Paul Roos crowned champions at NWU 7’s Prestige tournament
Paul Roos Gymnasium emerged triumphant at the inaugural Prestige Schools Rugby tournament after they beat Bloemfontein’s Grey College 22-19 in the final. The boys from Stellenbosch had to overcome a 19-point deficit at halftime to claim the title.
The North-West University (NWU) hosted the tournament on 2 September at the Fanie du Toit Sports Grounds.
Twelve under-17 teams from different parts of the country made their way to Potchefstroom to compete in the tournament including Hoër Landbouskool Boland, Hoërskool Garsfontein, Hoërskool Outeniqua, Grey College, Hoërskool Monument, Hoërskool Noordheuwel, Durban High School, Merensky Landbou Akademie, Hoërskool Waterkloof, Paul Roos Gymnasium, Hoërskool Rustenburg and Hoërskool Witteberg.
Grey College progressed to the semi-final after defeating Durban High School (39-19). They then had to secure a victory over Hoër Landbouskool Boland (22-17) to play in the final.
Paul Roos Gymnasium beat Hoërskool Waterkloof (19-5) in the quarter-final, and had a convincing win over Hoërskool Monument (31-0) in the semi-final, to book their place in the final.
Grey College had a comfortable lead at halftime after AJ Meyer, AJ Booysen and Ruben Cilliers scored in the first half of the final. After halftime the boys from Bloemfontein could not secure the victory as they conceded 22 unanswered points. Paul Roos, with Divan Lambrecht at the helm, scored four tries. Gert Kemp hit back first, then Lambrecht scored twice, before his late break allowed Junaid Coetzee to slip away for the winning try.
Hans Verster was happy to see his son play for Hoër Landbouskool Boland and was pleased that the NWU hosted such an event for the schoolboys.
“It is all about experience and that is what they gain for the future when they finish school,” he said.
Pieter van den Berg, tournament director, said the tournament had been a dream for quite some time and it got a great turnout even though it was the NWU’s first tournament.
“We have a dream to give 7’s rugby a boost at school level. Although it was our first tournament, we aim for it to be a yearly event. All the coaches loved the tournament and it was arranged very well,” he said.
