Top provincial talent on show at Curro Sports Festival
Some of KwaZulu-Natal's best young athletes showcased superb skills at the Curro Salt Rock Sport Festival at the school on Saturday (May 10).
Schools from as far afield as Greytown, Wartburg, Amanzimtoti and Hillcrest descended on the North Coast to compete in the co-ed tournament across netball, hockey and sevens rugby.
Hockey
The boys' 1st team hockey was the only side to reach a final, losing 3-0 to a formidable Crawford La Lucia side.
Curro beat Waterfall 4-0 and Amanzimtoti 4-0 in their opening matches. They lost 2-1 to eventual champions Crawford in the final pool game.
In the final, the visitors took a solid 2-0 lead into the break after strikes by Eli Calo and Gareth Cartwright. Nathan Williams added a third to give the Durban team a deserved win.
Unfortunately, the girls missed out on a final berth after also losing one of their three group matches. Curro finished second behind Crawford La Lucia, who lost to Wembley College 2-1 in a shootout after a goalless final.
Head of high school sports at Curro Salt Rock, Shaun Blignaut, said he was happy with Curro's performances against strong schools on Saturday.
'The event was festive and a lot of fun. The interaction between the teams and quality of the sport was phenomenal,' he said.
Sevens Rugby
The boys' 1st and U15 teams also missed out on a final place in the sevens despite some strong displays. The host's 1st team were unlucky to finish third in their group behind eventual winners Hoërskool Gelofte and Grace College.
A 7-7 draw to table-toppers and champions, Gelofte, meant the home team finished three points behind the Pinetown side and two points behind Grace College, who defeated the hosts 14-12 in a thriller. A 33-0 win against Wartburg Kirchdorf School was not enough.
The junior team showed there is talent coming through the rugby ranks and the U15A team won two matches to reach the semi-finals.
They lost 19-14 to Waterfall College and missed out on a bronze medal after a 19-5 loss to Wembley College in the third-place playoff. The U15B side beat Wembley 41-0 and Waterfall College 19-7 in their two games.
'Unfortunately, we picked up a few injuries in the rugby. Hopefully, they are not too severe and just precautionary, otherwise the day went well,' added Blignaut.
Netball
The netball tournament was the toughest competition of the three. Twelve teams took part in two groups of six, with the top four in each group advancing to a quarter-final stage. Curro's 1st team won the U19 Gelofte Night Series in March but found their home competition harder.
Durban Girls College (DGC), Our Lady of Fatima, Maris Stella and Danville Park Girls' High School led a strong contingent from Durban. Curro finished second in Pool A with four wins from five, losing to Fatima 18-8.
The school beat St Henry's (12-6) and Maris Stella (12-2) in their opening fixtures before edging Curro Hillcrest 16-10 and dispatching Kloof High School 20-6 in their penultimate pool match to finish on eight points, two behind Fatima and four ahead of St Henry's.
Ashton International College Ballito is arguably the best netball team on the North Coast. They finished third in the 'group of death' behind Girls College and Danville, winning three of their five games.
This pitted Ashton against Curro in a 'North Coast' derby quarter-final in front of a fervent home support. The Salt Rock side lost 12-6 to their Ballito rivals, who progressed to the semi-finals against DGC.
The Durban school was too good for Ballito's best, securing a comfortable 10-point victory (24-14) before edging Fatima in extra time of a thrilling final to take the gold.
Curro assistant coach, Marilize van As, was proud of her girls reaching the knockouts, especially considering the strength of the competition.
'We played well but there were some strong teams from Durban,' she said.
Despite some injuries and no gold medal, Blignaut believed the sports festival was successful. It gave Curro a chance to shine against quality opposition.
'The coaches, kids and parents were all enjoying themselves. Each school displayed respect for their opponents and showed true sportsmanship – win or lose – during the competitions. The kids are a credit to their schools.
'At the end of the day, we as educators and coaches, have an obligation to give the kids the best opportunities to display their talent on the sports field,' he added.
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