Over 700 Maritzburg College boys headed up to Pretoria on Friday for the second annual sporting and cultural exchange against long-time rivals Pretoria Boys’ High School (PBHS). With six sporting codes and several cultural events including a joint musical evening, there was plenty of action for the College supporters to enjoy.

Rugby

Pretoria Boys’ High is one of very few schools that can match Maritzburg College for depth and breadth of its rugby teams. Saturday saw 24 teams meet across the age categories, with College emerging the winner in 17 of these, including the U15A, U16A, 2^nd XV and 1^st XV matches.

1^st XV match report (Mr Tim Orchard – 1^st XV coach)

College managed to scrape through and win a very tight affair against Pretoria Boys’ High this past Saturday. Pretoria Boys’ High grabbed the momentum early on and looked to secure their first win against College in quite a few years. College struggled to find rhythm and made errors in the first half which allowed PBHS to build a decent lead at half time, but College’s guts and determination came through to secure a win right at the death.

College opened the scoring with a good passage of play after a lineout drive was stopped by the PBHS forwards. The ball was recycled to Nkululeko Sithole who burst through the defence of the home team to put the visitors on the front foot. The ball was shifted to the right edge where Luyanda Kunene was on hand to finish off a smart passage of play for Maritzburg College. A misjudged restart allowed PBHS to get a lineout deep within the College half which they used effectively to mount a drive towards the College tryline. This drive resulted in them hitting back straight away with an unconverted try of their one to level the score 5-5.

The match then found an uneasy rhythm where neither side could gain any purchase keeping play in the middle third of the field. A series of breakdown infringements allowed PBHS to march up the field and a penalty within range was slotted over to give them a 5-8 lead. This characterized the half until a slipped tackle allowed PBHS to breach a resolute College defence and race away to score the easiest of tries. The kick was converted and the score was 5-15 at half time, with College needing to dig deep if they wanted any chance of winning the match.

College hit back first after a chaotic but dominant opening to the second half when hooker Siya Nyathi barged over to score. The try was converted by James Slevin and the deficit was now three points at 12-15. PBHS struck back next through the boot when another breakdown penalty was slotted over to put the score at 12-18. They looked to maintain their momentum and score again, but College held out and converted the pressure into field possession but could not retain the ball and allowed PBHS to keep College pinned deep within their own half.

A good passage of play exposed the PBHS defence and with their fullback out of position, a kick over  allowed Luyanda Kunene to score much to chagrin of the home crowd in attendance. James Slevin had a tricky conversion but, as he has done this past season, he drew strength from the College boys at his back and threaded the ball through the uprights to give College a 19-18 lead.

This galvanised the PBHS players, but they could not find a way to win as a desperate College defence held them out. College emerged victorious and now take on KES in JHB this weekend.

Maritzburg College 19

Tries: Kunene x2, Nyathi

Conversions: Slevin x2

Pretoria Boys High 18

Smmary of results:

Hockey

It was a meeting of two very closely matched schools, with 17 College hockey teams in action against PBHS. College won seven of the matches, drawing five and losing five. The RedArmy 1^st XI secured an excellent 2-1 win against strong competition.

1^st XI match report (Mr Kyle Emerson – 1^st XI coach)

The first encounter against PBHS earlier in the year was a closely contested match between the two teams, and the return fixture did not disappoint. There were multiple scoring opportunities created by both teams during the match, and in the end it was the drag-flickers who would decide the result.

PBHS started with an organised and clinical press that made it difficult for College to outlet and build up meaningful passages of play. However, the team didn’t panic, instead they were patient and relied on the variations and connections they had trained as they started to pierce the PBHS defence through their dynamic movements. Both teams have skilful and quick midfield players, and this battle ensued and allowed for some quick breaks for both teams.

The first goal came from a penalty corner, after Dane Jackson through a pinpoint over-head to Siwa Sithembu high in the field, who connected with Greg Askew who skilfully rolled the ball onto a defender’s foot in the circle. Julian Konigkramer made no mistake and rocketed the ball into the backboard with his first goal of the game, a minute before the end of the first quarter.

PBHS continued to press high, and this allowed space behind them for the College boys to exploit. Strong defence from both teams did not allow clear-cut chances, but PBHS started to rack up the penalty corner count. Banele Dlamini was on hand to run a brave and fast line at penalty corners, which put the home team under pressure to convert. After their 4^th attempt, the PBHS drag-flicker was able to evade both Dlamini and the goalkeeper as he placed the ball in the top corner a minute before half time.

The momentum shifted in the third quarter and College, understanding the spaces they needed to move the ball into, outlet with more precision pushing PBHS deeper into their half. It was Uyanda Dlamini who showed great skill with the ball on his stick, eliminating his defender on the left-hand

side and earned the team a penalty corner. Konigkramer stepped up and fired a rocket into the top right-hand corner of the goal. 2-1 to College at the end of the third quarter.

PBHS are known for their relentless effort and determination, and they proved it once more. The 4^th quarter saw them push numbers through the field and they pressed very high to try and find the equaliser. This pressure allowed them to accumulate a few more penalty corners, however the College defensive unit was more than equal to the task and nullified every chance, highlighting the determination and concentration of the College team. A 5-minute yellow card with seven minutes to play did not help College’s cause, and it meant they had to dig deep and work as a unit. The team were exceptional at controlling the last few minutes of the game to not allow PBHS to create a scoring opportunity and earned their own penalty corner on full time as the clock ran down.

College scored two of their first three penalty corners, and PBHS only managed to convert one out of the eleven they earned. This is what separated the two teams in a an entertaining game played with heart and passion, good dynamic tactics and skill, that was enjoyed by all who watched.

Summary of results:

Squash

College’s Top 8 squash team won 8-0 against PBHS, but the 2nd and 3^rd teams lost.

Public Speaking

The Maritzburg College public speakers excelled taking all three top positions in the competition against PBHS.

1st: I. Jikijo – 92% 2nd: M. du Toit – 91% 3rd: C. Robinson- 88%

Table tennis

Congratulations to the College table tennis teams who dominated in their matches against PBHS winning 24-6.  Won.

Canoeing

In the 1st school leavers race for term 3, College’s paddlers took three of the top five positions.

U18 Boys K Vogt 1st

L O’Connor 4th

J JvRensburg 5th

Soccer

Well done to the College soccer teams who won four of their five matches against local rivals, Carter. U14A won 7 – 0

U15A won 7 – 0

U16A won 6 – 0

2nds lost 4 – 2

1sts won 2 – 1

Debating

Two College’s junior debaters and two senior debaters featured in the top 10 of the provincial

debating competition results, and five boys have been selected for the KZN trials squad.

Junior ranking top 10 speakers:

A Ngcobo – 1st

K Mkhwane – 4th

Senior ranking – top 10 speakers:

K Moodley – 2nd

MH Moosa – 4th

KZN Trials Squad:

K Mkhwane, A Ngcobo, MH Moosa, K Moodley, A Mhlanzi

Cycling

Maritzburg College hosted over 450 riders for the first KZN Schools Mountain Biking event with the College cycling team producing excellent results.

Junior category:

1st L Newlands 3rd B Foster 5th C Sellick

6th M Jewaskiewitz 12th H McIntyre 13th M Barnardo 17th E McAllister 18th G Jordan

Youth category:

5th D Janneker 9th K Searle 17th B Fourie 19th K Leonard 20th C Wood

Sub-junior High School:

1st C Baxter

22nd D Rencken

Credit for all photos is Maritzburg College

Contact: Sally J Upfold (Director: Marketing & Communications)

[email protected]

0825700851