The SA Schools Closed Squash Championhips u19 finalists: Devan Osborne, Luhann Groenewald, Chanté Leppan and Elzandri Janse van Rensburg.
The top seeds, who had made it through to the finals of the three age groups at the South African Schools Closed Squash Championships in Johannesburg on Sunday, showed why they were the top seeds, with each of them winning. It was only in the boys’ u16 event that the pattern was broken.
Luhann Groenewald was crowned the boys’ u19 champion, and he did it in style, beating Devon Osborne, the third seed, 3-0 in the title decider to complete the event without dropping a game.
He had been a hot favourite ahead of the Championships after lifting the Bloemfontein Junior Open title early in March, where the u19 division also included players who are no longer in school.
Groenewald’s Hoërskool Zwartkop schoolmate and girls’ u19 top seed, Chanté Leppan, matched him by outplaying Midstream College‘s Elzandri Janse van Rensburg 3-0 in an all-Northerns final.
However, Leppan narrowly missed out on a perfect record, after dropping one game against Bianke Pienaar on Saturday.
The boys’ u16 competition proved to be the most unpredictable of the six being contested. On day two, top seed Benji Newman was ousted by Christian Swanepoel. Then, second seed Joel Rix barely escaped Joseph Feast, but he eventually gritted his way to a 3-2 win, taking it 14-12 in the fifth.
On Sunday, matters were less nerve-wracking as Rix, having recovered from his marathon match, grabbed the title with a 3-1 win over Swanepoel.
Makayla Naidoo justified being the number one seed in the girls’ u16 age group by posting a 3-1 win over Brianna Robinson in the final.
The u16 finalists: Brianna Robinson, Makayla Naidoo, Joel Rix and Christian Swanepoel.
The result was similar in the boys’ u14 gold medal match. In a one versus two battle, top seed Déwan Borstlap overcame Daniel Tarr 3-1.
It was, however, very tight in the girls’ u14 age group, which featured just eight invited players competing in two pools, with points being accumulated in each of the matches they contested.
Rylee Howells, the top seed, had suffered an upset loss to fourth seed Lily Strydom on Saturday, but she clawed her way to the title, and added another to the long list won by Epworth girls, by edging out Gemma Clarke 3-2.
That result left both players on seven points, but Howells took the crown on a points’ count.
The top performers in the u14 age group: Daniel Tarr, Déwan Borstlap, Gemma Clarke and Rylee Howells.
After a busy day at St John’s College’s Barrow Squash Centre and at Roedean School, the South African Schools Closed Squash Championships hit the business end of matters on Sunday, with titles in the three age groups on the line.
Three generations of the Barrow family, who sponsored St John’s College magnificent squash complex, were on hand to take in Saturday’s action, and were joined by some of the top u19 competitors. Left to right: Paul Barrow, Alex Barrow and Douglas Barrow, Semano Mohapi, Devon Osborne, Mrs Barrow, and Luhann Groenewald.
Boys’ u19 top-seed Luhann Groenewald is into the title decider after another dominating day on the court that brought him 3-0 victories over Joel Fehrsen and Juan-Corné Brand. Only once in those six games did he concede more than five points.
Groenewald won’t be up against second-seeded Judah Phillips in the gold medal match, however. Phillips was ousted by third-seed Devon Osborne in the semi-finals, with Osborne, from Parel Vallei, beating Phillips 11-8, 5-11, 11-8, 11-5.
Earlier in the day, Osborne, once upon a time from St Andrew’s School in Bloemfontein, before he made the move to the Western Cape, beat Josh Smit and Saints’s Semano Mohapi in four.
Meanwhile, Groenewald’s Hoërskool Zwartkop counterpart, Chanté Leppan, secured her place in the final of the girls’ u19 division. It will be a Northerns’ battle for the title, with Leppan facing Midstream College‘s Elzandri Janse van Rensburg for the title in a meeting of the top two seeds.
Both of the u19 finals are scheduled for 11:20.
Boys’ u19 top-seed Luhann Groenewald saw off Joel Fehrsen in the quarterfinals. Photo: Adele du Rand.
