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Maritzburg College chasing the double over Glenwood

By Brad Morgan , in Rugby | Featured Rugby | News , at 2024-08-02 Tags: , ,

Phiwayinkhosi "Rambo" Kubheka will lead the Maritzburg College 1st XV for a last time when they take on Glenwood on Goldstone's on Saturday.
Phiwayinkosi “Rambo” Kubheka will lead the Maritzburg College 1st XV for a last time when they take on Glenwood on Goldstone’s at 15:00 on Saturday.

Maritzburg College hosts Glenwood on Goldstone’s on Saturday in the last match of the season for both teams. It’s a long-standing rivalry, which will be played for the 177th time.

Playing at home, and with a superior record to their Durban rival, College will be favoured to win. If they do, it will, astonishingly, be their first season’s double over Glenwood since 2005.

That’s an eye-opening fact, especially considering the historical record between the sides, which convincingly favours College, who have won 112 matches, with Glenwood victorious in 48, and 17 games having ended in draws. In recent times, though, the Green Machine has enjoyed the edge over the Red, Black and White, but the balance of power appears to be shifting back in favour of the Pietermaritzburg school.

Earlier this season, in a cold and wet Sportsmans Warehouse Premier Interschools clash on Dixon’s Field in Durban, College recorded a hard-fought 18-7 victory.

It has been an inconsistent season for Maritzburg College and a tough one for Glenwood, but the last impression one leaves is important, so a win would do wonders for either team.

In 2023, it was the Green Machine who ended their season on a high with a surprise 27-24 victory over a College team that had outplayed them 42-15 on Goldstone’s.

One of the big questions that captain Rambo Kubheka and his team will need to answer is how much successive trips up to Gauteng to play Pretoria Boys High and KES over the past two weekends have taken out of his team? That was a tough ask, and it was reflected in their 21-47 loss to KES in their most recent outing. College started that game slowly and were 0-19 down in 19 minutes. They never recovered from there.

On Goldstone’s, however, one of the secrets to College’s success has been their ability to get away to a fast start. They were unbeaten on the hallowed ground in 2023 and have lost only twice there this season, going down narrowly to two extremely good teams.

On 20 April, they dominated the first half of their clash against Durban High School (DHS), building up an 18-6 lead with some excellent rugby. The Horseflies, though, clawed their way back into the contest and claimed a 21-18 victory. To College’s credit, those are the most points DHS has conceded in a game this season, with School set to play one more match against Jeppe.

Then, against Affies, on 13 July, College was on the scoreboard first and that game went back-and-forth before the Wit Bulle snatched a 39-37 victory with flyhalf Ruben Pienaar landing a penalty with just 30 seconds to play to secure the win.

College has, otherwise, beaten Clifton, Pretoria Boys High, Michaelhouse and Hilton College at home.

Glenwood last won in the middle of April, when they beat Clifton. Their only other wins all season long have been against Marlow and Wesvalia.

To beat Maritzburg College, they’re going to have to stop one of College’s strengths on Goldstone’s – a fast start – and reverse something that has plagued them all season long – a slow start. A loss on Saturday would be a 10th in succession for the Green Machine.

They have seldom been overrun this season, but they have often also been out of matches until upping their game in the second half of those contests. They will need to show their second half form from the start against the Red, Black and White. If they don’t, it might be a familiar pattern of playing catch-up when it is too late.

Maritzburg College will be without their SA Schools tighthead prop Aiden Botha again, and his place is taken by Bavula Madikazela. Naz Isaacs returns at flank, which has led to an interesting change, with Wasi Vyambwera, usually a loose-forward, being named on the right-wing.

Glenwood’s team was not available when this article was written.

TEAM

Maritzburg College – 15 Luyanda Kunene, 14 Wasi Vyambwera, 13 Swelithle Mbatha, 12 Nkululeko Sithole, 11 Lee-Rynne Sinkfontein, 10 Jordan Thackeray, 9 Rayke Maartens, 8 Imivuyo Kemke, 7 Naz Isaacs, 6 Struan Oosthuizen, 5 Jake Jansen, 4 Bohlale Maphisa, 3 Bavula Madikazela, 2 Siya Nyathi, 1 Phiwayinkosi Kubheka.

Glenwood – TBC

Brad Morgan
error: Sorry ol' chap, those shenanigans are not permissible.