The huge crowd that had gathered at Goldstones to enjoy the Maritzburg College 150th Reunion Day match against Glenwood was treated to a brand of all-out attacking schoolboy rugby. The action was literally non-stop. The match was played at a furious pace. Eleven tries were scored and the lead changed hands no fewer than seven times with the outcome being decided in the last move of the game, when Glenwood scored a try in the right-hand corner to clinch a 44-40 victory.
The man to thank for the relentless pace was none other than international referee Craig Joubert who once again lived up to his school rugby reputation of somehow managing bring out the very best disciple in players at the breakdown. His outstanding management of the rucks, an area of play at school level where a lot of society refs tend to find plenty of reasons to pull the trigger, resulted in continuity and flowing rugby. In open exchanges the players on attack did not disappoint one bit. Their handling on the day was superb. Passing was of the highest calibre. The vision, the support play and lines run by players off the ball very good, as too was the strength in the contact. Most impressive of all was the ability of both teams to execute at pace.
It was however not a day for defensive coordinators or those who were responsible for tackling technique. First time tackles were missed right, left and centre, with emphasis on the word “centre” as this turned out to be the most profitable route to go when trying to find holes.
In the end, those present got to enjoy a memorable game on a very special day for Maritzburg College.
|
MIN |
SCORE |
DETAILS |
|
1 |
0-3 |
Glenwood gets pinged for not rolling away. This after a good College rolling maul steered from the back by Jacques Conradie. Marcel Coetzee converts the penalty. Jacques Conradie makes an excellent start to the game and features prominently in number of the attacks in the first half. |
|
3 |
5-3 |
College hoofs the first of their many aimless kicks up field. With the dangerous Glenwood back trio of Sparks Ngcobo, Morne Joubert and Corne Vermaak not needing second invites to run the ball back at College, the tactic seems suicidal. From a well recycled ball Glenwood’s Curtis Jonas threads a pass through to Joubert who then feeds Vermaak. The outstanding fullback scores in the left corner but can’t convert the effort. |
|
5 |
5-10 |
It would turn out to be a miserable afternoon for College fullback Kelvin Elder but during his 32-minutes on the park, he delivered an outstanding performance. This try came about as a result of a meaningless Glenwood kick ahead. College run the ball back with determination and centre Marcel Coetzee was instrumental. Good passing advanced the game from the College half to near the Glenwood tryline. Elder received the ball on the big blindside and weaved his way by a few defenders to score the try. M. Coetzee converted. |
|
9 |
5-10 |
This spell of play just emphasized the nature of the game. Action started with College centre Simon Culverwell taking the ball flat as part of a set move after a scrum. The hosts clearly targeted the region in which Curtis Jonas has to defend and it worked. However the promising attack was thwarted by a Waylon Hypolite (flank) turnover. This sparked a counter-attack brought to life by Corne Vermaak stepping passed defenders inside his own 22-metre area, then kicking ahead over the secondary defensive line and chasing. It looked on as Vermaak outstripped the defence in pursuit of his own kick but even his good speed was no match for the turbo that powered College wing Lindo Ngcobo who overtook Vermaak and saved the day for the home team. What would turn out to be a strange phenomenon of the game was that neither of the three best finishers on the field Lindo Ncgobo, his teammate Banele Ngwenya and opposite number Sparks Ngcobo scored a try. They did make some telling contributions though. |
|
10 |
5-10 |
Glenwood’s initial lineout work was poor. Ball to Kevin de Klerk did not have the desired effect. |
|
12 |
5-10 |
College attempt to shift the ball inside their own 22m area. A knock-on gifted Glenwood possession from a scrum in a good position. Initially Glenwood did well but College unveiled their best defensive weapon on the day, the counter-ruck. On this occasions and several others during the match, the College team forced Glenwood to concede ball the latter took into the ruck by committing players and driving Glenwood off the ball on the deck. |
|
15 |
8-10 |
College flank Hayden Tharratt is one of the young players that seems to be getting stronger and more influential by the game. However on this play he is unable to stay on his feet and impeded when he fell over in a ruck. Vermaak slotted the penalty for Glenwood. |