It will be Joel Rix versus Christian Swanepoel in the boys’ u16 final after Swanepoel ousted top-seed Benji Newman in four games, winning 11-6, 11-9, 5-11 and 11-5.
Rix, the second-seed, very nearly missed out on the title decider, with sixth-seed Joseph Feast dragging him into deep waters. Rix, though, managed to outlast his never-say-die opponent, scraping through 4-11, 10-12, 11-8, 11-4 and 14-12.
Feast had earlier dispatched third-seed Thero Motshubi, who was playing on his home courts, in three straight.
The girls’ top seeds in the u16 age group won through, making it a showdown between no.1 Makayla Naidoo, of St John’s DSG and KZN, and no.2 Brianna Robinson, who is home schooled but plays for Easterns.
It’s also one versus two in the boys’ u14 final, with Déwan Borstlap, of Waterkloof, taking on Daniel Tarr, from the traditional powerhouse, Selborne College, for all the marbles.
There is some intrigue involved in the girls’ u14 competition after Lily Strydom, the fourth seed, from The Wykeham College, upset top-seed Rylee Howells, from another Pietermaritzburg school, Epworth, on Saturday.
The points scored during the two-pool format being used in the girls’ u14 age group will determine who advances to the final.
Girls’ u16 top-seed Makayla Naidoo claimed two 3-0 victories in succession. Photo: Adele du Rand.
Round one of the South African Schools Closed Squash Championships, being played in Johannesburg at the Barrow Squash Centre at St John’s College and at Roedean School, went smoothly for the top four seeds in the three age groups – u19, u16 and u14 -in the opening round on Friday. Round two, though, produced some upsets.
In the boys’ u14 competition, third-seed Liam Hart was surprised by sixth-seed Mangaliso Mbatha, who produced a dominating performance to win 11-7, 11-3, 11-8.
There was also an upset in the second round of the girls’ u14 event, with no. 5, Paisley Edkins, comfortably accounting for fourth-seed Rebecca Scheckter, running out an 11-6, 11-8, 11-6 winner.
It was also a case of five beating four in the girls’ u16 age group, with Vivienne van der Schyff taking down Starla Phillips in four games, 11-6, 7-11, 11-7, 11-7.
That wasn’t the sole upset in the girls’ u16 age group. Sheryl Harborth, the sixth-seed, got the better of third-seed Kate van Biljon, triumphing 3-2 after a tremendous tussle, which included three games that went past 11 points – 10-12, 13-11, 11-8, 4-11 and 12-10.
In the last of the second round’s surprises, Western Province’s Alex Azevado ousted Border’s Cara Knott, also a good hockey player, in another win for a fifth-seed over a fourth-seed. There was little to separate the two, with Azevado claiming a 3-2 victory.
Meanwhile, the boys’ u19 top-seed Luhann Groenewald ruthlessly brushed aside the challenge of Marco van Rooyen, surrendering only five points in a one-sided contest.
Benji Newman, the u16 no.1 was a convincing 3-0 winner against Cobus Schimper in his only outing of the day, while u14 top-seed Déwan Borstlap cruised to successive 3-0 victories over Evan Janse van Rensburg and Bevan Garlick.
It was also smooth sailing for girls’ u19 top-seed Chanté Leppan, who won 3-0 against Mayra Bytebier, to match her fellow Hoërskool Zwartkop learner, boys’ u19 no. 1, Luhann Groenewald.
Chanté Leppan won 11-4, 11-3, 11-4 against Mayra Bytebier on Friday in the SA Schools Closed Squash Championships. Photo: Adele du Rand.
Makayla Naidoo, from St John’s DSG, the number one seed in the u16 division, comfortably accounted for Amy Gerber and Tamyln Galliers, without dropping a game.
The girls’ u14 top-seed, Rylee Howells, also from the KZN capital, and another product of the renowned Epworth squash factory, saw off Rebecca Scheckter and Paisley Edkins in straight games, finding it a lot easier against Edkins who, of course, upset Scheckter.
When Pretoria Boys High visited Maritzburg College in July 2023, the Red, Black and White ran out comfortable winners on Goldstone’s.
