Maritzburg College U16 withstood an excellent Hudson Park start before coming away with a 21-5 victory after leading 10-5 at half-time. Fullback Mathew Kriel converted four important kicks at goal as College edged Hudson by two tries to one.
Maritzburg College U14 came up against a bigger, faster Menlo Park team that dominated all phases to run out 64-0 winners after leading 31-0 at half-time. Menlo flyhalf Werner Nel, centres Dylan Nysschen and Dirk Thynsma and fullback Arrie du Plessis had a field day with the quality possession provided by the forwards.
Menlo U14 coach Wouter Burger has the makings of a very, very good side that should bring much success to the school in years to come.
Hilton U16 staged a great fightback against Marais Viljoen but it wasn’t quite enough to prevent the lads from Alberton taking the honours 24-19, this after a 17-5 lead at half-time.
Kearsney U16 dominated the first half against Trinityhouse to lead 24-0 at half-time but honours were even after the changeover, the final score 31-7. Kearsney’s tries came from lock Ryan du Toit, number eight Tristan Dixon, flanker Justin Faber, loosehead Aiden Nilsen and flyhalf Callum Waberski.
Westville U14 shaded Jeppe 22-20 with a late penalty goal but it was the end-to-end action and willingness to run the ball that had the crowd applauding both teams. The teams combined to score seven tries, while Westville had to dig deep to win this one.
Hudson Park U14 coaches Clive Jafta and Dave Alers have an extremely promising side and their 41-5 win over Marais Viljoen was studded with six tries.
Trinityhouse U14 outplayed Voortrekker 31-0 after leading 24-0 at half-time, the Pietermaritzburg lads from Vories refusing to lie down in a much-improved second half.
Saturday sees the conclusion of the festival, and amongst the intriguing matches there will be much interest in the U16 clashes between Hudson and Westville at 8.30 am, and Kearsney versus Marais Viljoen at 10.50 am. The big U14 match is the 8.30 am encounter between Hudson Park and Menlo Park.
The curtain comes down on the tournament when Maritzburg College U16 face KZN Development XV at 12 noon on Goldstones, and Maritzburg College U14 face Jeppe at the same time on Snows.
The Husqvarna Skonk Nicholson Rugby Festival for U16 and U14 teams forms the final leg of the Maritzburg College 150th Winter Sports Festival after the highly successful FNB Maritzburg College 150th Rugby Festival and the Nomads Hockey Festival.
The festival is named in honour of the late, legendary James Mervyn “Skonk” Nicholson, under whose leadership Maritzburg College came to be one of the most fertile rugby nurseries in South Africa.
Possessing the gift of being able to spot talent where none saw it, and with an eagle eye when it came to unearthing players of quality in the lower-ranked age group “C” and “D” teams and so on, Maritzburg College’s beloved “Mr Chips” produced 10 unbeaten first XVs and a further 12 that lost only one match, and countless Natal and SA Schools’ players during his 35 seasons at the helm.
Overlooking Goldstone’s stands the Nicholson Arch, in tribute to Maritzburg College’s own “Mr Rugby”.
Once the Husqvarna Skonk Nicholson Rugby Festival ends Saturday there is a further boost for schoolboy rugby lovers in KZN and further afield hardly a month later when the invite-only Wildeklawer Rugby Festival for the country’s top first XVs takes place at Maritzburg College on May 2 and May 4 with 10 matches each day.
The teams taking part are Grey College, Paul Roos Gym, Paarl Boys’ High, Paarl Gim, Maritzburg College, EG Jansen, Noord-Kaap, Glenwood, Boland Landbou, HTS Drostdy, Monument, Oakdale, Diamantveld, Grey High, Wildeklawer XV, Outeniqua, Waterkloof, Affies, Framesby, and Sharks Invitational.
What an exciting prospect.
RESULTS
U16: Kearsney 31 Trinityhouse 7; Marais Viljoen 24 Hilton 19; Westville 51 KZN Development XV 0; Maritzburg College 21 Hudson Park 5.
U14: Trinityhouse 31 Voortrekker 0; Hudson Park 41 Marais Viljoen 5; Menlo Park 64 Maritzburg College 0; Westville 22 Jeppe 20.
FIXTURES
U16: Hudson vs Westville (8.30 am); Trinityhouse vs Hilton (9.40 am); Kearsney vs Marais Viljoen (10.50 am); Maritzburg College vs KZN Development XV (12 noon).
U14: Hudson vs Menlo Park (8.30 am); Marais Viljoen vs Voortrekker (9.40 am); Westville vs Trinityhouse (10.50 am); Maritzburg College vs Jeppe (12 noon).
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