Unfancied Pearson shock Selborne in East London as upsets reign supreme in school rugby action

Gqeberha's Pearson recorded the most noteworthy of schoolboy rugby upsets when they beat Selborne College 25-22 in East London on Saturday.

The game was the first derby encounter between the schools and, judging by how Selborne dominated other encounters outside of the Under-15A game that they lost 13-12, it wasn't conceivable that the hosts were going to lose the main game.

Selborne's first team, despite the abundance of talent at Chase Morison's and James Alderman's disposal, haven't quite hit their straps this season, with this being evident in losses to Cradock's Hoër Landbouskool Marlow and King Edward VII School.

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Pearson took the lead through an early try and led 13-10 at the break. Selborne took the lead early in the second half, but the visitors dug into their reserves to record a notable win and inflict a fourth season defeat for Selborne in their seven games so far.

The pain of defeat wasn't limited to Selborne as their Gqeberha counterparts, Grey High School for Boys, were comfortably beaten 39-24 by Stellenbosch's Paul Roos Gymnasium.

The final scoreline was probably reflective of the home team's dominance, but they were their own worst enemies with yellow cards and an over-eagerness to score from first-phase ball.

That said, the first team win was indicative of Paul Roos's general dominance of this derby where they generally won games by big scores.

One of those was a 90-0 win by their Under-16A side in what was an alarmingly one-sided game on the Main Field.

There were also shocks around the country as Northwood recorded a deserved 29-22 win over Glenwood in Durban, while Oakdale needed home comforts to overturn what