Thistles Rugby Team – U18 Independent Schools Rugby Festival. Thistles, a team consisting of non-first team rugby players in Grades 10 and 11 was established in 1981. The St Andrew’s College Thistles team took part in the U18 Independent Schools Rugby Festival held by St Alban’s College in Tshwane between 28 June and 3 July. The Thistles played 3 matches against St Alban’s, St Charles, and Cornwall Hill. The opposition offered varying levels of competition. The purpose of the Thistles “tour” is to connect, learn, and enjoy being part of a special College tradition.

Against St Alban’s the Thistles played high-tempo exciting rugby, however, the lack of preparation was clear, and we struggled to convert our opportunities. St Alban’s who were more organized and had more experienced players in their team came out on top, we lost the game 5-10. The match against St Charles was tough, they were a 1st XV without 4 of their provincial players. It was a wonderful opportunity for our boys to play against a quality side with some very good athletes. The Thistles played out of their boots against a physically bigger team, we lost 7-19.

The final match was against Cornwall Hill 1st XV from Tshwane. The players were eager to build on the first two games and express themselves, unfortunately, it was a very stop-start game, and the officials controlled the tempo instead of the boys in both teams. There were very good moments in the game, and we managed to win 19-7. Overall, we managed to achieve our goals of connecting and developing on and off the field and I would like to commend the boys on being wonderful ambassadors on and off the field. I would also like to thank Mr Dewey and Mr Hlongwane who coached the side, their passion and commitment did not go unnoticed. – Mr Jonny Mallett Thank you to St Andrew’s College parent, Zintle Mjali, for the wonderful photos!