Double delight for DHS
The Durban High School (DHS) u17 and u15 teams gave the home supporters plenty to cheer by capturing the High School Sevens Series, sponsored by Toyota, title at DHS on Saturday in Durban.
Van Heerden Field is a formidable fortress – this past season, the DHS 1st XV, 2nd XV, 3rd XV, u16A, u14A and u14B teams were unbeaten on Van Heerden’s – and the Horseflies rode their home ground advantage to the titles and places in Champions of Champions Tournament at Grey College, in Bloemfontein, on 20 and 21 September.
Spare a thought for the Westville Boys’ High u17 side, which suffered its first loss of the season in the final against DHS. It was very much a showdown between 1A and 1B, but on this occasion it was DHS who claimed the crown by a 26-12 margin. Two weeks earlier, Westville had beaten School in the final of the Glenwood Sevens.
Unfortunately for the Griffin, the script was the same as 2023, with DHS reversing the result of the Glenwood Sevens on their home ground to secure a spot at the Champion of Champions.
DHS won the title because of their ability to raise their intensity for their crucial playoff fixtures. A smothering defence forced mistakes out of their opposition, and the Horseflies were ruthlessly efficient at turning those into points.
Westville, who had won three tournaments in succession, were a little bruised and battered, but they were boosted by the return of SA Schools’ star Zekhethelo Siyaya, who showed his class with his decisive decision-making and sharp finishing. Unfortunately, he picked up a bit of a knock, which led to him coming off the bench in the final.
Glenwood showed they still possess strong talent in their ranks, but DHS defused the Green Machine‘s rugged challenge in the Cup semi-finals. The Glenwood side was at its best in an impressive 38-7 dismantling of a solid St Charles team in pool play.
Northwood was workmanlike in making it to the final four. They produced typically abrasive performances, mixed in with some good sevens skills, to book their final four spot. There, though, their adventure came to an end against Westville.
Kearsney caught the eye because of the rapid strides they have made since they were first in action at the Saints Sevens.
In that event, they were quite static when on the attack and they played too laterally. At DHS, their tempo was far higher and their approach more direct, and they were a far tougher out for their opposition.
DHS beat them 26-14 and Glenwood won 12-5, but the Botha’s Hill boys did their school great credit, winning the rest of their games, including a 12-5 victory over Hilton College in a crucial pool game.
Meanwhile, Hoërskool Pionier, from Vryheid, were boosted by their superb travelling support.
They upset DHS 2 in their best performance and made it to the final of the Plate.
When the Sharks Tier 2 A team had a player dismissed while it was 0-0 in the title-decider, Pionier looked odds-on favourites to bag the silverware, but the Sharks’ side, with impressive character, rallied to triumph 12-7.
Michaelhouse played some good rugby, but had their challenge undermined by a narrow 15-17 loss to Maritzburg College.
When the teams met again, later in the tournament, ‘House ran out convincing 34-14 winners.
u15 Competition
The u15 competition produced two new finalists after Northwood and Glenwood met in the Glenwood Sevens title-decider. This time around, it was DHS against Westville for the Cup.
The saying goes, “speed kills”, and it certainly did in Westville’s chances in the u15 final, with Hadley Alexander burning the Griffin for three tries with his searing pace in the first half.
Thanks to that trio of scores, DHS led 21-12 at the break and went on to claim the title 31-17.
As predicted, Pool B, featuring Maritzburg College, Michaelhouse and DHS, was the most interesting. Each team won one and lost one and it came down to points’ difference as to which sides would advance to the Cup quarterfinals, with College and DHS edging out ‘House.
DHS roared to a one-sided win over Ferrum in the last eight, while College ousted Glenwood Sevens champs, Northwood, 12-7. Glenwood took down Kearsney to book a semi-final spot, while Westville sparkled in a 43-15 win over St Charles.
That set up a rematch between College and DHS, with the Red, Black and White having beaten the Horseflies 22-15 earlier in the day. This time, though, DHS triumphed 19-14. Westville, meanwhile, scraped past Glenwood, winning 12-10.
