Maritzburg College School Magazine Maritzburg College Magazine 2016 electronic | Page 152

RUGBY
vs King Edward VII School (Away): Drew 32-32
Maritzburg College travelled to Johannesburg for a televised match that
was always going to be a tough encounter. The boys had just competed in
the Wynberg Festival in Cape Town and needed to put aside fatigue and
the fact that KES would be highly motivated on their Old Boys day. After
an early KES converted try and penalty, College hit back strongly with two
tries and two successful kicks to lead 15-10 at the break. A College penalty
and a KES try left the score at 18-15 and then a brilliant team try extended
the lead to 10 points. After KES replied with a try of their own, College
scored again to lead 32-20 with 18 minutes to go. College should have
closed out the game from there, but great pressure from lineout drives by
KES brought them two more tries and only a missed final conversion denied
them a win. College performed poorly in the final quarter, the defence in
particular being leaky.
Tries: Diedericks, Khanyile, King, Duma
Conversions: Van Blerk (3)
Penalties: Van Blerk (2)
vs Northwood School (Goldstone’s): Won 43-8
Northwood had a large physical side and dominated the first 15 minutes
with their big players attacking the fringes of the rucks and asking questions
of the College defence. College fought back and two good tries brought a
14-8 half-time lead. Some harsh words were needed to raise the intensity
of College‘s game and the team responded with five second-half tries.
Northwood scored a late consolation try, but 43-13 reflected College’s
superiority in the second half.
Tries: Squires, Guma, Mjara, Atembe (2), Khanyile, Van Blerk
Conversions: Van Blerk (4)
vs Kearsney (Goldstone’s): Lost 14-31
The College boys knew that they had to be at their best for this encounter,
but unfortunately were poor in defence for most of the 70 minutes. Despite a
significant possession and territory advantage, they squandered numerous
chances on attack with poor handling, while Kearsney took their rather
more limited opportunities clinically. At half-time the score was 21-0 to the
visitors. Immediately after the break Kearsney extended their lead to 26-0
and this predicament sparked the fight in the team. Strong pressure brought
two converted tries and, at 26-14, a glimmer of hope. But it was not to
be – another error allowed Kearsney to score from their own half and they
were deserving 31-14 winners.
Tries: Mjara, Reintges
Conversions: Van Blerk (2)
vs Westville Boy’s High School (Away): Won 27-16
This was always going to be a physical encounter against the big Westville
forward pack. College stamped their authority on the first half proceedings
and built up a 15-3 lead before Westville took advantage of an error to
make the score 15-10 at half-time. Two second half penalties gave Westville
a narrow and short-lived 16-15 lead, but College settled down, played to
the game plan and scored two further tries to secure a good victory away
from home. The try count of four to one demonstrated their superiority.
Tries: Guma, Mjara, Diedericks, Cameron-Macintosh
Conversions: Van Blerk (2)
Penalty: Van Blerk
vs Durban High School (Away): Won 26-19
Maritzburg College travelled to Durban to take on a highly motivated home
team on their 150th Anniversary and Founders’ Day. College needed to
keep the game tight to starve the exciting DHS backs of ball and to pressure
them into mistakes with high intensity defence. The first half was a ding-
dong affair, with DHS leading 11-10 at the break. DHS had the advantage
of a strong wind at their backs and the College defence was immense as
they stopped wave after wave of attacks with some huge tackles. DHS
extended their lead to four points early in the second half, but College used
the wind effectively with some good kicking out of hand. Three penalties
and a converted try took the lead to 26-14 with six minutes to go. The
College team visibly relaxed and that was all the talented DHS backs
150
needed to strike back with a try of their own. It was a great victory for the
boys from Maritzburg.
Tries: Duma, King
Conversions: Van Blerk (2)
Penalties: Van Blerk (4)
vs Hilton College (Goldstone’s): Won 12-5
Maritzburg College hosted Hilton Colle