Top entertainment lined up as Hilton College hosts Sharks Schools Rugby Day
Hilton College hosts the Sharks School Rugby Day on Saturday. The top teams in the province meet at u14, u15, u16 and 1st XI levels, providing the Sharks’ selectors with an opportunity to see all the top players in action in one place.
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Gilfillan Field hosts the 1st XV matches, starting from 08:00. Weightman-Smith will play host to the u16A clashes, Etheridge is home to the u15A games, and the u14A matches take place on Lombard.
St Charles College vs Clifton College
St Charles College and Clifton College get the ball rolling on Gilfillan. When they met earlier in the season in Durban, it was tight at halftime, with Saints leading only 12-7. They broke clear in the second half to claim a convincing 38-7 victory.
Clifton has returned to some of their traditional rivalries this season in a bid to build their rugby programme. Unfortunately, for the Durban school, their efforts have been undermined by a devastating number of injuries, which have shorn their 1st XV of as many as 10 starting players. They’re missing five players for Saturday’s match. That’s a problem for any school, which is compounded by the fact that Clifton is a smaller school compared to the others.
If there’s one player on whom to keep an eye, it’s Clifton’s vice-captain, Cole Nienhuser, their 8th-man, who has been consistently good throughout the season, leading from the front.
St Charles has endured a challenging season, but a 5-45 loss to Maritzburg College last time out does little to point to a potential outcome on Saturday; College is playing good rugby, and they hurt St Charles with strong rolling mauls. Both Saints and Clifton will be aware of that, and they’ll have worked to counter and make use of them, respectively.
Coach Craig Dwyer‘s boys are usually good for a sparkling try or two, with scrumhalf Agape Nyawo, the conductor from the base of the scrum. Clifton will need to close down space quickly to prevent St Charles from exploiting their creativity.
Following the Clifton versus St Charles clash, a Tier 2 Urban side takes on a Tier 2 Country Districts side on Gilfillan Field at 09:30. That’s followed by an 11:00 showdown between Kearsney College and Michaelhouse.
Kearsney College vs Michaelhouse
Michaelhouse won convincingly last season, but there’s little to read into that result.
Kearsney is a dangerous outfit, with an exciting attacking core of 8th-man Nhlanhla Ndlovu, flyhalf Daniel Miskey, and fullback Lwazi Mbebe. All three have shown numerous times this season their ability to rip apart opposing defences, especially on the counterattack.
In their most recent outing, a 14-14 draw with Westville Boys’ High, they showed a feisty defence, too. Limiting Westville’s dangerous backline on Bowden’s Field was no mean feat. The Griffins were unable to score on the counterattack – a source of many tries this season – but they did force two turnovers and turned them into five-pointers.
Michaelhouse is a never-say-die outfit. They’ve lost three times this season. In two of those, against Durban High School (DHS) and Hilton College, the result could have gone the other way. They took the lead against Hilton with only three minutes remaining last weekend after a stirring second-half fightback. Against DHS, playing on Van Heerden’s Field, where very few win against the Horseflies, they were camped on the home side’s try line just before the final whistle blew.
Their only other loss, a 19-28 defeat to Grey High, was a disappointing result, especially since coach Marco Engelbrecht‘s boys led 19-15 at halftime.
Countering those defeats, though, are some eye-catching victories – including 28-14 over Northwood, 29-27 over Affies, and 40-36 over Jeppe. ‘House is never out of it and, it appears, they’re often at their most dangerous when they’re down.
Michaelhouse might be without their captain, tighthead prop Nicolas Salamousas, who has been dealing with a hamstring problem. That’s unfortunate. He’s a fantastic player and a rock in the front row, but the boys in the red and white hoops have knuckled down in his absence and done well. Their loose trio, led by Oliver Guy, functions superbly as a unit.
Versatile Alex Jankowitz has made the inside centre position his own. He can run through players or sidestep them, and he owns an excellent boot, too. He possesses the all-round skill-set that selectors tend to like.
Westville Boys’ High vs Northwood
At 12:30, Westville Boys’ High and Northwood go at it. Their heavyweight showdowns have delivered some thrilling encounters in recent seasons. Westville’s 16-14 win at Northwood last year was a pivotal result in an unbeaten season. In 2024, the Knights upset the applecart, scoring a thrilling 30-27 win at Westville.
If Westville can gain parity up front, they’ll fancy their chances. Their outside centre, Jadrian Afrikaner, a South African Schools’ selection in 2025, has been one of the best backline players in the country beyond a doubt this season. Other teams understand the danger he poses, but understanding and stopping it are two different things.
8th-man Jamie Wimble is the engine that drives the Northwood pack. He was named the Player of the Tournament at the ABSA Wildeklawer Festival, which was no mean feat at an event that brings together most of South Africa’s best teams. He’s a multi-skilled load, a factor on attack and defence, but don’t look past his opposite number, Lwandle Makhanya. He, too, is a large-sized problem for opposing defences.