Ferrum handled Esikhawini in the Shield final to ensure they returned to Newcastle with silverware, while Michaelhouse, the unlucky losers from the powerful Pool B, crushed Northwood B to lift the Bowl.
In the Plate final, Kearsney handed Northwood a 19-12 loss. College, then, edged out Glenwood 20-19 for third place.
U17 RESULTS
Pool A
Northwood 17-7 DHS 2
Westville 59-0 Pinetown Boys
Northwood 31-0 Pinetown Boys
Westville 28-12 DHS 2
Westville 31-0 Northwood
DHS 2 31-5 Pinetown Boys
Pool B
DHS 40-0 Sharks Tier 2 B
Kearsney 12-5 Hilton
DHS 24-12 Hilton
Kearsney 27-7 Sharks Tier 2 B
Hilton 36-14 Sharks Tier 2 B
DHS 26-14 Kearsney
Pool C
Glenwood 45-0 Sharks Tier 2
St Charles 50-0 Vryheid Landbou
Glenwood 45-7 Vryheid Landbou
St Charles 31-7 Sharks Tier 2 A
Glenwood 38-7 St Charles
Vryheid Landbou 19-21 Sharks Tier 2 A
Pool D
Michaelhouse 29-0 Pionier
Maritzburg College 31-12 Northwood 2
Michaelhouse 41-7 Northwood 2
Maritzburg College 22-12 Pionier
Michaelhouse 15-17 Maritzburg College
Northwood 2 24-10 Pionier
Playoffs
DHS 2 (3rd Pool A) 7-12 Pionier (4th Pool D)
Pinetown Boys (4th Pool A) 7-29 Northwood 2 (3rd Pool D)
Hilton (3rd Pool B) 26-21 Vryheid Landbou (4th Pool C)
Sharks Tier 2 B (4th Pool B) 21-33 Sharks Tier 2 A (3rd Pool C)
Cup quarterfinals
Westville 21-12 Michaelhouse
Northwood 14-5 Maritzburg College
DHS 36-19 St Charles
Kearsney 5-12 Glenwood
DHS 2 35-10 Pinetown Boys (Playoff)
Vryheid Landbou 26-14 Sharks Tier 2 B (Playoff)
Michaelhouse 34-14 Maritzburg College (Playoff)
St Charles 12-22 Kearsney (Playoff)
Plate semi-finals
Pionier 19-10 Northwood 2
Hilton 14-26 Sharks Tier 2 A
Cup semi-finals
Westville 12-7 Northwood
DHS 21-5 Glenwood
Plate final
Pionier 7-12 Sharks Tier 2 A
Cup final
Westville 12-21 DHS
U15 RESULTS
Pool A
Esikhawini 7-17 Pionier
Northwood 43-0 Pionier
Northwood 24-0 Esikhawini
Pool B
Maritzburg College 17-21 Michaelhouse
DHS 40-12 Michaelhouse
DHS 15-22 Maritzburg College
Pool C
St Charles 33-14 Northwood
Glenwood 45-0 Northwood 2
Glenwood 19-10 St Charles
Pool D
Ferrum 0-40 Kearsney
Westville 21-0 Kearsney
Westville 43-0 Ferrum
Cup quarterfinals
Northwood 7-12 Maritzburg College
DHS 56-0 Pionier
Glenwood 26-12 Kearsney
Westville 43-15 St Charles
Bowl semi-finals
Esikhawini 0-46 Michaelhouse
Northwood 2 7-5 Ferrum
Plate semi-finals
Northwood 43-0 Pionier
Kearsney 28-14 St Charles
Cup semi-finals
Maritzburg College 14-19 DHS
Glenwood 10-12 Westville
Shield final
Esikhawini 7-26 Ferrum
Bowl final
Michaelhouse 51-0 Northwood 2
7th/8th playoff
Pionier 0-49 St Charles
Plate final
Northwood 12-19 Kearsney
3rd/4th
Maritzburg College 20-19 Glenwood
Cup final
DHS 31-17 Westville
