27Apr 2023. Michaelhouse are brimming with confidence after an astonishing big home win of 36-10 against Glenwood.
Self-belief will be key as they attempt to do what no House team has done since 2016 – which is to beat Hilton in the great Midlands derby!
Easier said than done!
After lagging behind in KZN for a good part of the 2010’s, Hilton picked up the pace big time and reinvented themselves as a force to be reckoned with both in and outside the provincial borders.
The resurgence peaked last season with an outstanding team to fly the flag high in Hilton’s 150th birthday day. Before that 2022 season, the Covid years prevented the Midlands private from establishing their dominance in the province and producing similar season end stats. Teams build around talented key players, depth and sound tactics were the order of the day.
Michaelhouse are at home on Meadows for this big match and the many of the pundits are making them favourites. They have the manpower and with the attention to details and careful planning of James Fleming at the coaching helm, they have the strategic know-how to keep the scoreboard ticking. That’s exactly how it went down against Glenwood – a plan well executed. Contrary to expectations, a very precise House led 36-0 after 40-minutes. In the back of their minds fo their supporters and those of their greatest opponents will be the last 30-minutes when Glenwood stemmed the tide and when to read into that.
Hilton under former Currie Cup winning coach Brad Macleod-Henderson, define the word “structure”. Hilton are well-drilled. They are disciplined. They will kick for 70-minutes if they believe that will give them the upper-hand or they will do what did in a dominant first half display against St Charles on the way to a 39-10 win last weekend, where they exploited wider spaces. They enjoy physicality and they have been supreme in the operation of their suffocating defensive systems where there is huge emphasis on organisation and linespeed.
The key forward match is at no.8. Here House’s SA u18 representative Dwayne Mlaba, a big strong runner who will potentially be very influential on attack particularly if he is afforded space, takes on the very active Akhona Kunene who on his day is the best u18 forward in KZN. When Akhona applies himself, he scores top marks for carries, tackles and even stealing balls. Expect to see him close to the action a lot of the time.
In the backline, look no further than outside centre. Campbell Ridl is a tall classy player. He was player of the tournament at the international Sevens tournament in the UK before Easter, which Michaelhouse won. A talent with pace, good handling and vision. Opposing him is the very effective RD Engelbrecht, a powerfully build unit whose punchy strike runs have seen him often breaking first time tackles and giving Hilton a front-foot dimension they haven’t always possessed in the line in the past.
The halves also present interesting duels. House scrumhalf Josh Aissing has the best pass in KZN, a quick crisp accurate service which affords his composed running flyhalf Murray Baker a bit more time to make good decisions. Baker is generally a good judge when it comes to kick-run-pass. In a season in which KZN has a number of French Top 14 styled halves including Baker, none have been called on more to serve in both roles as cheeky vocal Hilton halfback Luke Watt who has shown good flexibility as both a 9 and 10 with ability. Outside him Chris Horak has been used sparingly, possibly due to fitness concerns, but is probably the leading candidate for the Craven Week role, as he has a feel for the game and exercises good sense with ball-in-hand plus he is a useful place-kicker.
@Kantman: 1,700km could be why haha
@Grasshopper: Any SS commentators on why so few games against KZN?
@Kantman: Found 3 more, it’s like finding a needle in a haystack. Glenwood vs Bishops 2014 – won 23-11, Glenwood vs Wynberg 2004 – drew 28 all and Rondebosch 2001 – won 20-12. I do think KZN vs SS would be very competitive…
@Kantman: Trying to find the stats, but I do know Glenwood beat Bishops for the 1st time in 2000, 19-11. I’ll dig more for more recent SS games
@Henkies: I had a look at Easter tournament attendance in previous years. Always a SS team at one of them, but very few games against KZN. The reason I am interested is that more games would give an indication of strength of both. SS seem to have much stronger relations with Eastern Cape and Gauteng English schools.
Probably just a distance thing …
@Kantman: I think the festivals have taken over Kantman. DHS used to play KES and Jeppe anually in the 80s and 90s but that has fallen away now with the growth of the big festivals. With Noord/Suid, Kearsney Festival and then Wildeklawer plus the regular home season, there just isn’t space for any further matches
@Kantman: I wish buddy, SACS, Wynberg, Rondebosch and Bishops would be great games. I think it’s just the distance really. But a Southern Suburb tour instead of a festival would float my boat. Grey PE & Selborne too..
