Sports News from St Charles College of their their games against Glenwood
The first winter sports Game Day of the season promised to be an exhilarating occasion as St Charles College hosted Glenwood in its milestone 150th year. The atmosphere was electric and leading up to the highly anticipated First XV match, all games were fiercely competitive. Notably, St Charles College’s U14 teams remained undefeated, setting a strong tone for the day.
First Half
Glenwood seized early momentum in the First XV match. The young and relatively inexperienced Wild Dogs struggled to settle in the opening minutes, allowing Glenwood to strike first and take control of possession. By halftime, the visitors had established a commanding 17-0 lead. St Charles faced additional challenges as they were reduced to 14 players for a significant portion of the game and, at one stage, played with just 13.
Despite the numerical disadvantage, the Wild Dogs showed glimpses of brilliance. Raphael Ajibade broke the defensive line, coming inches short of the try line, unfortunately with no one in the wings to offload to. Another promising attacking sequence saw the team work tirelessly to breach Glenwood’s defence, only to be denied by resilient tackling from the Grasshoppers.
Second Half
The second half saw a revitalised St Charles College, now donning their fresh white jerseys. Even with just 13 players on the field, the team started strongly, with PJ Dlamini breaking through the defence and nearly scoring, the support runners were unable to hold onto the ball, keeping the home side’s score at zero. Though St Charles showed greater cohesion in the second half, Glenwood capitalised on their numerical advantage, stretching the field and adding to their tally with quick, expansive play.
While the first match of the season ended in defeat, the Wild Dogs remain optimistic about the journey ahead. With valuable lessons learned, they now set their sights on the Wynberg Rugby Festival in Cape Town, which kicks off this Friday. As the team continues to develop, there is great excitement about what they can achieve in this historic 150th year of St Charles College rugby.
1st Team Hockey (as reported by Head Coach Matthew Coombes)
After the big downpours of rain during the week, the weather cleared nicely for an entertaining game of hockey between Glenwood and St Charles College. Both teams came out pressing hard and looked to put each other under pressure, however, both teams dealt with the pressure well and didn’t give many opportunities away. Fast breaks were the main threat on either end of the turf, and both teams managed to get behind on the odd occasion and create opportunities. Towards the latter end of the first half, the home team did seem to get on top and earned a number of shorties and goalscoring opportunities, none of which were converted.
Second Half
The intensity was high and legs started to get weary. It was the Glenwood team that managed to push harder at the end and that ultimately made the difference. They managed to get a breakaway that went the full length of the field and ended in the back of the goals after the ball had struck the post and Glenwood managed to pounce on the rebound. Not long after, the exact same play happened again; St Charles looked to press high, and a turnover by Glenwood led to a full-field counter, making the score 2-0.
The final whistle ended the game shortly after the 2nd goal. It was one that could have gone either way, but Glenwood legs were too much for St Charles, and their lethal counterattacks made all the difference. Well done to both teams for an intensely fought fixture.
Report sent from St Charles College
All Picture Credits – Justin Waldman.
