Maritzburg College downs Kearsney, Westville withstands Glenwood test
Kearsney College enjoyed more possession, but Maritzburg College‘s defenders put in a committed, disciplined shift as the Red, Black, and White triumphed on Saturday on Goldstone’s.
In front of a huge crowd on their Reunion Weekend, College withstood a spirited challenge from the One-Stripe, claiming a 35-20 victory after leading only 17-13 at halftime.
It was College’s physical defence that made the difference, with the home team turning turnovers into points and forcing Kearsney to work far harder for their tries than they had to for theirs, despite the surfeit of possession the visitors enjoyed.
“It was a tough game,” Maritzburg College captain Wasi Vyambwera told SuperSport Schools Plus afterwards.
“Kearsney came at us with all they’ve got. Thank you to our supporters. It was a big day for Maritzburg College, and it’s also my final year, so I’m grateful for the support.”
Reflecting on Kearsney’s control of the possession stakes, he admitted: “They had a lot of possession, but the College dog came through.”
In their previous match, College had caused unbeaten Westville Boys’ High serious difficulties before succumbing 21-22. It was a loss, but the Red, Black, and White benefitted from that game, Vyambwera said.
“We drew a lot of strength from our performance against Westville, and it gave us a lot of confidence during the week.”
Relieved and proud after the 15-point win, following a strong second-half performance, the College captain said: “It was big, very big to play in front of the Old Boys on Reunion Weekend.”
From the opening whistle, Kearsney did most of the attacking, but when they were forced to clear from a scrum inside their 22, they kicked deep down the left flank.
After receiving the kick, College attacked along the touchline at first before bringing the ball back inside. Some sharp hands, then, took the ball into the middle of the park where Jordan Thackwray took a short pass, sold a dummy and hared through a gap to round the Kearsney defence and go over to the left of the uprights after only four minutes. Dom du Toit‘s dependable right boot made it 7-0.
Kearsney responded well and took play deep into College’s 22 where the home team stopped a One-Stripe attack by tackling the ball carrier into touch. Unfortunately for Maritzburg College, a knock-on after they had won a clean lineout led to one of their players being caught offsides and Lwazi Mbebe scored Kearsney’s first points with a penalty after 10 minutes.
Three minutes later, College’s advantage was back out to seven points after Du Toit slotted a penalty.
Then, from a lineout on the halfway line, Kearsney scored a superb try. After a clean take from the safe hands of Joseph Roylance, the ball was sent to the backline. Eighthman Nhlanhla Ndlovu hit it up directly at the home side’s defence.
It was recycled quickly and a nice loop between flyhalf Jayden Jonsson and inside centre Keanu Williamson created space for Mbebe to run into. He made good ground and passed inside as he was dragged to ground.
Jonsson received the ball, dummied inside, then cut outside, drawing the final defender. Then, he let the pass go inside to Doan Nel who sprinted clear and dived over for a fantastic five-pointer.
A simple conversion kick from Mbebe levelled the scores at 10-10.
College flank David Colenbrander, then, caught Kearsney unawares at a ruck, charging around the left side and leaving two players grasping at air. He powered through a third tackle before being caught by the cover defence right on the try line. His momentum carried him over, however, for a special solo score. Du Toit’s trusty boot added two points to the home side’s tally.
Another Mbebe penalty made it 17-13 to Maritzburg College at halftime.
From the start of the second half, College built up momentum, mostly turning to their pack to knock Kearsney back metre by metre. Then, when they released it down the backline, good hands created space for the home team’s captain Wasi Vyambwera and he crashed over on the right.
Kearsney surged back onto the attack, and when they won a penalty, which would have presented Mbebe with an easy kick at goal, they opted for a tap. A practice ground move worked out perfectly when Keanu Williamson sent the College defence one way with a show of the ball while he headed the other direction, over the try line.
With the conversion, Lwazi Mbebe narrowed the gap to only two points at 22-20 to the hosts.
