Sports News from St Charles of their clash against St Stithians College
1st XV Rugby (as reported by Head Coach, Craig Dwyer)
The much-anticipated clash between St Charles College and St Stithians College lived up to its bill on a warm Saturday afternoon in Johannesburg. Both sides are known for their enterprising brand of rugby, and this fixture promised, and at times delivered, an expansive, high-tempo contest.
Heading into the match, St Stithians were favourites. Their First XV has impressed throughout the season, recording big victories over established opponents and maintaining consistent form over the past few weeks. With a senior, battle-tested squad, they were always going to be tough to beat on home turf. St Charles College, in contrast, are in the midst of a rebuilding phase with a youthful side gaining invaluable experience week by week. The trip to Johannesburg presented logistical and physical challenges for our boys – a long Friday journey by bus, an early afternoon kick-off unfamiliar to the team, and the always noticeable impact of altitude.
In the first half, those challenges were felt by the visitors who struggled to gain any significant momentum, particularly at set-piece time, where St Stithians asserted their dominance. Possession was scarce, and much of the half was spent on the back foot, defending phase after phase from the host’s well-drilled attack. Despite the difficult opening 35 minutes, the coaching team made key adjustments at halftime. Tactical changes at the set piece and breakdown paid dividends as we began to string phases together and play with far more fluidity. With ball in hand, SCC looked dangerous, showcasing their natural attacking instincts with two beautifully constructed tries involving multiple offloads and crisp handling across the field.
As the match reached its climax, the scoreboard read 25-20 in favour of St Stithians. The Blue & Gold were very much in the contest, however, a late penalty by the hosts pushed the lead out to 28-20. Then came a pivotal moment, we turned down a kickable penalty that would have narrowed the gap to 5 points with just four minutes remaining. Opting instead to go for the try, we unfortunately lost possession, and St Stithians capitalised with a counterattacking try which ultimately sealed the match.
While the result didn’t go our way, the second-half fightback was a testament to the belief and potential within this young squad. The fixture offered valuable lessons and highlighted areas for development heading into the 2026 season. A special word of thanks must go to St Stithians College for their generous hospitality and for contributing to what was a thrilling and hard-fought match. We wish their First XV all the very best for the remainder of their season.
1st Team Hockey (as reported by Head Coach, Matthew Coombes)
St Charles travelled to Johannesburg for their exchange against St Stithians over the past weekend. It was a long day on the road but the boys were excited for their fixture against one of the top Johannesburg hockey schools. All stands were full with both schools in attendance to support, and it created an extremely exciting atmosphere under the Friday night lights.
The match didn’t disappoint and got off to an electrifying start from the first whistle. St Charles knew they needed to try to maintain the hosts’ extremely quick and skilful players in the midfield and upfront, and it was going to be no easy task.
The boys from Pietermaritzburg learnt this early on with St Stithians scoring the first goal on a quick breakaway down the right-hand touchline. The visitors replied almost straight away, scoring from a short corner with a well-executed flick to bring the scores back to level. St Stithians didn’t lie down, and it was with another good break and some skilful play by the forwards that allowed them to score their second and go into the lead once again. The resilience of the St Charles team showed, as they then stepped up their play even more and took control of the game for the latter part of the first half. Some good combination play between the players allowed the midfielders into the circle, and a very well-executed finish saw the ball fly into the top right-hand corner to bring the scores level once again.
The boys in Blue & Gold maintained the pressure, and it was another well-executed attack that led to the visitors taking the lead. Some quick passing exchanges in the back and midfield, and then a well-timed overhead had the striker one-on-one with the goalkeeper. The striker tapped the ball passed the keeper and ran it over the goal line to take the score to 3-2 for St Charles going into halftime.
The second half was a different affair. St Stithians pressed a lot higher and harder, and the transfer of pressure made it difficult for St Charles to get it out the back. This led to forced play and easy turnovers in bad areas of the field. This worked in St Stithians’ favour and allowed space behind the midfield line for the St Stithians forwards to use the skills, which they did so effectively. Their skills and finishing ability were too much for the St Charles players to handle, and this led to a number of goals in quick succession. Final score ending 8-3. It was an incredible game of hockey with lots of talking points, but the skillful talent of the St Stithians team was too much for the Maritzburg boys in the end. Thank you to St Stithians for putting on such a great show and for being such great hosts. We are looking forward to the next one.
