Michaelhouse wins at Hilton for second year in succession

Michaelhouse had expected to be without their captain Carlyle Hawkins for their visit to Hilton College on Saturday for the first of their two derbies against their old foe. Hawkins, though, recovered in time for the big clash and led his side to a hard-fought 24-23 victory.
In front of a jam-packed crowd surrounding Gilfillan Field, it took a while for the combatants to find their feet, with most of the play taking place between the 22m lines. When Hilton finally put the Michaelhouse try line under pressure, fullback Xola Makongolo got them onto the scoreboard when he coolly slotted a drop goal in the 20th minute.
Michaelhouse struck back in the 24th minute. From a set scrum on the 15-metre line, on the left of the field, about 30 metres out, flyhalf Luke Davidson froze the Hilton defence with a nice show and go before slicing between two defenders. Met by Makongolo, at the back, he floated out a pass with precise touch for Rourke O’Sullivan, who was over just to the right of the posts.
Davidson made the easy conversion, and the visitors enjoyed a 7-3 lead.
It didn’t take long for Hilton to create their first try. From a scrum inside the Michaelhouse 22, Ivan Jjuuko accelerated onto a pass from scrumhalf Daniel Sweeney and crashed the ball up. He was stopped just short of the try line, next to the right-hand upright. The cleanout was good, however, and captain Hanu Pieterse picked up and charged wide to the left to crash over.
Liyema Nela knocked over the simple conversion to add the extras and Hilton was back in the lead once more.
Unfortunately for the flyhalf, he knocked on from the kick off, which gave Michaelhouse a put-in, well within the Hilton 22, on the right.
From the resulting scrum, ‘House’s fireplug inside centre Tom Baguley bashed the ball up, drawing the attention of a number of defenders. Once he went down, Baguley made the ball available and scrumhalf Jack Hughes swiftly cleared it to the left once more.
Hilton scrambled to stop Michaelhouse, with a two-man overlap, from surging over the line, but the visitors made it count, with Stefan Moolman providing the finish. Davidson’s kick, from a wide angle, on the left, was sweetly struck and Michaelhouse were 14-10 ahead.
James Fleming‘s charges charged back onto the attack from the kick off and put Hilton under heavy pressure, but the hosts stood firm and the teams turned with the boys in red and white four points in the clear.
Early in the second half, Nela made it a one-point game by converting a penalty.
Michaelhouse, though, quickly took the ball into the Hilton 22 and exerted pressure. The home side escaped, however, when Hawkins, driving, coughed up the ball in a hard tackle and Hilton hacked it away down field. A good pursuit forced ‘House to play from their 22, and when they took too long to clear the ruck, Hilton had an offensive put in.
A chip over the top from Nela had players from both sides diving to force it down behind the try line. When Hilton missed it, the referee, who had been playing advantage, blew his whistle for Michaelhouse having strayed offsides.
Once again, Nela opted for a shot at goal. His kick was true and it edged Brad Mcleod-Henderson‘s charges in front again.
The momentum then shifted Michaelhouse’s way, and when Hilton fed a scrum five metres from their own line, a big ‘House shove led to a wayward, high pass to Nela, which he couldn’t hold, leading to the visitors earning the feed at a five-metre scrum.
Emulating what Hilton did to open the scoring in the first half, Michaelhouse drove the ball up to the try line. Then, Davidson, with a nice dollop of time, stroked the ball between the posts to secure another change of the lead.
Michaelhouse had inched ahead, but they soon extended that advantage. It began with a scrum on the Hilton 10m line, on the left of the field.
Hughes sent William Ridl flying down the blindside on the left. He took three or four players out of the defence with a strong run. 8th-man Hawkins was swiftly on the scene, and he picked up and drove inside. The ball came out of the ruck quickly, and Michaelhouse exploited an advantage of numbers in the backline to stretch Hilton out. Loosehead Aphiwe Shelembe received the ball, sold a dummy, and raced into a gap. Fighting off a would-be tackler, he crashed over for five points.
Davidson continued his sure form with the boot, making the conversion, to increase the visitors’ advantage to 24-16. There were still 15 minutes to play.
Michaelhouse was ahead, but the pattern of play, which had seen the momentum shift immediately after a team had scored, occurred again, with Hilton taking the game to Michaelhouse and camping in the ‘House half.
Hawkins and company claimed a heel against the head, but they immediately allowed Hilton back into their 22 by kicking directly into touch.
The home side was, then, awarded a penalty, but Nela’s kick, from about 32 metres out, was to the left of the posts.
With timing slipping away, the Hilton pack battered the Michaelhouse defensive line with a series of charges. Eventually, the ball was released to the backline. Outside centre Khazimla Makali broke inside a defender, kept his legs churning and powered over for a try.
Time was up, however.
Nela kicked the conversion, but Michaelhouse had recorded back-to-back wins on Gilfillan Field, this time by 24 points to 23.
The victory was Michaelhouse’s second on the trot after they had gone winless from 2016 until the second meeting of the rivals last year.
Both coaches, for different reasons, will remind their sides that Hilton won at Michaelhouse in 2023, and Michaelhouse won at Hilton, ahead of their return fixture on 15 June.
Scorers
Hilton College 23 (10) – Tries: Hanu Pieterse, Khazimla Makali. Conversions: Liyema Nela (2). Penalties: Liyema Nela (2). Drop goal: Xola Makongolo. Michaelhouse 24 (14) – Tries: Rourke O’Sullivan, Stefan Moolman, Aphiwe Shelembe. Conversions: Luke Davidson (3). Drop goal: Luke Davidson.
Results
u19 – Hilton College II 11 Michaelhouse II 31; Hilton College III 13 Michaelhouse III 26; Hilton College IV 7 Michaelhouse IV 47; Hilton College V 7 Michaelhouse V 31; Hilton College VI 17 Michaelhouse VI 60; Hilton College VII 7 Michaelhouse VII 40; Hilton College VII 0 Michaelhouse VIII 43
u16 – Hilton College A 29 Michaelhouse A 27; Hilton College B 8 Michaelhouse B 62; Hilton College C 17 Michaelhouse C 33; Hilton College D 7 Michaelhouse D 50
u15 – Hilton College A 19 Michaelhouse A 21; Hilton College B 0 Michaelhouse B 40; Hilton College C 7 Michaelhouse C 22; Hilton College D 0 Michaelhouse D 52
u14 – Hilton College A 55 Michaelhouse A 10; Hilton College B 12 Michaelhouse B 12; Hilton College C 21 Michaelhouse C 12; Hilton College D 0 Michaelhouse D 50.