Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival

Photo albums

Photo albums

Day 1

Day 2

Photo albums

Day 1

Day 2

Match reports

Day 1 Match reports

Day 2 preview

Day 2 Match reports

Day 3 preview

Day 3 Match reports

Festival wrap

Photo albums

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Supporters of fast-paced schoolboy rugby are set for an exciting feast over Easter weekend, with this week’s launch of the 2024 Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival (KERF) which will showcase 14 highly-rated high school teams, as well as an inaugural primary schools’ festival, at which 10 local sides will compete.

Standard Bank has been the festival’s major sponsor since 2012

Not only does schoolboy rugby play an invaluable role in the development of South Africa’s rugby culture, but it also instils the values of sportsmanship, team work, resilience and respect in young players.

This 15th KERF promises exhilarating competition between some of the country’s top-ranked schools, over the three play days of Thursday 28 March, Saturday 30 and Monday 01 April.

In endorsing their continued long-term headline sponsorship of the festival, Kuben Chetty, Standard Bank’s head of commercial banking for KwaZulu-Natal, said the company firmly believes in the power of sport to change lives.

“We believe that this tournament presents young people with opportunities to learn from challenges and to grow through teamwork,” Chetty said. 

At the 2024 KERF launch

Keegan Daniel – Kearsney Director of Rugby, former Sharks and Springbok player;
Stefan Terblanche – MC for the evening, former Sharks and Springbok player;
JP Pietersen – Head of Junior Rugby at The Sharks, former Springbok and Sharks player;
Waylon Murray – Kearsney Director of Sport, former Sharks and Springbok player

High schools participating

Durban High School (DHS), Glenwood High School, Westville Boys’ High and hosts Kearsney College will again represent KwaZulu-Natal at this year’s event.

The organisers are excited to welcome newcomers Hoërskool Rustenburg from North-West, Rondebosch Boys’ High from Cape Town and Pearson High School from Port Elizabeth.

Two powerhouse teams from Gauteng – Hoërskool Monument from Krugersdorp and Boksburg’s Hoërskool Dr EG Jansen – will return to showcase their brand of fast and physical rugby.

After an excellent festival debut last year, Worcester Gimnasium from the Western Cape, together with the Eastern Cape’s Nico Malan High School (Humansdorp), Hoërskool Framesby (Gqeberha) and Hoër Landbouskool Marlow (Cradock) are certain to offer spectators thrilling running rugby. They will be joined by the tenacious team from Hoërskool Noord-Kaap (Kimberley).

Fast-paced schoolboy rugby provides spectators with a display of uninhibited passion which is sometimes lost at higher levels of the game, with many of the young players forming lifelong friendships and rivalries over the weekend.

Primary School Teams

Traditionally four under 13 teams have kicked off play each day at KERF. The growth and continued success of the festival has led to the establishment of a primary schools’ festival for the first time this year, which will run concurrently on an adjacent field.

Participating U13 teams are Ashton International College Ballito, Chelsea Prep, Glenwood Prep, Highbury Prep, Hillcrest Senior Primary, Kloof Senior Primary, Umhlali Prep, Westville Senior Primary, Winston Park Primary and the KZNRU Ibutho Development Team.

A word from the Kearsney Headmaster

Speaking at the launch of this year’s festival, Kearsney headmaster Patrick Lees acknowledged the support of the festival’s sponsors – in particular Standard Bank, Halfway Ford and The Sharks – which has enabled the significant growth of this prestigious festival since its inception in 2008.

Lees likened rugby to an orchestra. “Let’s appreciate the orchestration of teamwork, strategy and determination. Remember, each player is a unique instrument, and together you create a masterpiece on the field.”

A word from Halfway Ford, Waterfall

Chilton Penery, dealer principal at Halfway Ford Waterfall, said it was a sense of community which made his company’s alignment with the festival so vital. “We strive to uplift and participate within our community, a by-product being the relationships we build while providing tailored transport solutions for each valued client,” he said.

Ongoing support from the Sharks

Michael Horak, The Sharks’ high performance manager, said he was looking forward to seeing what the young players, from the best schoolboy teams around the country, brought to KERF this year.

“The Sharks and The Sharks Academy are proud of our ongoing association with the iconic Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival since its inception,” he said.

Together with The Sharks, KERF’s successful Boots & Balls outreach initiative will again collect

new and used sports gear, with the focus on rugby gear. All donated kit is sorted, refurbished and distributed to selected schools and clubs.  Participating teams and the public are requested to leave kit in designated collection bins at the main field.

The family-friendly festival on Kearsney’s beautiful campus in Botha’s Hill will have numerous food outlets, a refreshment tent, a fun KidZone for little ones and ample available on-site parking.

All matches can be streamed on YouTube on SuperSport Schools.
Rewatch the exciting rugby matches at your leisure.
Photo albums for each game will be available on our Facebook page.

Standard Bank 
Standard Bank Facebook 
Twitter: @StandardBankZA
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#SBLove  #10pM  #KERF24

Newsroom – Festival press releases

For press enquiries, scores, reports and photographs, please contact Sue Miles – email  wwords@iafrica.com or 083 222 5211.

Local area infomation

Accommodation nearby

Durban Tourism

Day 1 Match Reports

Day 2 Match Reports

Day 3 Match Reports

(Click above to read the wrap up).

For collections of photographs from the three days’ play, please visit Kearsney’s Facebook page at facebook.com/KearsneyCollege.

Highlights and reels can be found on Kearsney’s Instagram account instagram.com/kearsney.college

Videos of all games can be found by searching Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival on the SuperSport Schools app, website or YouTube channel.

View 2023 Festival brochure

Boots & Balls outreach initiative

Visitors to the festival were encouraged to bring along new or used sporting equipment on any of the three days of play. All items were donated to the KZNRU at the end of the Easter Rugby Festival for distribution to development teams.