Middleburg, 54-0. They then produced another impeccable performance beating Ladysmith 64-0. The following morning after the great hospitality of the evening, DHS played their final group fixture beating the Pionier B team by 38-0.
Much has been said of the attacking prowess of the DHS team however, with former Blitzbok, Howard Noble added to the coaching team, their defence has shown considerable improvement and has begun to be another weapon in this team’s arsenal.
The quarter finals then saw DHS taking on another team from up country, Noordheuwel, who they beat 47-0. Star players were SA “A” player Sanele Nohamba whose decision making skills and devastating acceleration proved too much for the opposition. Phendulani Buthelezi showed his explosive attributes whilst the backline boasted the elusiveness and speed of Craven week players Onke Jiba, Cham Zondeki and Gert Coetzee. It was also exciting to see Grant Khomo player, Celimpilo Gumede, making an impact in the forwards.
The semi-finals were contested against Hoogenhout where DHS conceded their first points of the competition but ran out comfortable winners 49-14. It was then onto the final, where hosts Pionier had defeated highly rated Heidelberg Volkskool who had disposed of Kearsney earlier in the day. The final was a repeat of last year’s affair and the result went the way again of the Durban based team. It was a tightly contested affair for periods throughout the game but ultimately DHS had too much fire-power for the Vryheid team and ran out 33-12 victors on the day, winning the tournament for the second year in a row.
It was highly successful tournament for DHS, as they scored the most points and conceded the least throughout.
Apart from this, the U15 DHS sevens who also travelled up to Pionier with their successful U18 seniors, represented the school proudly.
Although a lot smaller than all their opposition, the team competed admirably winning 4 out of their 5 games by playing a style the public have become accustomed to seeing from the U18 team.
The team defended with pride as they ran out winners against Kempton Park 7-0 and Vryheid Landbou 14-7 in the group stages. The team were unlucky to lose a tightly contested quarter final against St Charles 5-12 but made amends as they rallied in their plate semi-final to beat Kempton Park yet again 14-12.
The Plate final was a real nailbiter, with DHS coaches and proud old boys, Lyle Matthysen and Matthew Everitt left watching with one eye closed throughout. With the scores tied at 7-7, they went to extra time sudden death. Heidelberg Volkskool opted to go for poles after they received a penalty but missed their kick giving the young DHS horseflies a shot at redemption. Sfundo Mkwanazi intercepted a pass to step and run through to win the game for his team.
The final score was 14-7 with the U15 DHS team taking the win and receiving the Plate trophy.
