Maritzburg College fielded an impressive 23 rugby teams on Saturday, 9 March 2019 – in the main these were against Northwood, but a number of other schools and development sides were also involved.

Of the 17 games against Northwood, College won an outstanding 16, narrowly losing one.

Feature image by JUSTIN WALDMAN: The Maritzburg College second XV beat Northwood 20-7 on Goldstones.

Overall, Maritzburg College played 23 matches on the day, winning 22.

 

 

The first XV match on Goldstones proved to be an exciting contest.

Herewith a report from Maritzburg College first XV head coach Cameron Fraser.

“The highly anticipated fixture of the day did not fail to deliver as the game between the Maritzburg College 1st XV and the highly rated Northwood 1st XV was a spectacle to behold for the neutral and schoolboy rugby follower alike.

 

 

“Northwood started off very well with a piece of individual brilliance from their left winger Makhaza, crashing over the whitewash for their 1st score of the match. The try was not converted, which left the scoreboard at 5-0.

“College won a scrum in the middle of the field soon after the kick-off and Anele Nzimande managed to outwit his opposite number to dive over under the crossbar. Jacques van der Walt converted, putting College in the lead 7-5.

“Unfortunately, ill-discipline cost College in very kickable areas of the field and Northwood capitalized by slotting both penalty goals.

 

“The Northwood left wing Makhaza managed to cross the line again after another well-executed scrum attack from them. With that last try, Northwood were ahead by 16 points to 7 at half-time.

“Soon after the whistle for the start of the 2nd half blew, Northwood managed to capitalise on another College handling error and scored a converted try to go 21-7 up.

“College looked livelier in the 2nd half and managed to pull back an early try by Siya Ningiza in the fifth minute, converted by van der Walt for the score to read Northwood 21 Maritzburg College 14.

 

 

“College looked motivated in the 2nd half and had the lion’s share of possession for the first 20 minutes.

“College won a number of penalties, with which they were able to pin Northwood back and eventually off a lineout in the Northwood 22, Philani Simamane managed to fool the defenders with a dummy pass and cut straight through the middle of the Northwood defensive line to score College’s 3rd try. Van der Walt once again slotted the conversion which saw the scoreboard reading 23-21 to Northwood.

“With a scrum in the opposition 22 and 15 minutes to go, College looked menacing, but the ball was lost in contact and the loose ball was kicked through several times by the Northwood fullback eventually for the ball to be grounded in the College in-goal area.

 

 

“After that try against the run of play, the score saw Northwood leading by 30 points to 21.

“Even though the writing was on the wall for College, they did not stop and with space out wide Michael King managed to score a try in the corner with 4 minutes to spare, leaving Northwood 30-26 to the good.

“As the clock ticked down, College looked threatening, but as fate would have it College lost the ball in contact with one minute left.”

Northwood secured the scrum and ate up the leftover time with short pick-and-go options and the Durban North side were left to reflect that their 30-26 triumph was the first by Northwood over Maritzburg College in the school’s history.

 

The moment: Northwood supporters rush on to Goldstones to congratulate the first team on the school’s first-ever first XV victory over Maritzburg College.

 

“Northwood made better use of their chances on the day whereas College could have executed better. Congratulations to Northwood on their victory, it was a hard-fought battle and an entertaining match.”

A big KZN10.com thank you to Maritzburg College first XV head coach Cameron Fraser for the report.

 

 

Maritzburg College vs Northwood/AN Other
rugby results 9 March 2019