|
17 |
8-10 |
Catching and controlling a contested kick-off is a set-piece that’s vital for the receiving team to master. During this game it proved to be a major weakness for College however at this particular restart, it was Glenwood that knocked on. The turned over ball got to Lindo Ngcobo who broke the line, not for the last during the match either. From there College recycled front-foot ball and the end result was a long pass out right to Marcel Coetzee who had room on the outside if he could win his one-on-one duel with last line defender Sparks Ngcobo. Ngcobo did brilliantly though. He tackled Coetzee high up and with the aid of Joubert shepherded the blonde College centre into touch near the corner flag. |
|
21 |
8-10 |
Not often but over a long period of time, one is bound to see a similar high scoring, high quality attacking school rugby game to this game but chances are you could go through your entire life and never see another unbroken passage of play like this one. It was insane. The very fact that the players were not flat on their backs sucking for air once it ended is testimony to the good work put in by both conditioning coaches in preparing the teams because it was energy sapping stuff. It started with Jonas stepping and breaking. Glenwood went from well inside their area to deep in College territory. College got the ball back and Elder started their attack. No.8 Darren Goodsen was also prominent in the move. Once well back in the Glenwood half, the visitors won the ball back and this time their no.8 Jaco Coetzee carried it up well. It was crazy good rugby. So much happened and so much ground got covered without the whistle blowing that a stenographer would have had trouble keeping up if trying to record it all. The only sad part was that the long play ended Jaco Coetzee’s game as he appeared to leave the field with a shoulder injury. |
|
24 |
8-10 |
Centre Mkululeko Mcuma broke the line and Glenwood achieved really good continuity but at the crucial moment a counter-ruck turned the ball over to College. |
|
27 |
8-10 |
Glenwood ran the ball and Sparks Ngcobo cut inside before he chipped ahead. Elder was left to run back and tidy up near the tryline with Ngcobo closing him down quickly. The fullback did ever so well to retrieve the ball, get rid of the threat of Ngcobo and then carry it back upfield as part of a counter-attack. |
|
30 |
13-10 |
Maritzburg College inspired by a good run by their captain Seko Buthelezi and with the momentum continued by Simon Culverwell where primed to continue the assault from the next phase but a moment of hesitation and a slow 1-2 between flyhalf Jordan Koekemoer and prop Tiaan Steyn, lost the go-forward energy and invited the Glenwood backs to close the space. The result was an intercept try by wing Morne Joubert when College threw a longer pass. |
|
32 |
16-10 |
From the next kick-off came the moment that probably changed the outcome of the game. Glenwood flyhalf Jonas fed the ball to centre Akona Nela, who found a gap and ran from 22m to 22m. Here Elder tip-tackled him. Referee Joubert had little choice but to show the College fullback a red card and reduce the home team to 14 players for the remaining 38 minutes of the game. Vermaak converted the relatively easy penalty. Remarkably with one player short College would go on to outscore Glenwood 30-28 once play restarted. |
|
33 |
16-10 |
Glenwood scrumhalf Kwazi Khanyile started an attack which saw Nela gain starring with the ball in hand. |
|
35 |
16-17 |
Glenwood chipped ahead but Goodsen collected and carried the ball back strongly. College eventually got deep into the Glenwood redzone where they won a penalty. They opted for a tap and go. Seko Buthelezi crashed over under the posts. Marcel Coetzee converted. |
|
Halftime |
16-17 |
A halftime note made reads incredible game. In anticipation of the second half being a one-sided affair there is a further note that states “first half of the KZN season.” Who could have predicted that College with one player short could deliver such an inspired second half performance in a open game of this nature. |
|
36 |
|
Vermaak gets the ball. With the aid of a dummy he dissects two defenders and sets off on a long run. However once deep inside College territory he fails to look around for support. Turnovers in this game proved to be deadly as both teams adopt a Crusaders rugby like approach to attacking off quickly turned ball. |
|
39 |
16-20 |
Coetzee slots a penalty won as a result of Glenwood being offside after a lineout. |
|
41 |
23-20 |
College fails to catch the kickoff. In a flash Khanyile whips it out to Jonas who finds Nela. The extra man advantage in the line is utilised to the fullest extent by Glenwood as Nela runs in untouched. Vermaak converts |
