St Charles College 1st Team Reports:
1st Team Hockey – as reported by Head Coach Matthew Coombes
The Saints 1st team hockey played Hilton College in their final fixture of the season.
The cold weather didn’t affect the players, as both came out of the starting blocks like a house on fire. Hilton was well organised and made it difficult for St Charles College to get out the back. Once going forward, the players in Blue & Gold looked good and returned the favour by putting the Hilton players under pressure when they were in their half.
Hilton was the team to strike first. They managed to catch Saints on a break and got numbers forward quickly which allowed for a tap-in goal to go 1-0 up.
It wasn’t long after when St Charles equalised with a well-worked play down their right, a great run along the baseline and a slipped pass for a tap-in making it 1-1.
The intensity of the game remained high throughout and both sides created chances.
It wasn’t until St Charles players were dealt a hard blow with a series of cards being issued that enabled Hilton to gain the upper hand again. Unfortunately, the Hilton team was too much for a depleted SCC side and they made the most of their extra players advantage to score a quick series of goals in a short time to take the game away from the visitors. The final score was 4-1.
1st XV Rugby – as reported by Head Coach Craig Dwyer
The Saints 1st XV travelled to Hilton College this past weekend for the final fixture of the regular season. Like last week, there was much hype going into this fixture with Hilton coming off a close loss to Maritzburg College, and Saints looking to extend their five-match win streak. Hilton were always favourites going into this fixture as they are currently ranked 16 in the country and had home ground advantage.
Saints made a great start to the first half and managed to keep Hilton trapped deep in their half for the first few minutes. Unfortunately, the visiting team couldn’t capitalise on the handy field position as we struggled to get our set piece launches going, credit to Hilton for putting the boys in Blue & Gold under pressure and for repelling the early attempts at their line. It was clear early on that Hilton had no interest in running the ball, they gave the ball plenty of airtime, backed their very impressive defensive system and attacked us at set piece time and the collision area. Saints knew this would be the strategy and had prepared well for it in the weeks leading up to this fixture. Saints went into the break leading 17-13.
The second 35 kicked off with much of the same from Hilton, their intent was to build pressure and be patient – and not run the ball from all corners. Hilton came out and looked the sharper team in the early parts of the second half, they stuck to the plan and were patient. Saints however continued to run the ball and stuck to what they know and do best! It was an entertaining clash for those watching, there was plenty of back and forward moments and points scored in the second half. There was not much difference between the two-teams, Hilton took two golden opportunities and snatched 2 very easy intercept tries, which ultimately was the killer blow for the visitors. The St Charles College boys however continued to fight until the last second with the match ending 42-34 to Hilton.
We would like to thank our parents, supporters, and sponsors for the amazing support this past season, as a team we truly felt your presence, love and support for this great team. To Hilton, we thank you for hosting us so well, and for playing the game in true spirit. We look forward to building toward our 2025 season and for creating many more special moments.
Sports report sent from St Charles College.
