Westville withstands fiery Northwood, Maritzburg College wins at Glenwood
After teams from KwaZulu-Natal lit up Easter rugby festivals, interest in the game in the province is at an all-time high, and there are a good number of sides in the running to claim the status of top dogs.
Michaelhouse beat Affies 29-27 at the Pretoria Boys High 125th Festival and also won 40-36 against Jeppe. Hilton College overwhelmed Hoërskool Nelspruit 65-14 and followed up with a 17-12 win over Australia’s Nudgee College, who had beaten Grey College 29-26 in their first outing at the St John’s Easter Festival.
Just down the road, at the KES Easter Festival, Northwood ripped through Marlow Landbou, cruising to a 47-7 win, before dismantling St Andrew’s College 52-21.
Three KZN sides went unbeaten at the Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival (KERF). Westville Boys’ High thumped Framesby 83-0 and followed up that extraordinary performance with a 33-17 win over Helpmekaar Kollege and a 41-3 defeat of Milnerton High.
Durban High School (DHS) defeated a tenacious Zwartkop side 31-14, with a late converted try bolstering their total. They next beat Rustenburg 38-7 before finishing with a 39-22 victory over Helpmekaar.
Kearsney College outplayed Rustenburg 43-14, won 33-13 against Transvalia, and held off Zwartkop 22-19.
In local matches played before the festivals, Hilton edged out Westville 39-35 on Gilfillan Field, while Michaelhouse pushed DHS all the way on Van Heerden’s Field but fell 21-26. They won against Northwood on Baileys, in Balgowan, though, coming away with a 28-14 victory.
All of the above is a roundabout way of saying that KZN boasts many well-matched top-level teams in 2026. They’ve demonstrated their competitiveness against the country’s traditional powers and other leading sides, and they will improve as the season progresses.
In a season already filled with eye-opening upsets, Hilton College and DHS are unbeaten thus far. Paul Roos, Grey College, Paarl Gimnasium, Paarl Boys’ High, and Stellenberg High, who have already beaten the first three, have all lost. That makes it the most interesting and unpredictable season in ages.
Westville Boys’ High vs Northwood
The province’s private schools were still on holiday, but on Saturday, Bowden’s Field played host to an epic King Price Derby showdown between the in-form Westville Boys’ High and Northwood School, the finalists of 2025’s Champion of Champions High Schools Sevens Series.
Both headed into the clash high in confidence. They understood, though, that it was likely to be a tight contest.
In early 2025, Westville won a bruising showdown 16-14 on Reece-Edwards Field, before going on to achieve the first unbeaten season in the school’s history. On Saturday, it was tight again, but once more the contest tilted Westville’s way, with the home side claiming an entertaining 35-29 victory.
“It’s always tough playing them,” Westville coach Zander Erasmus told SuperSport Schools Plus. “We started really well, going 14-0 up. I thought our forwards laid a very good platform.
“But they clawed their way back, scoring two tries of their own. It was 14-10 at one stage, and then we scored again.” By halftime, the Griffins led 28-15, but Northwood had plenty of fight left in them.
“We kicked a lot on them, making them turn, testing them under the high balls. In the second half, they tried to do the same to us. They kicked on us, and they backed their forwards. They scored a nice maul try,” Erasmus recalled.
Up front, he said, matters didn’t go smoothly for either team. “The scrums were not as good as they could have been. There were a lot of scrum penalties. That made it a stop/start affair.
“But there were signs that both wanted to attack and be physical and dominant through their pack.
The contest was decided only when the final whistle blew, as Erasmus explained. “I thought we did well, right at the end, when we picked up a yellow card in the last 10 minutes. They had a penalty kick for touch. They wanted to maul, but we counter-mauled, pushing them back about eight metres. We won a scrum, and the final whistle was blown.”
He described the goal-kicking of flyhalf Jade-Will Koopman as “sensational”. The Westville pivot converted each of his side’s five tries. Northwood converted only two of their five, and those six points were the difference in the end.
“All in all, it was a lekker game for the neutral fan because it was end-to-end stuff. The game was played in a really good spirit. It was high-tempo rugby and a classic local derby,” Erasmus concluded.
The Griffins’ hooker, Rorke Stirk, produced an outstanding performance and was rewarded with the second try of the contest, slipping a tackle with a big handoff before charging through to score from 20 metres out.
He was joined on the scoresheet by Ezra Karosilin, who switched from playing wing at KERF to flank on Saturday. Ngcali-Ka-Reve Nonxuba went over after a 50-22 from the impressive Lux Sonkononkono. Levi Allan scored, too, and Landle Makhanya, the 8th-man, scored the try of the day, handing off two players before bashing his way through two more to score.
The Knights showed just how physical they could be, also crossing for five tries against a very physical defensive unit, with four of them coming from Northwood’s forwards: hooker Zak Vrey, flank Tinayeishe Ruwana, prop Sphe Mlongo, and lock Nala Shabangu.
Wing Andile Thwala added their other try, and they did it all without their sidelined skipper, Sharks no. 8, Jamie Wimble, whose place was very well filled by Kevin van Volenstee.
While Westville came away with the win, Northwood served notice that they remain among the province’s top teams, well capable of challenging and beating any of KZN’s leading teams.
Glenwood High vs Maritzburg College
Maritzburg College made the short trip to Durban on Saturday for a showdown with Glenwood High on Dixon’s Field.
After a strong showing at the Pretoria Boys’ High 125th Festival, where they beat Jeppe 35-12 and SACS 24-7, College carried confidence into the clash.