@Grasshopper: I can understand a good KZN/Gauteng rivalry, makes sense based on the distance. But I see very few games, if any, between KZN and Southern Suburb schools – is there a specific reason that you know of?
@Vleis: really good point on Joburg privates, they have dropped off massively. St Stithians used to be pretty strong. I think due to smaller numbers & diversification of sports, they focus on helping kids individually. So if you love golf, badminton, clay pigeon shooting etc they bring in the expertise for that. The school gains recognition in other sports. They don’t need the sponsorship money Gov schools need through a rugby programme. I’ve always wanted an English schools Gauteng/KZN league, KES, Jeppe, PBHS & Parktown maybe vs College, Glenwood, DHS & Westville, schools of similar age, ethos & number of teams. The privates can have their own league too. Strength vs strength is key to growing thd game, giving all teams decent games
@Grasshopper: I don’t think that wealth is particularly helpful for rugby if you’re comparing privates to schools like Glenwood, Westville, HJC, Gim, etc. Indeed, I think that the standard of rugby at all the private schools in Gauteng (other than St John’s) has dropped in the past five years. This view is supported by the fact that none of them (other than SJC) play both KES and Jeppe anymore…and some don’t even play either one of them. I hope that this decline is arrested, or the point will come when an avalanche of talented gr7 rugby players will choose Hilton, SAC, MHS, KES, etc instead…and then they will all drop a tier.
@Vleis: Agreed and your commentary is a breath of fresh air in the pool of Afrikaans posts. Gosh, there should be a rooinek section on the site, English only. Maybe a KZN section. Yeah, Hilton is our oldest rival, started in 1915. College and DHS started regularly 6 years later. I do know in the early days it was actually teams that included adult teachers. Generally wealthier parents spend more on training/coaching/kit etc and then choose the best schools, so naturally they go to private schools. Maybe not in huge numbers but at least 11 for cricket and 15 for rugby. Hence these privates will always be competitive, quality vs quantity. Also, they are boarders to naturally practice more and form bonds with their teams.
@Grasshopper: Yes and no.
Re the decision to stop playing Glenwood: Every single Hilton pupil and old boy that I spoke to at the time were completely against said decision. If memory serves, the old boys managed to get rid of the headmaster who approved said decision.
Re getting the cream: Hilton will get some of the cream, but it is so expensive that it’s impossible to get too much cream unless there is a massive funding drive or an old boy opens his pockets. The latter is not sustainable as it never happens for long periods and is a fairly thankless task. Indeed, when the old boy subsequently turns the taps off, there is more gnashing of teeth than thanks for the support.
@Vleis: Definitely, not a dig at that, just about how Hilton withdrew fixtures with Glenwood when we were ‘too professional’, now it’s all fine. Lay off spending until the 175th ;-). They will always have the cream and will also produce a strong 1st team and A teams. Arguably the best school in SA…
@Grasshopper: A mate, whose kid is at Hilton, said that the bulk of Hilton’s ‘spend’ was on pupils for the 150th celebration – i.e. mainly last year’s matrics and, to a lesser extent, this year’s matrics. Thereafter, the spend reduced significantly, so the 1st team results will decline, from the current lofty levels, in future. That said, Hilton has an extremely well coached 1st team so, provided the current coaching structure remains in place, the school will continue to punch above its weight.
@Bush: My sister called on Saturday night in tears, not sure what happened. House let me down :-(. Hilton the buying machines need to be brought back down to earth. Glenwood vs College this weekend will be a cracker. My gut says College unfortunately…
@Bush: 😬😬😬😬🥶🥶
@Djou: 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣no 2 3 House from me. I’m sulking, lost everything on that final game. Even Hoppers Suster
@Bush: So no 2 3 House! Yes, the youth of today is a different breed. Wonder who are their parents? 😄😄
@beet: House made quite a few errors from being under pressure from HC. The game was going to be close and BMT was going to be the winner which HC had on the day. BMH is a great tactical coach and that showed on Saturday. House weren’t as crisp as they normally are. Any way let’s hope the away game with be W for House. Anyone visiting Meadows on such a day, just stay away from the OB Stand. The youth of today
I watched the match on Sunday. I thought the combo of Grey Fest and Wildeklawer I watched on Saturday would be an impossible act to follow but wow this Midlands derby was really good. Anyone in attendance must have had a super time. Anyone who hasn’t been to one please do yourself and go if you have the opportunity.
