Delight for Maritzburg College on Dixon’s
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.