In 2023, Maritzburg College travelled to Pretoria for the first of their two matches against Pretoria Boys High (PBHS). This year, Boys High visits College for the first of the annual home and away derbies, with both 1st XVs still seeking to hit fully their strides.
The signs in recent weeks, though, have been encouraging, with the Candies having made something of a turnaround after copping a nasty hiding from Paarl Gimnasium at the NMI Toyota North-South Tournament.
The Boys High fixture list has been as tough as can be, with matches against Garsfontein, Jeppe, Outeniqua, Paarl Gim, Selborne College and Paarl Boys High to start their season.
Catch the Maritzburg College vs Pretoria Boys High action live on DStv Channel 206.
They were competitive in their first three outings without coming close to achieving a victory. Their next game, against Paarl Gim, was a horror show and they were pounded, losing 10-71. Less than a week later, however, Pretoria Boys regrouped and recorded their first win of the season at the KES Easter Festival, downing Selborne College 26-21.
Their most recent match, on 1 April, against Paarl Boys’ High, another one of the early pacesetters, resulted in an 8-24 defeat, but the Candies showed some steel against a high-powered opponent, and this suggests they’ve fixed some of their early defensive issues.
College, who comfortably beat Boys High last year, winning 47-15 in Pretoria, in April, and 43-12 in Pietermaritzburg, at the end of July, started the 2024 season with a shock defeat to Kearsney College. The Red, Black and White, facing an opponent that had already played two games, produced an error-filled game and went down 14-16 when Kearsney landed a last-minute penalty.
Clifton College was made to pay for that loss the following week, when College romped to a one-sided victory in their first game of the year on Goldstone’s. That, however, has been their sole outing on their famous fortress, where they went undefeated last year. They’ll be chomping at the bit to run out there for a second time in 2024.
At the St John’s Easter Festival, Maritzburg College played three matches. In their first outing, they went down 17-32 to Boland Landbou in a contest that featured some uncharacteristically lax defending. College bossed the farmers up front, but their defence was loose.
The next time out, however, they showed great character to fight back from 7-19 down at half-time to beat SACS 26-24. It was a much-needed win.
Phiwayinkosi Kubhekaand his team wrapped up the festival with a 24-7 win over the Golden Lions XV.
Last weekend, playing in wet and windy conditions, they outwrestled Glenwood High in Durban, recording an 18-7 victory.
College boasts plenty of experience up front, including SA Schools’ loosehead Kubheka and Sharks’ Craven Week tighthead Aiden Botha in the front row, but the difference between last year’s team, which found its form earlier in the season, arguably lies in the backline.
Although the home side has talented ball players at the back, one can see the impact of the side having lost some of its key decision-makers from a year ago, including the outstanding halfback pairing of scrumhalf Rhett Quinn and flyhalf Luc du Toit. It’s taking them a little longer to find their way.
Both teams are well coached, and both like to play an enterprising brand of 15-man rugby. Spectators and supporters can expect an entertaining clash.
After a dominant run at the Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival, DHS defeated Westville in the rain last weekend. They face a stiff challenge at Northwood on Saturday.
A very interesting clash on Reece-Edwards Field awaits on Saturday, with Northwood playing for the first time at home this season and facing a massive challenge from Durban High School (DHS).
The Knights have made an excellent start to 2024, winning 10-7 at Hilton College in their first match of the season, before cruising to comfortable wins over Die Brandwag (50-0) and Hudson Park (40-8) at the KES Easter Festival.
Giving up only 15 points in three games is an outstanding defensive record in anyone’s book, but DHS has been equally elite on defence this season. They’ve recorded three shutouts, giving up just 28 points in their six games, which included only seven in their three outings at the Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival (KERF).
What makes the Horseflies a scary challenge is the fact that it was only during KERF that they truly started to find their offensive rhythm. They possess a well-drilled pack that functions extremely well as a unit. If they’re able to provide their backs with quality ball, it could be a tough day on defence for the Knights.
But the Northwood pack, too, is a more than useful unit. Head coach Jacques Deen has a proven track record as an excellent forwards’ coach. His charges facing up to DHS forward coach Ronnie Uys‘s pack is going to be a fascinating and potentially decisive aspect of Saturday’s showdown.
