Northwood eager to get one over Jeppe, Clifton tackles St David’s
Northwood‘s rugby is defined by its defence. Coach Jacques Deen said as much after the Knights beat Westville Boys’ High at the Sharks Schools Rugby Day. “Defence comes first, and from that comes attack. It’s a straight transition.”
Visitors to Northwood’s Reece-Edwards Field know they’re in for a demanding challenge. It’s going to be physical, and the Knights will enjoy outstanding support from the sidelines. They’ll face the defence-to-offence transition that Deen spoke about. Only once in recent years has a team been able to use that philosophy to crippling effect against Northwood at Northwood
That happened in 2024, when Jeppe turned a seven-point halftime lead into a 40-8 romp. They struck numerous times from turnover ball, running in tries from long range, especially down the touchlines.
That team, famously, beat Grey College 22-19 at the NMI Toyota Noord/Suid Tournament. Their win against the Knights was a third in a run of eight straight victories that ended in their last match of the season on Van Heerden’s Field, where Durban High School beat them 24-20. That was the only game that season in which DHS conceded 20 points.
Two years on, the Knights will be aching to turn the tables on Jeppe in Durban, especially since the Kensington boys won 30-24 in Johannesburg last year, too. Both head into the clash with 50 percent win/loss records: Northwood is five and five, and Jeppe is six and six.
The Knights’ record thus far, though, stacks up well. It includes a win over DHS and a reversal of an early-season loss to Westville Boys’ High. In the loss column, they went down by three to Paarl Boys’ High, who recently won comfortably against high-flying Stellenberg, and by five to Garsfontein.
The loss to Garsies was, arguably, a big disappointment. The Knights had the Pretoria school down and almost out, but allowed them to come back from a 7-28 deficit to win. Interestingly, the manner in which Northwood built that 21-point lead reminded one of the way Jeppe played against them in that 40-8 win in 2024: turning over possession and counterattacking with venom.
Jeppe started their season with a win over Garsfontein. Ever since then, Garsfontein has been a different animal, adding wins over Paarl Boys’ High and Affies to their win over Stellenberg. More recently, Jeppe has lost three in a row against top-notch opposition, going down to Grey College, Affies, and Monument. They were competitive against Monnas in their last outing, but they’ll be smarting.
Still, there is a quality that one can guarantee from a Jeppe boy: a fight-to-the-last-whistle mentality. Northwood possesses that same kind of attitude. They’re a hard-nosed, abrasive bunch. Those ingredients should make for a hard-hitting battle, interspersed with some flash from the backs; both sides possess pace and skill behind their packs.
Clifton College vs St David’s Marist Inanda
Clifton College celebrates its Old Boys’ Weekend with a derby against St David’s Marist Inanda, featuring chess, debating, golf, hockey, tennis, and, of course, rugby.
Last weekend, Clifton was in Pretoria to take on St Alban’s College. In a hard-fought clash, the home side prevailed 24-8. St David’s faced St Alban’s, also in Pretoria, at the end of March, and came away with a nail-biting 25-24 win. That suggests that the visitors should be favoured in Durban.
Two factors might work against them: the travel and the Old Boys’ Weekend. If Clifton can feed off the energy of their supporters, and St David’s doesn’t travel well, coach Jose Dos Santos‘s boys could give their Old Boys a much-desired gift and the Durban side’s 1st XV a big boost.
Their biggest challenge in 2026 has been an extraordinary list of injuries, which has affected cohesion. As more players return to action, the better they combine. The question Clifton faces is whether they’ll have enough cohesion on Saturday.
St David’s supporters, for their part, would surely like to see an emphatic performance from their team. Their largest margin of victory in 2026 has been three points.
Northwood vs Jeppe, Reece-Edwards Field, in Durban, at 13:00
Northwood: N/A
Jeppe: N/A:
Clifton College vs St David’s Marist Inanda, Riverside Sports Club, in Durban, at 12:30
Clifton College: 15 Thusi Mduduzi, 14 Thomas De Charmoy, 13 Tor McLean, 12 Dhilan Bhoola, 11 Troy Young, 10 Izah Roux, 9 Jack Snaith, 8 Liam Stocks, 7 Athembile Mkhize, 6 Josh van Dongen, 5 Daniel Nothard, 4 Cole Nienhuser, 3 Trent Bam, 2 Jonathan Masumbuko, 1 Azriel Yanelowitz.
St David’s Marist Inanda: 15 Dylan Gander, 14 Tadiwanashe Javangwe, 13 Nathan Hwindingwi, 12 Takunda Chademanah, 11 Lelentle Ntlhokwa, 10 Girogio Ferreira, 9 Danilo Giuricich, 8 Matthew Scott, 7 Ryan Ware, 6 Ronin Hallowes, 5 Lizwi Ngwenya, 4 Chris Theorides, 3 Alessio Joannides, 2 Robert Mariano, 1 Remo Ferrari.
