KES faces a massive challenge on DHS’s Van Heerden’s Field
King Edward VII completes their rugby schedule with one of the tougher challenges in South African schoolboy rugby: beating Durban High School (DHS) in Durban.
Van Heerden’s Field is a fortress, and the DHS 1st XV is unbeaten at home this season. The 2024 DHS 1st XV never lost on Van Heerden’s from the time they were u14s to when they played for the 1st XV. The 2023 side also delivered a clean record at home.
That 2023 side was a delightful attacking unit while last year’s DHS 1st XV was a defensive monster, conceding just less than nine points a game. The strengths of the 2025 team are less overt, but they’ve built up a superb record of 14 wins and losses to only Paarl Gimnasium and Westville Boys’ High. They’re well balanced and relentless.
Here’s an interesting fact. While KES has regularly faced DHS’s great rivals, Maritzburg College, Saturday’s showdown will be the first meeting of the schools since the Grey High Rugby Festival in 2014. KES claimed a narrow 20-17 win on that occasion.
Their form in 2025 has been less convincing than that of the Horseflies, however. They have, though, played far better rugby in the latter stages of the season than they did early on, recording wins over Pretoria Boys High, Helpmekaar, and Noordheuwel. Those are impressive scalps, but, again, it’s the fact that they’re going to have to do it on Van Heerden’s Field that is so daunting.
Last weekend, on Collard Field, KES gave a good account of themselves but went down 21-39 to Jeppe. The previous weekend, on the same ground, DHS beat Jeppe 24-10. With those matches being so recent, it’s clear that School will be favoured to win at home. But games are not won on paper.
Still, it’s DHS’s cohesion and scything counterattacking that are going to pose the biggest threat to the Red Army. Those are the qualities that took DHS to victory over Jeppe, with three of their four tries coming from long range. Their sharp counterattacks also fired DHS to a convincing 36-5 win over Northwood last Friday, where School’s ability to get the ball wide quickly on the counter delivered rich dividends.
With former Westville coach Jabz Zulu making the move to KES at the end of 2024, KES will be well versed on the challenge they face. Zulu, who serves as an assistant coach Marco Engelbrecht, was also involved with Sharks’ Schools provincial rugby and will know many of the DHS players well.
The issue, of course, is that footage of players and teams in action is available. In most instances, one knows what is coming. The question is whether or not anything can be done to stop that. Jeppe knew that DHS would attack the try line from close range through inside centre Zingce Simka. Three players met him, but Simka scored.
On a positive note for KES, they won’t have to face the powerhouse midfielder. He’s out of the game.
The key for KES will be how successfully they contest the tackles and rucks.
The good news for the visitors is that their captain, flank Sam Bruwer, and 8th-man Chinedu Amadi, both represented the Golden Lions at the FNB Craven Week. Unfortunately, though, they’ll have to do without Amadi, who will be on duty in the International Series, representing SA u18 against France on Friday at Hoërskool Durbanville.
Their loose trio is going to have to make an impact to slow down DHS, so that will put a lot on the shoulders of 8th-man Joshua Eykelhof, who joins Bruwer and Nkos’enhle Mafu in the loose trio. If they don’t slow down DHS’s ball, they’ll face wave after ruthless wave of attacks, and it’ll be a long day for the Johannesburg school.
The Horseflies will be without their exciting centre, Nathan Aneke, who’ll run out for SA u18A against Ireland.
Teams:
DHS vs KES at 13:30 on Saturday on Van Heerden’s Field in Durban
DHS: 15 Cilermo Carolus, 14 Amo Mataboge, 13 Zenkosi Mthiyane, 12 Peleneo Shakwane, 11 Richard Gyamfi, 10 Jordan van Wyk, 9 Marcwin Nero, 8 Bradley la Grange, 7 Jose Lottering, 6 Daniel Ikotela, 5 Zion Smith, 4 Vimbiso Kasvosve, 3 Omphiwe Kola, 2 Okuhle Mbanjwa, 1 Elvino Witbooi.
KES: 15 Indibabale Mboniswa, 14 Jarell Mbuyi, 13 Sky Segal, 12 Junior Shivuri, 11 Caid Maverick, 10 Andrew Jackson, 9 Regan McGurk, 8 Joshua Eykelhof, 7 Sam Bruwer, 6 Nkos’enhle Mafu, 5 Ashton Vreugdenburg, 4 Michael Bownes, 3 Kenneth Prins, 2 Tristan Randall, 1 Siya Nkomo.
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