146 The third and last fixture before the April holidays was against Hilton. Kearsney showed their intent from the start and exerted good pressure on the visitors. From sustained pressure James Lambert slotted a penalty and soon after JL du Preez scored from a change of direction in play which followed a midfield surge from a lineout. Lambert converted and added another penalty for a 13 – 0 lead at half time. This score line did not reflect the Kearsney dominance and with increased accuracy and precision in tactical play, from flyhalf Robert du Preez in particular, Kearsney scored 4 unanswered tries in the second half. Lambert converted three and added another penalty to boost his personal haul to 22 points which included a try. With all the confidence of the very good start to the season, Kearney participated in two of the major festivals: Grey College Festival The first team played three matches at this very popular festival in windy conditions but acquitted themselves well and were comfortable victors in all three matches. RESULTS vs Parktown Boys won 43 – 12 vs Itembelihle High won 33 – 0 vs Graeme College won 36 – 0 The Blythedale Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival RESULTS vs Hoerskool Nico Malan won 2 – 12 At this point we had some concern as to the effect of a two week break on the momentum and cohesion of the team. After a rusty start the team settled down and scored 6 tries. RESULTS vs Dale College won 18 – 16 This was the first real challenge of the season for the team. Dale had a good reputation coming into the festival and Kearsney had to play at their optimum to be successful. The second half was much of the same with Dale taking the early lead with a penalty. James Lambert responded with his penalty to level score again at 11 all. Dale then scored an unconverted try to lead 16 – 11 until the last minute of the match when Daniel du Preez bulldozed over the line to level scores once again. James Lambert displayed nerves of steel to convert from the touch line to record Kearsney’s first ever victory against Dale College. RESULTS vs Grey College (Bloem.) lost 3 – 24 Kearsney were awarded the honour of playing Grey College and gladly accepted the opportunity. The team did themselves proud and the half time score of 3 all (Robert du Preez’s second drop goal of the season) was indicative of the effort the players invested in this match. Kearsney made a few errors in the second half and Grey scored three tries as a result. The final score line of 3 – 24 is unfortunately not a true reflection of the battle. The first fixture in the second term presented many challenges as we faced our traditional rivalsWestville Boys. It was clear that the Dale and Grey encounters the week before had taken their toll and the performance againstWestville was disappointing. In the second half our opponents out-played us in all facets of play.
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