Maritzburg College wins at Northwood, DHS does the trick at Kearsney
Northwood vs Maritzburg College
After both teams delivered impressively hard-fought and physical victories at the Sharks Schools Rugby Day, the showdown between Maritzburg College and Northwood on the Durban school’s Old Boys’ Day was eagerly awaited.
It met expectations, although College spoiled the party, claiming a tight 27-24 victory on Saturday.
The Knights enjoyed the early territorial advantage and put the Red, Black, and White under heavy pressure. Committed tackling is a calling card of this College side, however, and they withstood the pressure before exiting their half and striking through their Sharks Craven Week hooker, Theo Boshoff, who provided the finish after a composed build-up.
Dom du Toit, as usual, provided two more points with a successful conversion kick.
Northwood’s first points came from a penalty by Sondelani Sheleni, but College struck again soon after. Their captain, Rory Stanton, read the play well to intercept a Northwood pass before putting his vice-captain, Olwethu Kosani, in the clear, and he finished under the posts, leaving Du Toit with an easy conversion kick.
Two Du Toit penalties from inside the Northwood 22 made it 20-3 after 27 minutes, but the Knights replied just before halftime, going over from close range after a sustained siege of College’s try line. Sheleni banged over the conversion kick, leaving the visitors with a 20-10 halftime lead.
Ten minutes into the second half, the impressive Theo Boshoff powered over from a lineout maul, and Du Toit converted to reestablish College’s 17-point lead.
Northwood kept plugging away, though, and forced the visitors onto the defensive. Two converted tries later, a convincing College lead had slimmed to only three points.
The Knights pressed for a winning score, but lock Sean Jansen forced a crucial turnover, and flyhalf Luthando Dladla cleared to touch to preserve a 27-24 victory for Maritzburg College.
Kearsney College vs Durban High School
At Stott Field, in Botha’s Hill, the visitors, Durban High School (DHS), got back onto the winning track, scoring a 36-24 win over Kearsney College on Saturday.
Two tries just before halftime gave DHS the edge, hoisting them into a 24-10 lead at the break.
They were on the board as early as the second minute, turning a loose pass from Kearsney into a try from 45 metres out, with Sterling Padi running a good support line to take the final pass and go over near the uprights. Tanwill Onkers slotted the first of his four conversions to make it 7-0.
Kearsney spent some time down in the DHS half, and when they won a penalty on the 10-metre line, flyhalf Daniel Miskey landed a sweetly struck kick to get the One-Stripe on the board.
The home side then hit the front with a fantastic long-range try. Miskey started it with a chip over the top from just outside the Kearsney 22. Centre Tom Aylward, a South African SA Schools’ water polo player, leapt high and showed off his good hands to gather possession near the halfway line. His midfield partner, Keanu Williamson, took a short pass and flung it out wide to the left.
With a stutter step, wing Lwandile Mkhize froze the DHS defence for a moment. That was all he needed. He was up to full speed in an instant and sliced his way past four defenders to go over just right of the poles after covering more than half the length of the field. Onkers responded with a penalty to level the scores.
The game was broken open just before halftime when a yellow card reduced Kearsney to 14 players, and the visitors responded by running in two converted tries, by Okuhle Mbanjwa and Damien Swart, to take a 14-point lead into the second half.
After the break, School added to their advantage through a Cilermo Carolus five-pointer, and moved well clear midway through the second stanza when Amo Matoboge went over out wide.
To their credit, Kearsney continued fighting. They were rewarded with a try by Clement Makalele, converted by Miskey, and a penalty try, which completed the scoring.
Scorers
Maritzburg College 27 (20) – Tries: Theo Boshoff (2), Olwethu Kosani. Conversions: Dom du Toit (2). Penalties: Dom du Toit (2).
Northwood 24 (10) – Tries: N/A. Conversions: Sondelani Sheleni (2). Penalty: Sondelani Sheleni.
Durban High School 36 (24) – Tries. Sterling Padi, Oihle Mbanjwa, Damien Swart, Cilermo Carolus, Amo Mataboge. Conversions: Tanwill Onkers (4). Penalty: Tanwill Onkers.
Kearsney College 24 (10) – Tries: Lwandile Mkhize, Clement Makalele, penalty try. Conversions: Daniel Miskey (2). Penalty: Daniel Miskey.
Other results
u19
II: Northwood 17 Maritzburg College 15; DHS 65 Kearsney 5
III: Northwood 14 Maritzburg College 14; DHS 74 Kearsney 17
IV: Northwood 12 Maritzburg College 7; DHS 50 Kearsney 5
V: Northwood 22 Maritzburg College 19; Kearsney 19 DHS 19
VI: Maritzburg College 15 Northwood 5; Kearsney 34 DHS 31
VII: Maritzburg College 34 Northwood 5
u16
A: Maritzburg College 16 Northwood 10: DHS 17 Kearsney 15
B: Maritzburg College 12 Northwood 10; DHS 19 Kearsney 10
C: Northwood 10 Maritzburg College 8; DHS 58 Kearsney 0
D: Northwood 0 Maritzburg College 50
u15
A: Maritzburg College 29 Northwood 0; DHS 64 Kearsney 17
B: Maritzburg College 38 Northwood 7; DHS 51 Kearsney 5
C: Maritzburg College 36 Northwood 3; DHS 51 Kearsney 0
D: Maritzburg College 12 Northwood 0: DHS 50 Kearsney 0
u14
A: Northwood 24 Maritzburg College 7; DHS 41 Kearsney 0
B: Northwood 15 Maritzburg College 12; DHS 85 Kearsney 0
C: Maritzburg College 52 Northwood 5; DHS 59 Kearsney 0
D: Maritzburg College 53 Northwood 0; DHS 59 Kearsney 0
E: Maritzburg College 27 Glenwood D 14
