Maritzburg College to build on momentum after mammoth-win
Maritzburg College, fresh off of a compelling victory over Affies last weekend, where the side cruised to a 50-31 win.
They will be eager to carry on with this good form that has been reignited as they take on a travelling Pretoria Boys’ High School, in the return leg of this annual clash.
Catch all the action live on SuperSport Schools (www.supersportschools.com).
The first XV kicking-off at 14:00 pm on Goldstones at Maritzburg College. Boys High who makes their way down to the midlands and are expected to be met with a very warm winters day, with temperatures forecast to reach 29 degrees.
The Candies, come off the back of 32-23 defeat against King Edward VII and will be hoping to have a change in fortune this weekend. The school from Pretoria have been on the receiving end of a few losses and will be seeing this as a possibility to turn things around.
Earlier in the season, these two fierce traditional schools squared off at Pretoria Boys’ High School, where Maritzburg put on a point-scoring showcase. The midlands school eventually won the match in convincingly 47-15.
How do the teams stack up for this weekend’s fixture, from the previous match played in Pretoria? Maritzburg College have retained 11 whereas Pretoria Boys High have retained 12 players that.
Looking back at the previous match the sides have both made a number of changes to the players and positions that ran out onto the field in April. With both schools having found their best starting XV’s, Maritzburg look slightly more settled and have found a winning combination, that exploits their explosive play.
Ayerton van der Linde finds his way back into the side, while Nkuleleko Sithole is the only change made to the match-winning team, from last weekend’s clash against the Witbulle. Swelihle Mbatha moves back into the inside centre position.
Luyanda Kunene the Maritzburg College fullback, is one to keep an eye on. The South Africa Schools player has shown throughout the season that when given the chance, he can unleash some speed and possesses a good reading of the match situation at hand.
Boys High Tebogo Nchabaleng misses out this weekend and is replaced by Keethan Fritz, who has spent most of the year coming back from a knee injury picked up during last season. Additionally, Thapelo Mphela is brought in for Ernest Van Rooyen in as a flanker.
Blue Bulls Craven Week player Ntsako Ndlovu showed his try-scoring ability last weekend, sneaking through a well-crafted run which saw him land a few points on the board against KES. He has also shown throughout the season that his defensive play is in check, having put in some big tackles.
Can the Candies bounce back this weekend and try put a stop to Maritzburg College, who seem to be playing their rugby in fifth gear at the moment?
Goldstones is a difficult field for travelling teams to play at. The hosts will back themselves with the home crowd support behind them, to slow down any team that they face. Another entertaining afternoon of school rugby awaits.
The teams:
Maritzburg College: 15 Luyanda Kunene, 14 Colm Reardon, 13 Ayerton van der Linde, 12 Swelihle Mbatha , 11 Langelihle Makhathini, 10 Luc Du Toit, 9 Rhett Quinn, 8 Sasha Kadira, 7 Kevin Ayliffe 6 Travis Walton, 5 Bohlale Maphisa, 4 Jake Jansen, 3 Aiden Botha, 2 Elbie Mouton, 1 Phiwayinkosi Kubheka.
Pretoria Boys’ High: 15 Kyle Hezlett, 14 Itu Baloyi, 13 Christoper Smith, 12 Rickus Wessels, 11 Ntsako Ndlovu, 10 Keethan Fitz, 9 Joshua Naude, 8 Etienne du Preez, 7 Stephen Adams, 6 Thapelo Mphela, 5 Tsephpiso Shikhibana, 4 Randy Muzungu, 3 Ofentse Moeng, 2 Shaun Schurmann, 1 Kitso Mokoena.
Fixtures:
u14A: 9:00 am (Snows)
u16A: 10:00 am (Goldstones)
u15A: 11:00 am (Snows)
u19B: 12:30 pm (Goldstones)
u19A: 14:00 pm (Goldstones)
