Match Report I College vs KES

The Maritzburg College U16A side turned around a challenging halftime position to win their match against KES 17-12. Theo Boshoff gave his all in this dive for the tryline.

For the 2nd weekend in a row, around 700 Maritzburg College boys headed out of province, this time up to King Edward VII School (KES) for the annual sport exchange. College secured 14 wins from the 21 matches played, including the U14A, U15A, and U16A. The 2nd and 1st XV teams, battling with a number of injured players, both lost their matches.

1st XV match report (Mr Tim Orchard – 1st XV coach)

It was quickly evident that travelling up to the Highveld twice in two weeks had taken its toll on the Maritzburg College 1st XV. They struggled to find their legs in the first half of the match and before they knew it, were 19-0 down in as many minutes after a rampant KES side had left their usually stout defence in tatters.

KES were very much “up” for the match and played at an intensity that Maritzburg College battled to match for much of the game. KES opened the scoring by pinning the away side deep in their own half, a College clearance was kicked out nearly on the halfway line allowing KES to launch an attack. Invention by their SA Schools flyhalf created a mismatch out wide, the tackle was missed, and the KES player dived over to open the scoring in front of a packed stand full of joyful Old Edwardians. KES struck again straight away from the resulting restart when a very narrow College defence was exploited by their flyhalf Moyo, who shifted the ball quickly to the lefthand edge to put his speedsters away. A desperate College defender missed his tackle, and the KES fans were ecstatic with the double hammer blow they had just inflicted on their visitors. The score stood at 12-0 to the home team after just six minutes of play.

College tried manfully to get back into the match after a driving maul was brought down agonisingly close to the KES line. From the resulting breakdown the College forwards hammered away at their opponents but a knock on at a wide ruck gifted the ball back to their opponents who cleared their lines to relieve the pressure. College again was pinned deep in their half and from a clearance kick, KES were able to score their third try of the match. From the resulting lineout out a series of smartly executed offloads found their way into their scrumhalf’s hands who scampered away to score underneath the goalposts, with the kick a formality, and KES now had a commanding 19-0 lead.

College hit back eventually when Ntsika Mkize chased down a seemingly lost cause and dotted the ball down when a kick was charged down and dribbled into the in-goal area before the KES defenders had a chance to do so. The kick was converted, and the score stood at 19-7. From the resulting restart, KES opted to kick the ball short where it was regathered by one of their players who out jumped the College players. The ball was recycled and after a barnstorming run the score quickly became 26-7 when the kick was converted as the halftime hooter sounded.

Normal service resumed quickly after the second half commenced when College placed the KES scrum under massive pressure but the ball somehow managed to find itself to their flyhalf’s hands. With a deft touch, he played the ball back inside to their leftwing who sprinted clear of a several College defenders to score his hattrick with thirty minutes of the match remaining. The score now stood at 33-7. Eventually in the fiftieth minute College hit back through their powerful scrum. With the KES defence on the back foot through the power of the College scrum, Raayke Maartens darted over to score the simplest of tries which was converted by James Slevin to put the score at 33-14.

It was KES who scored the next points of the match when they again exploited a narrow College defence to put their left wing away for his fourth try of the match. The kick was converted, and the score now stood at 40-14. College hit back again after a penalty was tapped to allow their powerful forwards to hammer away at the KES defence. This paid off when number 12 Nkululeko Sithole exploited a defence on its heels to score College’s third try of the match and put the score at 40-21.

KES had the last laugh though, when a stolen lineout was quickly recycled and kicked ahead. The bounce was very fortuitous for the home side and bounced into their hands, such was the luck for College the entire match, and was scored in the far-right corner where the kick was missed.

When the final whistle sounded, KES had secured a 45-21 win.

Maritzburg College 21
Tries: Mkize, Maartens and Sithole
Conversions: Slevin x2, Thackwray

King Edward V High School 45

Photo by: Justin Waldman Sport Photography

King Edward VII School, Maritzburg College

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Match Report I College vs KES

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