Graeme's Epic 1st XV Performance
The rugby squads travelled from Grahamstown to Queenstown, with the 1st XV hoping to reproduce their home win in 2017.
The last time Graeme travelled to Queens, many questioned the fixture with Graeme taking some heavy defeats at the hands of their hosts; especially playing at one of the toughest venues to play schoolboy rugby in South Africa. 2018, though would show how far Graeme has developed the culture of belief and ability against the toughest of opposition.
The u14A side started the fixture off with an unconvincing first-half performance, going into the break at 7-7. They hit their straps and switched to a clinical mode in the second half, and seemed unstoppable winning 56-12.
The Graeme U16A side had shown brilliant determination in defence the week before and managed to carry that over to the Queen’s fixture. Their brilliant effort meant that they managed to hold on to a spectacular 17-10 win.
With Queen’s winning most of the matches on the day and especially dominating the senior games, the 1st XV knew that they had a tough encounter ahead of them.
Graeme looked threatening at times early in the game but struggled to look after possession at crucial times in the first half. Queen’s managed two tries from deep in their own half, with their deadly backline punishing Graeme errors.
When they scored a third try to lead 19-0 at the break, all seemed lost for Graeme. The team still felt they had something to prove after many unforced errors earlier in the game, but they knew that the scoreline was not really reflective of the possession and territory statistics.
Graeme had actually played far better than being 0-19 down at half-time.
Graeme struck early in the second half through a well-worked series of phases, which sparked the side into action. They ended up scoring four tries in the second half and defended with epic tenacity.
Queen’s only managed a penalty in the second half, which came at the end of the game and that meant that they snuck back into the lead 22-21, with 45 seconds left on the clock.
With the penalty cruelly converted, Graeme had one last chance to fight back. Somehow, Thuso Mokhele regained possession from the kick-off and then Graeme put together countless phases of possession, going well beyond the end of time.
Two penalties out wide were run as Graeme gave everything in search of the points that they needed for the win. The pressure eventually took its toll on the Queen’s defence as Sixolile Lamani crossed over in the corner, securing the unbelievable win for Graeme.
To come back from 0-19 and then to show the character that they did to find the last try, was simply incredible. That try sealed a historic 26-22 victory for Graeme College.
By Gregg von Molendorff