Both sides also possess plenty of pace and skilful backline players. Given space, they have the ability to cut most opposition to shreds, but… The aforementioned top defences of the teams might have something to say about that.
Both also have good playmakers at flyhalf, with Aka Boqwana pulling the strings for DHS and Siya Nkosi doing the same for Northwood. If it comes down to a goal kicking contest, however, the edge might lie with the visitors. Boqwana has been deadly in almost every match School has contested this season.
It is a clash of two teams with designs on being KZN’s number one this season. They’ve definitely made early cases for that status. Saturday’s outcome will further enhance the claims of one of them.
When Clifton College hosts Glenwood High at the Riverside Sports Club on Saturday, it will be a battle of two teams trying to find their offensive rhythm.
A young Glenwood High team has established itself as a strong defensive outfit but has found it difficult to consistently break through their opposition’s defences.
For Clifton, still establishing themselves among KZN’s elite, it’s been an up-and-down start to the season, which hasn’t been helped by injuries to some of their senior players. Most recently, though, at the Saints Sports Festival in Johannesburg, they turned in two encouraging performances, beating Northcliff 21-15, before going down 7-12 to St Stithians, who had beaten St Andrew’s College 27-14 in their previous game.
Clifton’s Director of Rugby Grant Bell feels his side made good strides on defence in Johannesburg and giving up only 27 points in two games is a good return. However, Clifton is still working on finding its optimum backline combination.
Glenwood’s 1st XV coach Derek Heiberg will be pleased with his team’s grit and defensive fight, but he’ll want to see more clean ball put to better use.
The Green Machine has shown signs of good running rugby in their backline, but it has come in fits and starts. A more coherent performance would be another step in the right direction.
Luhann Groenewald (second from left), holding the Bloemfontein Junior Open boys’ u19 trophy, is the number one seed in the age group at the SA Schools Closed Squash Championships.
The South African Schools Closed Squash Championships take place at the Barrow Squash Centre at St John’s College and at Roedean School, in Johannesburg, from Friday, 12 April to Sunday, 14 April, bringing together the cream of the crop from across the country.
The event is an invitation-only tournament and features the top players in each age group – u19, u16, and u14 – from around the country.
It is also the second of three SA Schools qualifiers for top 10 national rankings. The others are the Technifibre Bloemfontein Junior Open, which was played from 29 February to 3 March, and the forthcoming Inter-provincial Tournament, which will be played in June.
Each of the tournaments also serves as a selection event for the national u16 team’s tour of Malaysia in December, which will include six girls and six boys.
In addition, the SA Schools Closed Squash Championships is a qualifying event for the annual Inter-Provincial Tournament, which takes place in June.
Phiwayinkosi Kubheka on the charge against Westville Boys’ High on Reunion Weekend in 2023.
Phiwayinkosi Kubheka first captured the national spotlight in the 2023 rugby season. Maritzburg College was facing Grey College at the North-South Tournament in Pretoria. It was expected to be another straightforward Grey victory. It turned out to be anything but that.
Early in the game, Grey’s big 8th-man JJ Theron, who would go on to captain South African Schools, picked up the ball at the back of a ruck, and broke around the left. In front of him was College’s loosehead prop, Kubheka. Theron dropped his shoulder and tried to run over Kubheka. It didn’t happen. He was stopped in his tracks, driven backwards, and landed on his back. Introduction and statement made!
Recalling that meeting with his future SA Schools’ team-mate, Kubheka said: “I don’t think there was much to it, because it was probably my weak shoulder. I don’t think about it. I just go at it. It’s just a mentality that I came with.”
After that game, which Grey College won 37-24, but which was certainly a lot closer than the scoreline makes it appear, the KZN side was on rugby fans’ radars, and their big, mobile, and abrasive, loosehead had become a fan favourite.
Big guys don’t usually get through much work as ball carriers and tacklers, but Phiwayinkosi Kubheka exhibited some of the qualities that one expects a good loose forward to have.
Towards the end of 2023, Kubheka was appointed Deputy Head Prefect of Maritzburg College. It was a prestigious position and a vote of confidence in his character and leadership.