|
43 |
30-20 |
Jonas appears to drift a bit and then suddenly changes angle of attack by using his good footwork. In doing so he gets passed the rushing up defensive line. With very little by way of defenders left ahead, another of his accurate passes then finds Vermaak. Although Jonas then doubled around to the outside and is open, the confident Vermaak does not see him and cuts back inside. College is able to scrag the fullback but he makes a one-handed offload to Mcuma on the inside. Mcuma goes in under the sticks and Vermaak converts the try. At this point Glenwood appears to be firmly in control now and heading for a big win. |
|
46 |
30-20 |
College loses Marcel Coetzee to injury |
|
47 |
30-25 |
College wins untidy ball from an attacking lineout set up after a penalty. They recover and go through a series of patient and well co-ordinated pick and drives, each one gaining a little bit of ground. Finally prop Tiaan Steyn picks up and makes the hard yards over the line for a try. Koekemoer’s first kick at goal is charged down |
|
48 |
30-25 |
College again fails to control ball from the kickoff. |
|
52 |
30-28 |
By this stage College are showing tremendous fighting spirit. This is proven when replacement flank le Roux works hard and wins a turnover, from which in line with the prevailing attitude on the day, they attack. Eventually in a good field position, Glenwood gets penalised for not rolling away. Koekemoer makes no mistake with a well struck kick. |
|
56 |
30-28 |
A poorly directed tactical kick by College provides Sparks Ngcobo with an opportunity to counterattack. Then Glenwood lock Vidima errs by backing himself to carry the ball up when there are numbers on the overlap on his outside. Finally College wins a penalty during this passage of play. From 45m out and on the cricket pitch Koekemoer connects well but misses left. |
|
57 |
37-28 |
Glenwood restart with a deep kick from their 22m. College carries it back up but the ball gets turned over by Glenwood at the ruck. Once again in a flash, its ball from the base this time to Hypolite to Morne Joubert, who with the help of the angle he picks, beats the defensive line and runs in for a try. Vermaak adds the extras. |
|
60 |
37-35 |
College scores a wonderful team effort try. Again they use the pick and drive to good effect in the redzone before spreading it wide. At the next point of breakdown, they rumble it forward again. They then attack on the open side and memorable part is the good handling and accurate offloads in tight spaces by forwards, that eventually paves the way for lock Wian Jacobs to score near the upright. Koekemoer converts. The momentum in the game has now clearly shifted and its Glenwood who look to be struggling under the pressure. |
|
66 |
37-40 |
The loudest moment and arguably the best try of the match. In open play Vermaak places what looks like an intelligent diagonal tactical kick into the corner for wing Joubert to chase. In his eagerness to get to the bouncing ball first Joubert over-commits and when Banele Ngwenya beats him to it, it leaves a large unguarded open space in front of the College wing. He uses it and finds support ball to the inside where the likes of le Roux and another replacement Jason Alexander handles before it gets to Darren Goodsen. At that point it seemed like nothing would not have stopped the tough and determined College no.8, who was a shock omission from final KZN Craven Week trials. Inspired by the roar of the home crowd and despite the attentions of defenders, Goodsen dug deep and just kept on going until he eventually got there. Mind over matter stuff. It was a surreal moment. The full emotion of the 150th Reunion Day came to the fore. |
|
70 |
44-40 |
The kickoff does not appear to be going 10m but College touches the ball and its “play on!” Glenwood wins it back and goes left. Inside the College 22m they win a penalty. It’s decision time for Glenwood captain Wandi Mazibuko. Both games between the schools in 2012 ended in draws. Mazibuko turns down the option to kick at goal and bravely choses to go for touch and sets up a lineout. Glenwood wins the lineout and goes wide and right. Here with room on the outside Morne Joubert keeps Banele Ngwenya, the only College defender with the chance to stop him honest by shaping to go inside before accelerating towards the corner flag on the outside. He dives over for the match winner. Corne Vermaak lands the difficult conversion. |
|
|
44-40 |
Final score. What a match! |
must say , if there is a video of this game , would love to get hold of a copy
@Grasshopper:
But Premier Interschools is dependant on the strength of the schools instead of tradition and both schools are quite strong at the moment!
