It was all action at the KES Festival and the action hasn't even started

 

I am always amazed at the way that those running school sport find a way to heap more and more upon themselves in the cause of providing opportunities to get the children out there, playing.

Thursday was actually Day 0 at the Standard Bank KES Easter Festival – the 21^st one – but you wouldn’t think so if you went there. Last year it was decided to cut the number of rugby games played at the festival from three to two, in the interests of player safety. There is so much school rugby being played at this time of the year now that the Easter Festivals are no longer the early-season hit-out that the coaches use to do their final team selections, making three games ideal.

So, you’d think the lot that run the KES Festival - and it seems to be the same faces, led by the indefatigable Derron van Eeden, year after year – would use the quiet day to put the final touches to the mammoth task of squeezing everything in. You’d be wrong. They laid on seven rugby games – one more than on an official festival day – and gave those who did come along to watch a look at the work that the Golden Lions Union is doing in the townships of our city.

There were two under-13 Youth Club matches; games involving U16 and U18 girls team from their programme in that area; and a game between the KES 2^nd team and an U18 side selected from all their clubs.

That meant new faces and jersey colours at the festival, and the eye-opening experience of seeing that girls can play this game, and very well too. But that wasn’t enough.

The KES U15A and U16A teams played against Marais Viljoen. The Alberton school is not one that the school has met often down the years, but there is new rugby management there and, I’m sure, they were keen to see how they go against the best of English opposition, Their U15s have work to do, but the U16s gave the very good KES side some stern opposition and there are some boys there who can play.

Thursday is, of course, officially Day 1 as far as the hockey side of the Easter festival is concerned. Half a day, actually, as school was still on. The Red Sticks confirmed that they will be side to watch this year with an emphatic win over Glenwood, while the highly-ranked Maritzburg College and Jeppe had comfortable wins too. There’s a lot of hockey still to be played over the weekend – and they don’t take Sunday off.

The 1^st team rugby action gets going on Saturday and the schedule laid on is as intriguing as it has been for years. As a taster: Affies are playing Noordheuwel at 12.45pm on Saturday, ahead of games between Jeppe and Selborne; and KES against Rondebosch.

Queens College are here again with, I’m hoping, their usual big contingent of rowdy Joburg-based old boys; as is Northwood, the rising stars in Durban. The newcomers this year are Pearson High School, a Gqeberha school we’ve heard a lot about, but rarely see in these parts.

It’s going to be a good Easter,

Results

Hockey - Jeppe 4 Eldoraigne 1, Parktown 3 St Charles 1, Maritzburg College 4 Helpmekaar 1, KES 6 Glenwood 0, Northwood 2 Waterkloof 0.

Rugby - Eldorado Park U13 36 Westbury U13 0, Alexandra Wolves U13 75 Kagiso Sting U13 0, Golden Lions U16 Girls A 52 Golden Lions U16 Girls B 0, Golden Lions U18 Girls A 50 Golden Lions U18 Girls B 0, KES U15A 50 Marais Viljoen U15A 0, KES U16A 38 Marais Viljoen U16A 21, KES 2^nd XV 52 Golden Lions Development 3.