Ludi van der Walt, previously seen in a variety of positions for the Northwood 1st XV, has taken control of scrumhalf this season, and he’s been an outstanding performer. He possesses a good all-round game, which he can adapt to meet the demands of the opposition, the situation, and the weather.
Northwood is an interesting side – a side greater than the sum of its parts. Westville has more recognisable stars, including flyhalf Jade-Will Koopman, a Craven Week selection last year, but no match against the Knights is comfortable. Like every other KZN side, they lost twice at the ABSA Wildeklawer Tournament, but an 18-21 loss to Paarl Boys’ High and a 28-33 defeat to Garsfontein proved that Northwood is a team to be reckoned with.
Hilton College vs Glenwood High
At 14:00, Hilton College faces Glenwood. At last season’s Sharks Schools Day, they overpowered the Green Machine, roaring to a 53-15 victory. They head into Saturday’s showdown with seven wins under their belt, and they remain unbeaten. Glenwood has two wins from nine outings. Based on those facts, Hilton goes into the game heavily favoured.
Their focus will be on producing a complete game. They were superb in the first half against Michaelhouse last weekend, but ‘House dominated the second half, winning it 21-10, with Hilton’s winning penalty coming right on the final whistle.
One of Hilton’s strengths, which was at the core of their win last year, is their pick-and-go game. They’re patient, compact, and very effective. If they’re able to recycle the ball quickly, they’re all but unstoppable. Glenwood will need to slow down Hilton at the rucks. If not, they’re in for another tough outing.
Will Glenwood’s Sambesiwe Ndamase oppose Andrew Schnell directly in the lineout? That would be an interesting match-up. Ndamase, at 1.96m tall and weighing 110 kilograms, is a big unit, but Schnell is no small man either, and he’s a force in the set-piece. As much as any member of Hilton’s side, he was responsible for last weekend’s win over Michaelhouse because of his lineout excellence.
The men who throw the ball in, Tyler Leon (Glenwood) and Kyle-Rees Clements (Hilton), offer a lot more than contributions to the set pieces. Leon, especially, has put together an entertaining highlight reel of powerful runs.
If Glenwood is to challenge Hilton, they’ll need to bring the exciting Rosco Williams into the game more. The Glenwood fullback is a surgeon when it comes to slicing through defences on the counterattack. Hilton, though, is usually good at closing down space. Their halfback combo of Benoit Rey and John Grubb both possess good kicking games, and Grubb is also effective as a runner.
Someone else worth mentioning is Hilton no.8, Zander Muller. He was a member of the Craven Week team in 2025, along with Northwood’s Jamie Wimble. The selectors didn’t stop there with 8th-men, also including Westville’s Lwamdile Simelane and Maritzburg College’s Wasi Vyambwera.
Muller and Wimble are both outstanding performers at the back of the pack. So, too, is Kearsney College’s captain, Nhlanhla Ndlovu, a smaller player, but dynamic, athletic, and a difference-maker if he finds space. One suspects the selectors will lean towards choosing more than two no. 8s again.
Maritzburg College vs Durban High School
The day ends on a high note, with Maritzburg College facing Durban High School (DHS) at 15:30. It should be a very interesting game.
After opening the season with five wins on the trot, DHS have lost two in a row, going down to Monument and Paarl Gimnasium at the ABSA Wildeklawer Tournament.
Forget those results for a moment, the fact that the Horseflies were put up against Monnas and Gimmies speaks volumes about the high regard that School has earned in recent seasons. Now, coming back to the results, their 7-47 loss to Gim will have hurt their pride. No doubt, they will feel they let themselves down. Maritzburg College will have to deal with the backlash.
College dropped their first two matches of the season, then won four in a row. At the ABSA Wildeklawer tournament, they, too, lost two, but the Red, Black, and White came away from the event in Kimberley with their reputation enhanced.
They gave Stellenberg – the number one team in the country in most people’s books this season – a huge battle, eventually succumbing 19-24. They also fell to Outeniqua, with the Kwaggas landing a last-second penalty to snatch a 30-29 win. Last weekend, College outplayed St Charles 45-5.
They’re playing good rugby. The battle up front against DHS is going to be extremely physical. Hooker Theo Boshoff, the scorer of four tries against Saints, will be at the forefront of their challenge.
Again, some of the focus will be taken by the no. 8s. Zion Smith, the DHS captain, has an incredible engine, and he’s a stellar lineout performer. Rory Stanton, his opposite number, brings a typical College lunch-pail mentality to the position – substance over flash.
In the backline, DHS boasts SA Schools’ centre, Nathan Aneke. He’s such a smooth operator, gliding through holes, rather than forcing his way through. College will need to ensure their defensive line is aligned to contain him.
DHS will have to be disciplined, too. Scrumhalf Dom du Toit is a fantastic goal kicker, and anything within 40 metres is usually a sure-fire three points for College. He also does a good job of getting the College backline moving.
DHS scrumhalf Richaard Kriel presents a different challenge. He’s always on the lookout for gaps around the fringes, and he possesses serious pace, the type of searing speed that keeps defenders honest and hurts them if they aren’t.