Maritzburg College is also a school with a very rich rugby history. Success and playing the College way on the field – hard, uncompromising and fair – is important, not just to the players but also to the school’s very loyal old boys. Kubheka, recognising this, chose to voluntarily step down from his position as Deputy Head Prefect. It couldn’t have been an easy decision, but he felt he couldn’t do justice to either role if he stuck with both.
He’s a humble, well-spoken leader, but his nickname, “Rambo“, wouldn’t suggest that. Then again, it reflects his physical approach to the game.
Interestingly, it wasn’t his College team-mates who gave him the name, he shared: “Two of my mates, from Northwood… We were having a district practice and a KZN practice and they just started calling me Rambo back then.
He may be an intimidating sight to some, but “Rambo” Kubheka, while a force to be reckoned with on the field, is a gentleman off of it.
“I think it was off a ruck, because I was quick back then, so immediately from a ruck I would join the backs, some way somehow. Then, they just started calling me by that name.”
Kubheka has good hands, and he passes well to both sides, which further catches the eye. Big guys aren’t supposed to do that. But he does. His secret? Touch rugby.
“I think that helped me a lot, especially passing with my weak hand, because when you are playing against backline players you want to play it quickly through the hands. I think that put me at an advantage over other forwards, who maybe can’t pass with both hands and have the skillset.
Although he might not be as fast as he once was, the College captain is a load and opponents know they are in for a take-no-prisoners, bruising battle when they face the Red, Black and White. Dishing out punishment means taking hard knocks at the same time and it takes a toll, Kubheka admitted.
“I think it’s a build-up,” he said, “so you don’t necessarily feel it in the mid-season, but you feel it maybe in the last four games. That’s when you have to wake up in the morning and go to the gym and you can feel your body is a bit reluctant. You start to not slack off, but you can just feel yourself not being yourself, in terms of your body. Mentally, you still want to carry on.
“I would carry on forever but then the body also takes preference. So, fortunately, we have staff, including strength and conditioning coaches, physios, and even the rugby coaches, who assist us in terms of us getting our rehab done and us taking time off, getting off our feet and all of that.”
Following on from an impressive 2023 season, which finished with him wearing the green and gold of South Africa, Kubheka has a single goal and it’s not flamboyant. That’s not his style. It’s very simple: to leave the jersey in a better place. That, very much, is the Maritzburg College way.
Before joining the Red, Black and White, he attended Monument Primary School in Ladysmith. When he attended KZN u13 trials, it was hard to miss to burly front-ranker. Maritzburg College noticed him and presented his mother with a prospectus, hoping that College might be a consideration for his future in high school.
There were other schools who expressed an interest in him, but his mother said she would pray about it. It was not her decision, she told her son, it was God’s. The answer was Maritzburg College.
Many people helped him on his rugby journey through the ranks and up to the 1st XV at Maritzburg College, Kubheka said. Most of all, he stated, his mother and his faith have played the biggest role.
His mom has sacrificed a lot for him, he explained: “She’s done more than enough, in my opinion. I don’t think, if another parent was in my mother’s shoes, they would have survived.”
Why you play the game: for your school, for your team, and for yourself: Phiwayinkosi Kubheka holds the James Dwyer Memorial Trophy aloft, with a proud Headmaster, Dr Chris Luman (wearing the College cap) at his side, after Maritzburg College’s 18-7 win over Glenwood on 6 April.
For Phiwayinkosi Kubheka, rugby is not just about winning, it’s about brotherhood, another of those qualities that Maritzburg College focusses upon. It’s about knowing that your brother has your back, no matter the challenge. It was what enabled College to take the game to Grey College in that 2023 clash. And it caught many people unawares.
While they didn’t pull off a win against Grey, they scored a spectacular 50-31 victory over Affies in Pretoria later in the season, and wins over the Pretoria school had been few and far between in recent years.
It was the brotherhood that stood out to him in that game. Affies scored the first two tries, both converted, and College responded with penalties. They were eight points down, but there was no backing away from the fight. He could see it in the eyes of his team-mates. It was a hard-fought game but, in the end, College won comfortably.