Glenwood spent the Easter long weekend at the Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival, where they fell 5-24 to Helpmekaar Kollege and 14-15 to Framesby. However, they ended with a hard-fought 14-12 win over Dr EG Jansen.
In recent seasons, the pendulum has swung College’s way in their rivalry with the Green Machine, but Dixon’s has been a tough hunting ground for the Pietermaritzburg school. They won 14-10 there in 2025 after a 37-25 win at Goldstone’s earlier in the season. In 2024, they completed their first double over Glenwood since 2005, winning 39-20 on Goldstone’s and 18-7 on Dixon’s.
The danger that awaited them on Glenwood’s home field was revealed in 2023, though, when a College side that had enjoyed a strong season, which included a convincing 42-15 win over the Green Machine at home, ended with a 24-27 defeat on Dixon’s. That same College team had put 51 points on Affies in a 21-point victory in Pretoria.
On Saturday in Durban, though, the Red, Black, and White ruled the roost, turning a tight 12-13 halftime deficit into a 33-13 victory.
For Glenwood, their challenge thus far in 2026 has been putting together a complete game, and that was again the case.
Scrumhalf Vincenzo Loutz, one of their leading performers at KERF, gave the hosts the lead with an early penalty, but College turned a try line siege into five points to take the lead and added a converted try to make it 12-3.
Glenwood’s response was outstanding. They gained momentum and forced College back into their territory. Then, just before halftime, they struck twice. Outside centre Cade Isaacs bounced off a couple of tacklers before crashing over for a try, and Loutz added the extras. Another penalty from Loutz edged the Green Machine ahead.
College seized the initiative early in the second half, driving Glenwood back towards the Green Machine’s try line, and the visitors’ big tighthead Alanda Ngubane corkscrewed his way over to put them back in front. They never trailed again. A successful conversion from the reliable right boot of Dom du Toit made it 19-12.
A favourable bounce of the ball, after a well-directed box kick from Du Toit, got College onto the front foot in the 51st minute after a back-and-forth arm wrestle to start the second half. Lock Sean Jansen took play up to the hosts’ 22, and College built momentum through phase after phase. Only a knock-on right on the try line stopped them from adding to their total.
Glenwood, though, was unable to exit their 22, and College turned a subsequent lineout into a rolling maul, which brought them a try from their feisty hooker Theo Boshoff from 15 metres out. Another accurate conversion kick from Du Toit took them 13 points clear.
The last points of the game came with seven minutes to go. College, with the bit between their teeth, were back inside the Glenwood 22, and, after no. 8 Rory Stanton dented the Glenwood defensive line with a snipe, Boshoff was the first to the loose ball, snatching it off the ground before spinning his way over for a second five-pointer.
Dom du Toit nailed the simple conversion, and Maritzburg College went on to a 33-13 victory.
Scorers
Westville 35 (28) – Tries: Ezra Karosilin, Rorke Stirk, Ngcali-Ka-Reve Nonxuba, Levi Allan, Lwandle Makhanya. Conversions: Jade-Will Koopman (5).
Northwood 29 (15) – Tries: Zak Vrey, Andile Twana, Tinayeishe Rowana, Sphe Mlongo, Nala Shabangu. Conversions: Ludi van der Walt (2).
Glenwood 13 (13) – Try; Cade Isaacs. Conversion: Vincenzo Loutz. Penalties: Vincenzo Loutz (2)
Maritzburg College 33 (13) – Tries: Theo Boshoff (2), Alanda Ngubane. N/A. Conversions: Dom du Toit.
Other Results
Westville vs Northwood
Played: 19 | Westville won: 16 | Northwood won: 2 | Drawn: 1
Glenwood vs Maritzburg College
Played: 21 | Glenwood won: 0 | Maritzburg College won: 21
u19
Westville II 26 Northwood II 5; Glenwood II 12 Maritzburg College 22
Westville III 17 Northwood III 17; Glenwood III 5 Maritzburg College III 41
Westville IV 5 Northwood IV 35; Glenwood IV 0 Maritzburg College IV 52
Westville V 12 Northwood V 22; Glenwood V 5 Maritzburg College V 38
Westville VI 14 Northwood VI 7; Glenwood VI 5 Maritzburg College VI 29
Westville VII 50 Northwood VII 0; Glenwood VII 7 Maritzburg College VII 40
u16
A: Westville 24 Northwood 0; Glenwood 15 Maritzburg College 25
B: Westville 39 Northwood 7; Glenwood 0 Maritzburg College 36
C: Westville 21 Northwood 0; Glenwood 0 Maritzburg College 50
D: Westville 45 Northwood 0; Glenwood 0 Maritzburg College 50
u15
A: Westville 20 Northwood 7; Glenwood 3 Maritzburg College 66
B: Westville 33 Northwood 0; Glenwood 0 Maritzburg College 25
C: Westville 41 Northwood 6; Glenwood 7 Maritzburg College 50
D: Westville 55 Northwood 5; Glenwood 15 Maritzburg College 48
E: Glenwood 3 Maritzburg College 69
u14
A: Westville 17 Northwood 12; Glenwood 0 Maritzburg College 22
B: Westville 52 Northwood 5; Glenwood 19 Maritzburg College 24
C: Westville 24 Northwood 0; Glenwood 0 Maritzburg College 66
D: Westville 36 Northwood 10; Glenwood 0 Maritzburg College 55
E: Glenwood 0 Maritzburg College 50