Anyways thankfully the AI Camera was not used. IMO Andrew Duncan is an outstanding on the go technical analyst for SBR. HE really makes a match extra entertaining to watch. He saved the production.
I really think House should review productions that only focus on their supporters and not the opposition when there are stoppages during the match.
As for the match, too good.
Hilton struck blood off two lineouts/rolling mauls in the first half.
Interestingly their second try was a pop and drive play towards the west corner near the grass bank and they got over with comparative ease to build a 17-3 lead at HT. Interesting because MHS as hard as they tried could not breach the HC defence in that same area late on in the game, when the score was 20-17 and the home team was chasing the winning try. HC defence was just too good in that last passage and throughout the match. House even had a penalty right in front of the posts that they turned down to earn a draw.
During the match the MHS scrum was very dominant. Last year the HC scrum struggled on the TH with Snyman against most opposition but in this match their whole scrum was under pressure from the start. MHS even won a few turnovers from the scrum. The MHS frontrow were impressive in the setpiece and even in open play they looked like the three players most capable of breaking defensive lines and they combined well. MHS had plenty of ball. Aissing at 9 must have made 2x maybe 2.5x as many passes from the base as his opposite number Watt. Mlaba was MOTM. Carried well and a lot but mainly into well guarded lines and was stopped time and time again. Mlaba and Mpofu’s best moments are when MHS has designs that create space for either of these two to exploit. HC were too organised to allow this. Baguley the MHS 12 was also noticeable with ball in hand. It wasn’t really a day for the 13s.
So the lesson learnt is scrums don’t win you SBR matches.
Good lineouts and mauls do. Good strike plays do. In the first half MHS had two opportunities to attack via lineouts in good positions and messed up both.
Good defence as witnessed by Grey and Garsfontein in that epic match on Saturday and today, that can take you a long way towards winning a match. HC may be the masters of this.
In SBR breakdown pilfer turnovers are HUGE. They are common and effective. HC got a few decent ones. It was interesting to see Hanru Pieterse the HC lock getting in on the act here. If I was a KZN selector I would be inquisitive about his 40m time because he is a decent lineout option, he’s useful carrier and if he steals more than his fair share of ball as well, it adds value to him as a 7 option for CW.
Pity there had to be a winner and loser on Meadows but it really good advert for SBR.
@Skywalker: 100% agree with you. Credit to Hilton – really well coached and their first half performance was on point. They double/triple teamed Mlaba at the end and a skip pass or a pass behind his back might have been the option but in the heat of battle those things are more clear afterwards. Interestingly some candid admissions from Hilton players afterwards that the “held up” call was actually a try. Such is sport, though
Soo close. That final 10-15 mins was edge of your seat stuff. Hilton deserved the win with their defence on their own line for so long at the end there. If Mhouse had actually skipped Mlaba and gone behind him they had about a 3 man overlap out wide to win it. Learnings for next time. But great exciting derby.
With Hilton having upped their recruitment and pulled so far ahead of House for the last few years, they had no choice but to respond and do the same… This has been building and I tip them to win at least 1 this year. Tomorrow could be it.
Picked up the pace = injection of money & recruiting in Gauteng. Yes, they got mashed by Glenwood & then said no they too professional so won’t play them, then the year after, work on a programme to ensure they have the best team possible by their 150th. Now they are not too professional. It’s funny how it’s ok now for schools to do this…
Certainly, the highlight of KZN rugby this weekend and it promises to be a cracker of a game. I guess the only concern here is that the occasion gets the better of both sides and the nerves take over. Based on performances so far, both House and Hilton are among the premier KZN sides this season- ironically clashing over the same weekend as the premier schools rugby festival…Wildeklawer. Wonder if either or both will ever attend