Hearing old boys call out the names of the players told him they were doing something right. “You feel the weight of the jersey, not being heavy but being meaningful.
“This jersey is about more than playing rugby. It’s about people who have worn it in the past and lifted it into a better place for me.”
It says something about his character that the game he chooses as his most memorable wasn’t a victory for College. It was his first start in the 1st XV, in the first game of the 2023 season, which College lost 20-27 at Michaelhouse.
He explained: “From grade eight, almost every single rugby player wants to play 1st team. Even the people who don’t play rugby, still want to go to the games.
“Just to experience that feeling, running onto the park, with the white badge, that was… a blessing in disguise because I didn’t know what the future held. But I knew with me being in this setup, I’m going to try to contribute, not only to better myself, but to show that I believe in what the coaches have put into place, and especially the circle around me, the brothers next to me.
“I’m with them to the very end. As you say, we fight, we fight till the bitter end, so I was willing to do that with the white badge on my chest.”
That mindset is a leader’s mindset, someone you can trust and believe in, someone who sets an example, and who always has his brother’s back. That’s why Phiwayinkosi Kubheka was entrusted with leading Maritzburg College in 2024.
Two teams loaded with talent in their backlines were limited by wet and muddy conditions in Durban, when Westville Boys’ High visited Van Heerden’s Field for a showdown with high-flying Durban High School (DHS).
Both sides had impressed at the Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival, where Westville upset Monument, and where DHS surrendered only a single try in their three matches. And both had demonstrated their power up front there, which is where most of the action, out of necessity, took place on Saturday.
Two sturdy packs and two stubborn defences went at it, and they impressed with the commitment they showed to fight fire with fire. It was a hard slog for both offences on the day.
The visitors were first on the scoreboard very early in the game when a spilled kick off resulted in a DHS player being trapped offsides and Westville flyhalf Unathi Mlotshwa stepped up to knock over a penalty from about 30 metres out.
DHS had kept three clean sheets in five matches this season already, but that record would not be improved upon.
It didn’t take long for the Horseflies to reply, however. After they hit up the ball through a number of phases, Westville was pinged for a high tackle and flyhalf Aka Boqwana‘s trusty right boot levelled matters for the hosts.
The falling rain made the underfoot conditions and the ball slippery, and both teams saw promising attacks ended by spilled catches.
After 18 minutes, a curious decision to fly-hack a high-up-and-under from DHS by Westville fullback Jade-Will Koopman led to the Griffin conceding another penalty when Michael Satade, 15 metres up the field, along with many other Westville team-mates, played the ball and was blown up for being offsides.
Boqwana, who has been one of the deadliest kickers in the early part of the season, made full use of the opportunity to give the hosts the lead for the first time in the match. It lasted only four minutes.
When DHS prevented the quick release of the ball after a player had gone to ground, they found themselves facing another penalty and Mlotshwa knocked it over from a similar position to his first, maybe a touch further out, to make it 6-6.
Soon, though, DHS had the lead again, and they wouldn’t relinquish it. Boqwana landed his third penalty, which the Horseflies had won by fiercely contesting the ball at a ruck. It wasn’t a tough kick, on the 22m line and 10m to the left of the uprights.
They surged back onto the attack and laid siege to the Westville tryline, bashing away, phase after phase, but the Griffin’s hard-hitting defence repelled them time and again. DHS took it through 14 phases, but they couldn’t get over the line from close range. Westville, however, gave away a penalty.
Then, from a scrum, it took only two phases for School to cross the tryline. Flyhalf Boqwana played Hlumelo Madikane, just outside of him, into some space and he raced through a gap into the visitors’ defensive line to add five to the DHS tally.
Boqwana’s boot delivered again, and coach Peter Engeldow‘s charges were 10 points up at 16-6.
In the second half, Westville put together a series of strong drives by their forwards, which made big dents in the DHS defensive line, and it eventually brought them a penalty. Mlotshwa made no mistake from the right of the posts, inside the 22, and it was 16-9.