It’s the Classic Clash that doesn’t make any sense. But nonetheless, FNB will be sponsoring the match and that’s how it is. Good luck to DHS for this weekend! They’ll need it!!
@HORSEFLY NO.1: It’s not really a ‘classic’ clash but these days they call anything a classic clash. Even the Glenwood vs Monnas game this weekend is a Premier interschools when the schools have only played each other about 5 times….
I see DHS vs Kearsney is a Classic Clash this year…anyone know the reason for this?? Is it because DHS usually pull their game up for Kearsney games?
@Ruggersake: It was a full out attacking game. College had to go on the offensive, they were a man short for most of the game, so they defended up in the opposition faces. Glenwood have great pace and once they broke the College defensive line they were through. There was no way College was going to close the game down at home on this day, so the result was a massive exhibition of schoolboy running rugby.
I would like to get the stats, see how many stoppages there were for lineouts and set scrums, as well as how many penalties. Very few I think, but I stand corrected.
There was a quote from a spectator after the match, he wanted to ask Craig Joubert how it compared to the internationals he had reffed – if this was harder simply due to the frenetic pace of the match.
There is a video of the match, I hope that it becomes available for all.
Was this a high scoring affair due to a lack of defensive strutures?
Tries on demand !
that’s how I would remember this special day
special for College on their 150 th
special for Glenwood winning this one –
there goes the moustache ! I bet the lightie that
College would win this one – if I was wrong the moustache was history
Tries on demand – when College needed a try they scored – when Glenwood needed a try – they scored and boy did we need that last try !!
As a Glenwood Old Boy this day will never be forgotten – The win capped a truly memorial day – the Vibe was epic – the College Old Boys doing their Warcry – The parachutists , the Harvards and the Red bull stunt plane , the streaker……..
thanks Grasshopper. Interesting – on the day, i seemed to get the feeling that Glenwood was having the upper hand, but agree that most games were very evenly matched and contested.
The KES stat is interesting. Looking forward to the return match (perhaps i’ll win my beer back from Greenblooded on the day :D)
@Rugger fan:
College vs KES, just to give some perspective;
Played: 24
KES won 7
College won 17
71% win ratio
Points for College: 603 (avg 25)
Points for KES: 349 (avg 15)
This shows how closely matched KES and Glenwood would be and why that fixture is far better than one against Affies or Grey Bloem where only the A teams can compete.
@Rugger fan:
Played 26
Glenwood won 11
College won 14
Drawn 1
42% of fixtures won
Points for: 399 ( avg 15)
Points against: 597 (avg 23)
So College had the better of the day, especially in the lower teams but in the return fixture Glenwood should be able to reverse this. College picked their game up in many teams for this special day and it showed, especially in the Under14A which I expected a bigger win for Glenwood. Well done to both schools for 26 games on the day and for them being mostly competitive
Great report Beet. It was an absolute epic. SBR at its best.
One must not forget all the other matches played on the day either. Two very evenly matched schools.
The 22-all draw of the 2nd XV was also great. I think thr Green machine had the edge on the day (not sure of results from all fixtures), but every game I watched was an epic.
Craig Joubert was sublime, and the resolve of the College team to not crumble after the red card was really admirable.
Thanks to Glenwood for an amazing day. it is not often when one loses onthe scoreboard, but still feel elated and happy knowing that rugby won.
