King Price Derby Series: Van Heerden’s record on the line as DHS hosts Westville
An electric atmosphere will light up Durban High School (DHS) on Saturday for their annual Founders Weekend, with Westville Boys’ High‘s 1st XV visiting the vaunted Van Heerden’s Field for a King Price Derby Series showdown.
Catch the action LIVE on DStv Channel 216 or on SuperSport Schools
DHS opened its season on 14 March with a home win over Michaelhouse. Incredibly, that was the last time they played at home. Since then, they’ve played nine matches on either neutral ground or away.
Seldom playing at home is not the reason for the next record, but it is one worth sharing: DHS last lost on Van Heerden’s Field in May 2022, going down 17-24 to Hilton College. That was their only home loss that season.
Matriculants in the DHS 1st XV of 2024 never lost a game on the field throughout their high school days.
Van Heerden’s Field is a fortress. It’s going to take something extraordinary, especially on Old Boys’ Weekend, for Westville to take down DHS. With their team fit and healthy, though, and unchanged, they have the firepower to, perhaps, pull off that feat.
Neither side would feel they have lived up to their expectations this season. That, however, only adds fuel to the fire. Both know that a victory on Sunday would burnish their records with a significant win. It’s true, too, that predicting the results of any matches between the pair and any other top KZN teams would be a coin flip. It’s that close. Their records are somewhat misleading.
DHS and Westville Boys’ High were the standard-setters in KZN over the previous two seasons. In 2025, Westville went unbeaten, including scoring an enthralling 33-28 victory over Bowden’s Field over the Horseflies. In 2024, DHS won an arm wrestle in rain and mud on Van Heerden’s Field. They won 12, drew one, and lost two, by a combined seven points that season.
Much will depend on the quality of the ball provided by the packs. With Westville at full strength, the home side will face a hard-nosed challenge from the visitors. DHS, though, seldom takes a step back in the set pieces. Three of their five Craven Week players – captain Zion Smith, Iglesias Bruiners, and Priden Sibiya – are in the pack. Add in Academy Week selections, Bulelani Cebane, Phokuhle Hlatshwayo, and Aobakwe Moeng, and there is plenty of beef up front.
Westville is far from short-staffed. In the front row, Bandile Mncwango turned out for the Sharks at the Craven Week in 2025, and lock Lwandile Mlaba played for SA Schools last year. They feature a dynamic loose trio of Ezra Karosilin, Omphiwe Dladla, and Lwandle Makhanya, and their battle with the DHS loose trio Aobakwe Moeng, Zion Smith, and Damien Swart should be one of the most consequential contests within the game.
If it’s pure pace in the backline that one is after, Westville, arguably, has the edge. One needs quality ball to put that to use, however.
The Griffins’ flyhalf, Jade-Will Koopman, is a man for all seasons. He is adaptable and can play according to the conditions he faces. He has a fantastic boot, both from a tactical and goal-kicking perspective. He also gets his backline moving well, and he is a dangerous runner, with a touch of pace about him.
His opposite number, Cilermo Carolus, is a versatile performer, equally adept in the no. 15 jersey. He likes to challenge the opposition himself, using a sharp sidestep to beat the first defender before setting his backline going.
The contest features two of the best midfielders in the country, Nathan Aneke (DHS) and Jadrian Afrikaner (Westville), both SA Schools selections last year. Their ability to exploit the tiniest chinks in opposition defensive lines is outstanding. Discipline is the key to keeping that from happening.
Northwood did an excellent job of limiting Westville’s backline at the Sharks Schools Rugby Day, and DHS will need to maintain their defensive shape to keep the visitors in check.
Playing the game in the right areas of the field, pressurising the opposition and forcing them to kick to places they don’t want to, will be one of the keys to the clash because both teams are at their most dangerous on the counterattack.
School‘s back three – Tanwill Onkers, Amo Mataboge, and Richard Gyamfi are outstanding. So, too, is Westville’s trio of Lux Sonkononkono, Bukho Sotaka, and Avumile Lisa.
There are so many fascinating match-ups of different combinations. They’ll all need to fire together to get one over their redoubtable opponents on Saturday. One winner, for sure, will be the spectators and viewers.
TEAMS
Durban High School vs Westville Boys’ High, Van Heerden’s Field, Durban, at 15:30.
Durban High School: 15 Tanwill Onkers, 14 Amo Mataboge, 13 Stirling Padi, 12 Nathan Aneke, 11 Richard Gyamfi, 10 Cilermo Carolus, 9 Richaard Kriel, 8 Aobakwe Moeng, 7 Zion Smith, 6 Damien Swart, 5 Jose Lottering, 4 Ambiswe Sipanga, 3 Priden Sibiya, 2 Okuhle Mbanjwa, 1 Likho Konza.
Westville Boys’ High: 15 Lux Sonkononkono, 14 Bukho Sotaka, 13 Jadrian Afrikaner, 12 Curtis Fenton, 11 Avumile Lisa, 10 Jade-Will Koopman, 9 Sandiswa Mbokazi, 8 Lwandle Makhanya, 7 Omphiwe Dladla, 6 Ezra Karosilin, 5 Lwandile Mlaba, 4 Warren Murray, 3 Bandile Mncwango, 2 Lwandle Bulose, 1 Sibusiso Hlongwa.