Then, DHS was almost undone by the conditions when Allston Cedras spilled a pass with School on the counterattack. The slippery ball popped up and landed in the hands of Westville right wing Evan Moolman, eight metres inside the Griffin’s half. He pinned his ears back and hared off down the field.
With the DHS cover defence closing in on him, Moolman cut inside but then floated a pass back outside to Michael Satade. DHS, though, had scrambled back well and they closed down the big centre. A few phases later, Westville was penalised for going into a ruck from the side and the danger was ended.
DHS’s sure tackling brought them further points, the last points of the match, in fact, when a superb tackle around the ankles by scrumhalf Marcwin Nero stopped a Westville attack and forced the ball carrier to hold onto the ball inside the visitors’ 22. FLanker Bradley le Grange was first over the ball to do the damage.
Boqwana then made Westville pay and made it a two-score game by slotting his fourth penalty.
In the challenging conditions, there were no further points and DHS, unbeaten on Van Heerden’s in 2023, began 2024 with another “W” on their home ground.
Maritzburg College lock Jake Jansen was named the Sportsmans Warehouse Man of the Match.
There was delight for Maritzburg College on a cold and miserable day in Durban as they beat their rivals, Glenwood High School, 18-7 on Dixon’s Field on Saturday, in the first Sportsmans Warehouse Premier Interschools fixture of 2024.
Despite the challenging conditions, which usually lead to teams resorting to the boot, both sides were happy to give the ball some air.
The early momentum belonged to the visitors, who drew first blood, thanks to the power of their forward pack.
From a lineout in the Glenwood 22m area, College set a rolling maul in motion, which was stopped only centimetres from the try line. Two quick phases later, scrumhalf Rayke Maartens sniped his way over to score.
The conversion by flyhalf James Slevin was successful and College led 7-0 after 11 minutes of play.
The Red, Black and White had Glenwood on the back foot with their driving maul, and it was the foundation for their second try of the afternoon. After a kick by the home side had gone directly into touch, they turned to it once more.
Rumbling forward, they drew in Glenwood’s defenders before running through a number of phases, battering away at the stubborn defence of the hosts. Then, flyhalf Slevin found Langelihle Makhathini with a wide pass, and the speedster finished clinically in the corner.
The Green Machine began to find their mojo shortly after conceding. Their lineout worked well to provide 8th-man Jordan Hargreaves with front foot ball.
When Glenwood’s backs found space out wide after inside centre Sisiphiwo Dwayi got around his opposite number, their right-wing Leo Weber was in space. He had the wheels to outpace the College cover defence and dived over in the corner to get the hosts on the board.
Weber converted his own try to pull his team within another five-pointer of Maritzburg College.
The remainder of the first half was an arm wrestle but the scoreboard was unchanged. College led 12-7 at the break.
Ill-discipline undermined both sides in the second half, with Glenwood, especially, hurting themselves.
It was, however, Maritzburg College who were the first to receive a yellow card after a dangerous tackle by their captain, Phiwayinkosi Kubheka. Glenwood was unable to capitalise on their one-man advantage.
During the second stanza, College enjoyed the lion’s share of possession and asked many questions of the Glenwood defence. Those questions paid dividends when Slevin punished them from the kicking tee for a breakdown infringement. With 52 minutes played, College had extended their lead to eight points.
Glenwood was under the pump and, after a team warning for repeated penalties by the referee, it was the tighthead prop Uzukhanye Xaba who was penalised and shown a yellow card.
College opted for the three points once more and Slevin stepped up and converted to put his team 18-7 to the good with 15 minutes to play.
The back-and-forth continued, with both outfits having multiple opportunities to score. However, a combination of slippery conditions, poor decision making, and resolute defending meant that there was no change on the scoreboard.
When the final whistle sounded, College had taken the win on Dixon’s, a feat they failed to achieve in 2023 after winning comfortably at home.
The teams will meet again later in the season on Goldstone’s, in Pietermaritzburg.
