Overview Sporting Achievements
The first home fixtures of the year, one week to go to Reunion and College’s fierce rivalry against the Glenwood grasshoppers, heralded an exciting day’s of sport, with outstanding results for RedBlackWhite. Maritzburg College fielded 26 rugby teams winning 21 of their matches, including excellent victories for the 1st XV, 2nd XV and U15A. The 1st XV clash on Goldstones, which College won 42-15, brought to an end their 13-year drought against Glenwood. College also won all 9 of their hockey matches against Glenwood.
There was also cycling, squash and volleyball on the go during the week.
Rugby
A total of 26 rugby teams took to the six fields around the 25-hec campus, mostly against longstanding rivals Glenwood High, with a few filler games against Howick. College won 21 of their matches, including excellent victories for the 1st XV, 2nd XV and U15A.
1st XV match report (Tim Orchard, Coach)
For thirteen years, the Maritzburg College 1st XV have had little joy against Glenwood on Goldstones. Numerous times they have come close to grabbing that elusive win, with a draw being the best they have achieved during that period. The match on Saturday was billed as the first time in a long while that College was going into a match on Goldstones as slight favourites, but as is often the case in schoolboy rugby, anything can happen. The match itself was a slow starter but ultimately ended up with Maritzburg College breaking the thirteen-year drought and emerging with an emphatic 42-15 win on Goldstones.
The first half was a relative cagey affair with both sides trading penalties and giving up gilt-edged opportunities to score but seemed intent on shifting the ball to the wider channels to try and get around their opponents. Maritzburg College had the lion’s share of possession and territory in the half but could not shift through the gears quickly enough to capitalise on their opportunities. Glenwood refused to lie down and proved to be more than a match for the College defence on occasions, but the final pass often went to ground when the try line beckoned. College went into the break 6-3 with the match very much in the balance.
The second half resumed in glorious fashion for the home side, with C. Reardon touching down for the first of his four tries in the game in the left had corner much to the delight of Basher Ridge who erupted with palpable glee at the sight. This galvanised the home team with Glenwood visibly wilting when the conversion was calmly converted by the now very consistent of L. du Toit. College now sniffed a glorious opportunity to put their visitors away as their set-piece began to dominate Glenwood at every turn.
Special mention must go to the College forwards who stole most Glenwood’s lineouts during the game, ultimately forcing them to opt for a scrum instead of a lineout during the second half such was their dominance. Reardon was in electric form, quickly extending College’s lead and bagging his brace in double quick time. The next try was something that has not been witnessed on Goldstones for many years. College had a lineout just within their own half but opted for a maul to attempt to win a penalty to win more field possession. As soon as the maul was initiated, it became patently clear that Glenwood had no answer for College’s forward dominance as the maul advanced deeper and deeper into Glenwood territory. Glenwood attempted to stop the maul, but the sheer power of the College forwards prevented them from doing so. Ultimately, the maul was stopped illegally with the try-line looming which forced the referee to award a penalty try much to the delight of the forwards for had trampled their way from their own half. College scored two more tries in the match both by C. Reardon, who now had four tries to his name. Glenwood ultimately had the final say in the match, scoring a consolation try with the final play of the match which did take away some of the gloss of the result. Ultimately, College scoring thirty-five points in the second half was surely a fine way to end the thirteen-year winless drought on Goldstones.
Maritzburg College 42 Tries: C. Reardon x4, Penalty Try Conversions: L. Du Toit x3 Penalties: L. Du Toit x2
Glenwood 15
Hockey:
College fielded nine hockey teams against Glenwood, winning all of the nine matches – an excellent performance from all the teams. There were also a few filler games played on the stagger against St Charles College.
1st XI march report (Mr Kyle Emerson – 1st XI coach) College hosted its first game of the 2023 season and welcomed Glenwood to Pape’s. College asserted their dominance on the game early on, creating many opportunities in the first quarter. The team was strong on the counterattack, and the transition from defence to attack made it hard for Glenwood to stop. However, College did not take their opportunities, and chance after chance went begging as they did not make the most of the momentum that was so clearly in their favour. College earned the first penalty corner of the game, and it was from this that they open the scoring when Asanda Khumalo flicked it past the goalkeeper. Glenwood earned a penalty corner just before the quarter break but Nic Holmes made a great save to his top left to deny the Glenwood drag flicker. Glenwood started to enjoy some possession and in the second quarter they were able to earn another penalty corner. The first shot was stopped, and the ball rolled to the injector who hit it hard from close range to beat Holmes in goal. This made the score 1 -1 going into half time. A slight tactical change in the third quarter allowed College to turn Glenwood over higher in the field and this is the quarter when they put the game to bed. Uyanda Dlamini finished off a good build up by College when he hit a rocket of a back-hand into the roof of the net to beat the Glenwood goalkeeper early in the third quarter. With a minute to go before the end of the third quarter, a good break away saw Ryan Bernstein round the goalkeeper and his shot hit the body of a Glenwood defender on the gaol line. Uyanda Dlamini calmly flicked the penalty stroke into the goal and allowed College to take the lead. The game ended 3-1 to College but they knew that they were a good five or six goals short of their potential. The missed opportunities early in the game and in the fourth quarter did not allow them to put the game far beyond Glenwood’s reach.
Image 1: Photo credit: D Becket
Sports compiled by Maritzburg College