@Tigger: The photos show that he went down hard on the shoulder and then had a largish player land on the same shoulder. When he stood up again the pain was evident. It wasn’t as bad as a collar bone as he lifted one of the other players when the final whistle blew.
@GreenBlooded: With all the hype at the game, I was very relieved to see how well Craig Joubert controlled the game which helped in controlling the spectators. He came across as calm and confident and many of the photos show him smiling. I also appreciated that he didn’t slow the game down and allowed the boys to run and give us the try fest that it was. Overall I admired the fact that there were no real ‘handbags’ during the game.
Wouldn’t mind watching that game again without my camera in front of me.
@Beet: Fantastic report once again. Your comment on Craig Joubert is bang on the money – he facilitated the spectacle we all witnessed and should take a bow for that. I don’t know that a Midlands Society ref would have handled the pressure of the occassion and made the difficult call which he did.
Monday morning and I am still numb from the excitement. My nerves were shot to shreds at the end and I’ll freely admit to being a little emotional on the final whistle. As many have said – it’s a pity there had to be a loser there because every one of those players was a winner. Spare a thought for young Kelvin Elder who must have the weight of the world on his young shoulders. I hope that his mates and the school will take him into their arms and console him and bring him back to fight another day. It was a mistake – nothing more, nothing less. Sometimes the pressure on these youngsters seems totally out of kilter.
The sad thing is, that is as good as it gets. It sets the benchmark for SBR. Don’t think that will be eclipsed for a long time. Said the same 2 years ago however – same place, same teams, same occassion and also an international referee.
@RBugger
He injured his shoulder, when he came off he was holding it as if he had injured his collarbone. he was definately in a lot of pain. Spoke to him briefly after the game and he was still in quite a lot of pain, will have to wait and see, hopefully he can still play on Saturday.
@beet: Great articke beet, could not be there and feel like kicking myself for missing this game. Beet, I see Jaco Coetzee went off again. Do you know what happened to him? I do not want to harp on this matter, but as I have said before, he seems to come off the field a lot of times!
Any Glenwood boy know why?
This was an epic, not for the faint hearted. Both teams gave their all and there was some brilliant rugby from both teams. College can be proud of the way they fought to keep in the game and the way they never gave up. As one who loves the game of rugby, this was a spectacle of note and when the dust has settled and the final whistle blown it seems a pity that there has to be a loser. One does feel for the College lads as there must have bben enormous pressure on their 150th Old Boys day. The Glenwood lads also must have been under considerable pressure to justify their KZN Schools selections. But Glenwood has felt that dissapointment of being beaten by a last minte penalty plenty of times in the past and this time it is a game to savour for a long time. However, having climbed this mountain, another mountain stands ahead less than a week away in the form of Monument. The Glenwood coaches need to think carefully about the tactic of running the ball in their own 25. It nearly cost us dearly. Having said all that congratulations to all the boys and coaches from both schools for a wonderful day’s school rugby at its best.
Must have been some game
Well done Glenwood, having been at Goldstones and see a Victory by the Green Machine from coming from being down, after all hope seems lost was great, feedback on this game was that it was just as it should have been a Classic,
Well done both Teams, but a relief that GW took it in the End
If anyone has a recording of the game, please let me know and the team sheets would be good
Was really looking forward to hearing about the Goodson vs Coetzee battle at #8 so very unfortunate to hear that Jaco went out so early in the match! Does seem that Daryn had a cracker of a game though! Unlucky College but you can be proud of yourselves on everything that unfolded during that match and on the day! I think that you were the overall winners on the day and that not a single spectator should have left there feeling unfulfilled . Can only hope DHS has as great a year in 2016 and as epic a Founders Day!
I missed this Clash unfortunately,but from what I’m hearing and reading it was an epic game. I know its still early stages but I can’t wait for the return clash at Dixon.
Great write up again, gives me a good idea of what unfolded! Sounded like an epic, one to be remembered for many years! Well done to both sides