Points’ scorers
Glenwood 7 (7) – Tries: Leo Weber. Conversion: Leo Weber. Maritzburg College 18 (12) – Tries: Rayke Maartens, Langelihle Makhathini. Conversion: James Slevin. Penalties: James Slevin (2)
Scores
u19
Glenwood II 17 Maritzburg College II 17, Glenwood III 10 Maritzburg College 22, Glenwood IV 0 Maritzburg College 14, Glenwood V 0 Maritzburg College V 34, Glenwood V 0 Maritzburg College V 34, Glenwood VI 0 Maritzburg College VI 39, Glenwood VII 14 Maritzburg College VII 38
u16
Glenwood A 0 Maritzburg College A 14, Glenwood B 5 Maritzburg College 15, Glenwood C 3 Maritzburg College 34, Glenwood D 7 Maritzburg College D 50, Glenwood E 7 Maritzburg College 43
u15
Glenwood A 28 Maritzburg College A 34, Glenwood B 14 Maritzburg College 17, Glenwood C 5 Maritzburg College C 8, Glenwood D 0 Maritzburg College 45, Glenwood E 0 Maritzburg College E 15
u14
Glenwood A 8 Maritzburg College A 12, Glenwood B 21 Maritzburg College B 7, Glenwood C 0 Maritzburg College C 15, Glenwood D 0 Maritzburg College D 12, Glenwood E 0 Maritzburg College E 50, Glenwood F 5 Maritzburg College F 41
Other matches
Maritzburg College VIII 15 Linpark I 20, Maritzburg College IX 20-15 KZN Development, Maritzburg College X 17 Linpark II 5, Maritzburg College u16F 0 KZN Development 47, Maritzburg College u15F 12 Linpark u15A 54.
Westville Boys’ High‘s 25-22 victory over Hoërskool Monumenton the last day of the Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival (KERF) caught the imagination and has made Saturday’s showdown with Durban High School (DHS) on Van Heerden’s Field even more enticing than it first appeared.
It was a stirring performance by the Griffin against a renowned rugby school, which sported a very large forward pack. But Westville put Monument in reverse in the set scrums on a good number of occasions. That was quite something.
Also, the manner in which they withstood 20 minutes of unrelenting pressure from Monnas at the start of the game, before striking twice for tries from turnovers, just before halftime, was impressive.
Big hits caused those turnovers, and they’ll need to be just as robust on defence against a DHS team that was the most dominant side at KERF.
In their first outing, the Horseflies, coached by former Griquas’ coach Peter Engeldow, took on Nico Malan, coached by Jaco Nepgen who, as a player, led the lineout for Griquas when Engeldow was in charge. The teams shared some plays, which the coaches laughed about afterwards.
Still, DHS exhibited a hard-working, hard-hitting defence, to keep the Humansdorp side off the scoreboard, winning 21-0.
In their second outing, they were too much for Hoërskool Rustenburg, dotting down three times in each half, and a fine kicking performance from Aka Boqwana helped School to a big 45-0 victory.
Pearson High School managed to breech the DHS try line on the last day of the festival, but that was the only time it happened, and DHS ran out 38-7 winners, nonetheless.
Westville Boys’ High rocked Monument with an inspired performance on the last day of the Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival.
Early in the season, their defence was their calling card, but now their attack is hitting its stride and that makes captain Mahle Sithole and co a very difficult challenge.
Westville has shown with each successive match that they’re rounding into ever-improving form, and there is no doubt that they possess runners with the ability to rip any team to shreds.
There are unmissable similarities between the sides when one looks at their tough packs and speedy backlines. Apart from the flash, though, the team that controls the tactical battle and the territory will likely come away with the win.
DHS coach Peter Engeldow identified the balance in his charges’ kicking game and their chase lines as being among the aspects of their performances at Kearsney which had most pleased him, so they appear to be well organised.
Given their strong early season form, and the fact that they’re playing at home, they have to be regarded as the favourites, but Westville have shown that they have the ability to chop down the biggest of opponents.
Without predicting the winning school on Saturday, there’s every chance that a simple prediction will be correct: the winners on Saturday will be the spectators.
Two teams loaded with talent in their backlines were limited by wet and muddy conditions in Durban, when Westville Boys’ High visited Van Heerden’s Field for a showdown with high-flying Durban High School (DHS).
Westville Boys’ High‘s 25-22 