Overview Sporting Achievements:
This weekend was the penultimate winter fixtures for Maritzburg College, and the last home games of the season, which had special meaning especially for our matrics. College rose to the challenge against King Edward VII (KES), with seven sporting codes in action, as well as soccer vs local rivals, Alex.
Rugby:
College fielded 22 rugby teams against KES, winning 12 of their matches, drawing two and losing eight. The rugby highlight of the day was undoubtedly the win for the 1st XV who fought hard with their characteristic grit and resilience for the full 70 minutes, securing a well-earned 33-24 victory. There was added joy as the result secured College an undefeated season on Goldstone’s – for the first time since 2000.
1st XV match report (Mr Tim Orchard, 1st XV coach)
A dominant second half performance on Saturday allowed the Maritzburg College 1st XV to bag another victory on Goldstones, finishing off the season unbeaten at home after a good win against their rivals KES from Johannesburg.
The first half was a dour affair with both teams battling to find rhythm, and with the only points coming off the boots of both respective flyhalf’s. College led 6-3 at the break with Luc du Toit slotting two penalty kicks to give College a slender lead at the break.
The second half started off in a more frenetic fashion, compared to the first half, with College and KES both looking to strike the first blow. From the kickoff College found joy, with an aimless kick being scooped up by Luyanda Kunene who managed to find some space and more importantly, gave College some impetus on the attack. The ball was recycled rather urgently to Colm Reardon who found space on the left-hand side of the field, but was brought down agonisingly close to the KES try line. The ball was shifted through the hands again with a series of desperate tackles from KES preventing College from scoring the opening try of the match. The ball then found itself in the hands of Luyanda Kunene who threaded a well weighted kick in behind the onrushing KES defense for Reardon to dot the ball down, and open the score in the first half.
KES hit back soon afterwards through a decent passage of play from the visitors, allowing them to find space in the wider channels and reduce the deficit to a one-point margin at 11-10. From the resulting kick-off, College regathered possession and were rewarded with a kickable penalty which du Toit calmly slotted over taking the score to 14-10. The match now become a real ding-dong affair, as KES hit back with a try under the poles to take the score to 17-10 in favour of the visitors. College hit back almost immediately, as another missed clearance found its way into speedster Kunene’s hands who managed to beat four defenders before being brought down. Inside Centre Nkululeko Sithole made great burst but was brought down ten metres short of the try line. The ball was shifted to the right and Rambo Kubheka made a brilliant carry but was also brought down by a desperate KES defense. KES were deemed to have been offsides and off a well worked penalty move, captain Sasha Kadira barged over to finish off a good spell of College dominance with the score now 19-17 in the host’s favour.
College had the bit between their teeth and scored again when the KES defense inexplicably shifted off Luc du Toit from a scrum deep in the KES half, and he took this opportunity gleefully and raced away to the try-line and fed Colm Reardon who went over unopposed to score a wonderful seven pointer, taking the score to 26-17. KES regathered possession almost immediately as the restart was spilt by College, and after several phases a remarkable cross kick found its way into the awaiting arms of the KES winger who scored in the righthand corner. The resulting conversion was good, and the game was back on with the score at 26-24.
As had been the case throughout this half, a missed clearance found its way into the hands of Kunene’s arms who again embarked on one if his trademark runs. After beating several defenders, he was brought down well within the KES half. After a good carry by Kadira, Rhett Quin spotted some space on the blindside and fed the ball to Kubheka. With a series of neat passes between Ayrton Van der Linde and Colm Reardon, the ball found its way into the hands of Kunene who finished off well worked move. The try was a fine reward for Kunene’s efforts in the second half, who was the difference between the two sides. Luc du Toit calmly slotted over the conversion in front of an expectant Basher Ridge, taking the score to 33-24 in favour of College. This remained the score for the remainder of the match and after KES knocked the ball on, Rhett Quin booted the ball into the crowd much to the delight of the College faithful in attendance.
The second half was a much better showcase of attacking rugby from both teams with the running and guile of Luyanda Kunene being the point of difference. This game also was the last for College’s SA Schools representatives Kunene and Kubheka who miss the final against Glenwood next Saturday as they both link up with the National U18 team. The win against KES also meant that College remained unbeaten on Goldstones this season which has not been accomplished since 2000, and something that has not been done since the school began to play Grey College and Affies.
Hockey:
Fifteen hockey teams took on KES, with eight wins, two draws and five losses. There were wins for all the A sides, and the sweetest of these was the 1-0 victory for the RedArmy 1st XI, after drawing a number of matches over recent weeks. Many of the matches were very closely contested, with College scoring 26 goals compared to the 21 scored by KES. Undefeated on Pape’s this season, this was the best way for the 1st team to end the home games.
1st XI match report:
(Mr Kyle Emerson, 1st XI coach) The College 1st XI played their penultimate game of the 2023 season and their final home game of the season against KES. They were defending their home turf and a result would see them go unbeaten at home this season. For KES, it was their final game of the season, so they had everything to play for.
The match started with a high pace with College creating some early chances, and the KES goalkeeper proved he was up for the challenge, making some telling saves to keep the home side from taking the lead. KES’s direct approach was stifled by College’s defensive structure and allowed College to maintain and dominate possession, but KES did well to defend their circle.
The score remained 0-0 at half time, and it was in the third quarter that College started to create more meaningful circle entries down the right-hand side of the field, and the KES goalkeeper did well to stop Julian Kongikramer’s shot at the end of the quarter. College earned the first penalty corner of the match and again the KES goalkeeper was called upon to make a good save from Asanda Khumalo’s flick. College’s second penalty corner did not come off and it seemed like a similar tale for College who played good hockey but were unable to convert it into a goal. With 8 minutes to go in the match, College found the match winner. Another penalty corner and a good variation saw Konigkramer deflect Khumalo’s flick into the roof of the net, and this time the KES goalkeeper could do nothing about it. KES earned a penalty corner with three minutes to go, but it was flicked high and missed the target. The scoreboard did not show the dominant performance by the home team, but a victory on Papes was a great way for the 2023 1st XI to defend their unbeaten status at home.
Golf: Well done to the College golfers who beat KES 4-2.
Soccer:
Five College teams took on local rivals Alex on the weekend, securing three wins, one draws and one loss. …
U14A lost 0-2 U15A won 2-0 U16A won 7-1 2nd won 8-0 1st drew 4-4
In the U14 Knockout Cup tournament held on 6 August, College beat New Forest 4-2, and drew against Durban Academy 2-2 (but lost 5-3 on penalties).
Sports report sent from Maritzburg College.
