Following a preseason period which has met all its targets, Graeme College are ready to start their schools programme with a bang at the annual Pam Golding Properties Graeme Rugby Day in Makhanda on March 16.
The cream of Eastern Cape’s schools will take part in this annual sporting extravaganza, with 16 teams playing in the matches on the Somerset field.
There will also be age-group matches on the Marais fields.
Cape Town school SACS will add a fresh dimension to the programme when they take on St Andrew’s in the third last match of the day.
Graeme have set themselves the challenge of playing formidable King William’s Town side Dale in the final fixture, opponents they met in the corresponding day in 2015, going down 27-0.
Graeme coach Jonty van der Meulen said they were well aware of the task the King lads would set for them.
“As this is our big day, it’s important for Graeme to feature in the main match.
“And we need to make sure that game involves some of the best sides in the region, so we have been on the receiving end a bit,” he said.
“But that is the situation and we are ready to go out there and to try to lay down a marker for the season.”
He said there had been some overlapping of sporting duties among some squad members, but “for the most part, this has been one of the better preseasons we’ve had”.
“This year we got in a conditioning coach and he has done some really good work,” the Graeme mentor said.
“In terms of fitness and strength levels, now coupled with our skills work, we could not have been better prepared at this stage of the season.”
Van der Meulen will be working with an extremely young team this year.
Only two members are back from last year’s first team squad and he said they realised they faced a big learning curve.
“Fortunately, we had a very good U16 group last year and they are enthusiastic, keen to learn and working really hard.
“They obviously lack the experience and it will be tough to be thrown into the cauldron of first-team rugby, but they will add a lot of value to the squad in terms of their hunger.
“This is their first opportunity to make a statement and we will be sticking with a squad system until we have seen what the guys can do.” ● Graeme did well at cricket this weekend, winning both matches against the Old Boys on their reunion weekend.
The junior teams won all five matches they played against Kingswood.
In the U9A match, Connor Holder (30 not out) and Tyler Bouwer (30 not out) helped Graeme to reach 160/4, and Kingswood replied with 122/6.
The Graeme U11B side won by 88 runs after making 156/3.
Thurston Marthinus (42 not out) and Malakiwe Nikelo, with a hat-trick, were the main contributors.
Rhys Wiblin (65 not out) and Andrew Muir (48) helped the U11A side to 158/3 and then Wiblin (4/13) and Enrique Strydom (3/20) helped to dismiss Kingswood for 70.
Graeme U13B totalled 222/6 (Cullen Goliath 68) and then Lilitha Plaatje took 5/11 as Kingswood fell to 57 all out.
The U13A side also won easily after Luphelo Mdyesha (5/19, including a hat-trick) and Ashton Williams (4/14) bowled Kingswood out for 76.
Murray Tyson (35) steered his team to an eight-wicket win.
In a Twenty20 match, the Old Graemians second team made 152/5 but Raven Bush (49 not out), Sonqoba Makalima (37) and Lubabalo Tshongweni (32) took the schoolboys to a five-wicket win.
In the first team match, the Old Boys were dismissed for 101 and Arron Richardson (50 not out) and Seth Faltain (37 not out) gave the schoolboys victory by nine wickets.
The day will also be remembered as the final game for Graeme coach Ian Suttie, who retires shortly after teaching at the school for 41 years.