College pressure at a ruck, and then a high tackle, won them two penalties and Dom du Toit banged both over to extend his side’s advantage to eight points. The Red, Black, and White was playing the game where they wanted to play it – deep inside Kearsney’s half.
On the hour, when Kearsney made it into the Maritzburg College half, hooker Theo Boshoff claimed a loose pass. Scrumhalf Du Toit, subsequently, fed it to the blindside where fullback Amahle Hadebe popped a kick over the top, down the left touchline. The bounce of the ball beat Mbebe but not Lee-Rynne Sinkfontein, who grabbed it and hit the gas to go over to the left of the uprights.
Du Toit’s conversion kick made it 35-20 with 10 minutes to play, and that’s how it ended.
Westville Boys’ High vs Glenwood High
At Westville, on Bowden’s Field, Glenwood gave a good account of themselves but were beaten 42-25.
The visitors trailed by only a point at halftime and led 25-21 six minutes into the second stanza, but Westville Boys’ High turned to their forwards for a couple of Ross Calvert tries from the rolling maul.
Then, an intercept from lock Moustapher Gcina – not for the first time; he reads the game well – completed their scoring as they tacked on 21 points without reply.
The home side went over for six tries in all, with Jade-Will Koopman, who played a fine game, pulling the strings at flyhalf and converting all six. The Green Machine replied with four tries of their own.
Glenwood was well led by their captain Lizwe Mtetwa and their pack did a good job of challenging Westville, giving them a tough examination, but the quality of the Griffin came through in the end.
SCORES
Maritzburg College 35 (17) – Tries: Jordan Thackwray, David Colenbrander, Wasi Vyambwera, Lee-Rynne Sinkfontein. Conversions: Dom du Toit (3). Penalty: Dom du Toit (3); Kearsney College 20 (13) – Tries: Doan Nel, Keanu Williamson. Conversions: Lwazi Mbebe (2). Penalties: Lwazi Mbabe (2)
Westville Boys’ High 42 (21) – Tries: Ross Calvert (2), Lux Sonkonokono, Lwandle Makhanya, Jadrian Afrikaner, Moustapher Gcina. Conversions: Jade-Will Koopman (6).
Glenwood High 25 (20) – N/A
Maritzburg College vs Kearsney College
u19 – Maritzburg College I 35 Kearsney I 20; Maritzburg College II 19 Kearsney II 10; Maritzburg College III 45 Kearsney III 5; Maritzburg College IV 50 Kearsney IV 0; Maritzburg College V 50 Kearsney V 0; Maritzburg College VIII 42 Kearsney VI 5; Maritzburg College X 36 Kearsney VII 22
u16 – Maritzburg College A 47 Kearsney A 40; Maritzburg College B 24 Kearsney B 3; Maritzburg College C 57 Kearsney C 5; Maritzburg College E 26 Kearsney D 21; Maritzburg College F 19 Kearsney E 5
u15 – Maritzburg College A 15 Kearsney A 15; Maritzburg College B 28 Kearsney B 0; Maritzburg College C 50 Kearsney C 0
u14 – Maritzburg College A 50 Kearsney A 7; Maritzburg College B 42 Kearsney B 0; Maritzburg College C 50 Kearsney C 0
Westville Boys’ High vs Glenwood High
u19 – Westville I 42 Glenwood I 25; Westville II 18 Glenwood II 10; Westville III 33 Glenwood III 19; Westville IV 24 Glenwood IV 12; Westville V 50 Glenwood V 0; Westville VI 36 Glenwood VI 7
u16 – Westville A 27 Glenwood A 10; Westville B 29 Glenwood B 10; Westville C 52 Glenwood C 0; Westville D 27 Glenwood D 14
u15 – Westville A 7 Glenwood A 0; Westville B 10 Glenwood B 0; Westville C 43 Glenwood C 0; Westville D 27 Glenwood D 5
u14 – Westville A 17 Glenwood A 12; Westville B 27 Glenwood B 0; Westville C 49 Glenwood C 0; Westville D 37 Glenwood D 3; Westville E 37 Glenwood E 3
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