St David’s withstands fiery Clifton performance to win in Durban
Clifton College fell to a 17-23 loss to St David’s Marist Inanda at the Riverside Sports Club on Saturday on Clifton’s Old Boys’ Weekend. While the Durban boys tasted defeat, they delivered a fiery performance that earned the approval of their alumni.
“I so wanted this for the boys today,” coach Jose Dos Santos admitted. Still, he said, there was a silver lining to the cloud: “They made the Old Boys proud, and that’s what we wanted.”
There was next to nothing in the game, and Clifton had an opportunity to win it when, inside the last two minutes, they won a penalty inside the St David’s 22 and kicked to touch. Unfortunately for the home side, though, they were without Trent Bam, their lineout thrower, who exited the game with an injury, and St David’s stole the ball to deny Clifton.
They were able to keep St David’s under pressure, however, and win back the ball, but one last attack from the hosts ended with a knock-on, and St David’s claimed a hard-fought victory after they trailed 12-14 at the break.
Arguably, the decisive moment in the contest occurred in the first three minutes. Clifton had begun well, controlling possession and territory while stringing phases together. They were struck with a sucker punch, though, when wing Tadiwanashe Javangwe intercepted a pass and ran through to score beneath the uprights from 55 metres out.
Giorgio Ferreira kicked the simple conversion to make it 7-0.
Clifton picked up from where they had left off before the interception, surging onto the attack again, with flyhalf Izah Roux putting the visitors under pressure with a series of well-judged kicks onto the St David’s wings. These allowed his players an opportunity to challenge for the ball, and they did a good job of contesting and winning back possession.
St David’s remained stuck in their territory, and that, at last, paid off for Clifton when second-rower Cole Nienhuser broke free and sprinted through to score in the right corner. Roux tacked on the extras from a tough angle to level the scores.
Territory belonged mostly to Clifton, but when the visitors at last broke the shackles, they made it count, working their way into Clifton’s 22 from where they closed in on the try line, eventually punching their way over from close range through lock Chris Theorides after stealing a Clifton lineout throw.
After 20 minutes, the visitors led 12-7, but their lead didn’t last long. Four minutes later, Clifton’s big tighthead, Trent Bam, crashed over for a try, which was converted by Roux, to put the hosts 14-12 clear at the break.
Early in the second half, St David’s edged ahead again with a penalty from Ferreira. Clifton, then, spent almost 10 minutes camped inside the visitors’ 22. St David’s defended manfully, and when Clifton eventually settled for a penalty and a 17-15 lead, it was a victory of sorts for the Johannesburg school. In retrospect, Clifton might have regretted not continuing to press for a try.
From the kick off, St David’s emulated Clifton, forcing play into the hosts’ half. They, however, turned that pressure into a try, scored by no. 8 Matthew Scott, who surprised Clifton when he peeled clear of a rolling maul and saw clear space in front of him.
A late penalty by Dylan Gander extended St David’s lead to six points, meaning Clifton needed a converted try to win. They gave it their all hard and put themselves in position to snatch a late victory, but the visitors kept them at bay.
Credit to the St David’s boys. Clifton disrupted them, and they, at times, committed unforced errors, but they gritted it out to come away with a hard-fought win.
Despite the defeat, Clifton finished the match with their heads held high. “There were a lot of positives. It’s disappointing to lose, though,” coach Dos Santos said.
“The commitment levels were through the roof. This game, and our game against St John’s College (Harare), had the best levels of performance and commitment.”
He finished by identifying what Clifton needs to work on: “Our execution cost us. We’ve got to get better at closing out games like this.”
Scorers
Clifton College 17 (14) – Tries: Cole Nienhuser, Trent Bam. Conversions: Izah Roux (2). Penalty: Izah Roux. St David’s Marist Inanda 23 (12) – Tries: Tadiwanashe Javagwe, Chris Theorides, Matthew Scott. Conversions: Giorgio Ferreira. Penalty: Dylan Gander.
Other results
u19
II: St David 50 Clifton 7
III: St David’s 31 Clifton 7
u16
A: St David’s 34 Clifton 12
u15
A: St David’s 17 Clifton 10
B: Clifton 28 St David’s 10
u14
A: St David’s 50 Clifton 0
B: St David’s 51 Clifton 0
