With most of the key KZN interschools matches done and dusted for 2023, Hilton remains unbeaten in the province and therefore holds the lead in the race to be KZN champions, going into the season ending Midlands derby against Michaelhouse on Gilfillan on 17 June. Technically Michaelhouse can still overtake Hilton to be crowned KZN champs. In a remarkable local season dominated by the two privates, the Balgowan boys have to win this rematch to contra losing the first meeting 17-20 to Hilton on the Meadows at the end of April. Achieve this and it’s the great debate time about who is tops but by having one more local interschools match (Westville), it might convince most that House beating 8 of the KZN top league schools is worth slightly more than the Black and White beating 7 of them.
For Hilton it has been a fifth complete season in a row of outstanding local form and it could well have been seven in a row, had it not been for Covid. An outstanding turnaround in fortunes after the rugby programme appeared to be stuttering along and creating more headlines out of controversial decisions than good rugby by the mid-2010’s.
Coach Brad Macleod-Henderson’s best season in charge?
The not to be forgotten feature of 2023 is that Hilton on paper had beatable team in a school sport where inconsistency is the name of the game. Somehow the team bonded so well, had a high level of discipline and found the character to overcome every obstacle barring the one posed by Jeppe at an Easter Festival in Gauteng. KZN itself is not the same league it once was. Nowadays just about every one of the Top 10 packs a punch of some sort. Durban High School and Maritzburg College have been particularly strong this season. Glenwood, strong on paper, defined what it means to be inconsistent on the field of play. Northwood are building towards a good things in 2024 means constant improvement and Kearsney, worthy opponents but often unlucky in some of their outcomes. There were no pushovers. So to deal with the challenges so successfully deserves praise.
So 2023 may not go down as Brad Macleod-Henderson’s most successful one in terms of record but it must surely be defined as his best one of his two spells as head coach. The highest rating you can bestow on a schoolboy rugby coach is for taking a team and turning them into overachievers.
The 2018 Hilton team went unbeaten but did not play the formidable Glenwood due to a controversial and unpopular school policy decision.
The 2022 Hilton team was outstanding. It had talent written all over it and grand-slammed KZN, claiming a national Top 10 finish.
2023 with it’s question-marks over the pack size and very little going on in the back-3, just looked like they were going to be there for the taking but refused to lay down and submit to anyone.
When Brad first appeared on the scene, no one could get past his alleged seven-figure salary. Claimed to be the biggest waste of money, there was no ways the court of public opinion was ever going to cut him any slack and help grow his reputation. Now years later, that earnings talk is past tense and replaced with admiration for the work he is doing. Not everyone has been a fan of the style of play he prefers but they are of the results he gets out of his players in terms of their trust in his game-plans and their abilities to execute it to an unusually high level of precision for schoolboys.
Ranking the Hilton teams that completed a full season, dating back to 2010.
(Overseas opponents and Independent Schools Festival matches omitted)
@Bush: Well done House. Glenwood will never take 80 from House, well not in my lifetime. In 1936 we lost 3-42 and in 1992 3-39, the biggest losses ever. That 1936 result is probably the equivalent of a 70 point loss today.
@Henkies: She retired. Hearing good things about the new guy from Queens College and the OBs are being rounded up now, call to action. Can’t compete with the old money of House and Hilton, but I’m sure we can certainly help a bit, as Tesco says ‘Every little bit helps’….
I called the win! Enjoy!😃
@Djou: It’s always Lekker to win❤️❤️❤️, House was very disciplined today, that may have been difference today.
@Bush: 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
@Kaya 85: What was a little disappointing was the backchatting with the ref on every call, just take your punishment and move. What a game. 2 great sides, who’s the best in KZN? All I see is Red and White🏆
GW would have got 80 points from these 2 teams today. Machine
2 3 House
Well done Michaelhouse.
18 -15
Took the game to Hilton, knew they had to hold on to the ball, or suffer the consequences. Played with more focus, defended like absolute Trojans at the end.
@Grasshopper: Yes defo Grassy I hear you. 7 years – tough when the company know they have you over a barrel and you aren’t going anywhere. Well it’s paid off for you and you can do your own thing now – nice work fella. What happened to Glenwood’s last head – was she not quite the right fit or did she choose to move on early?
@Henkies: Understood, be more empathetic. I did work to get my UK citizenship, it wasn’t easy. Took me 7 years having to work for the same company, who knew this and underpaid me. So it wasn’t a silver spoon. The terms I use are from my mates back there, most of whom are gatvol now. It’s not me sitting here pointing fingers. I’ve worked hard to make my life here a success and it is. Leaving ‘home’ isn’t easy, so local there also need to be empathetic and stop with the ‘running away’ argument. For me it’s all about the future of our children, I need them to have the best future possible and I just don’t see that in SA, especially equal opportunity. If okes are loving it there, great and that means they probably living more in the moment. I am a planner, so think 10 to 20 years ahead. SA siding with Russia & China will only have one outcome. No AGOA, no chance. NHI……the list is endless. Anyway, I enjoy reading the comments, not here to cause a stir, just banter and teasing at times. My DHS buddies are my best. I mean GOBs diss each other.
Hey Grassy you can’t be surprised at a bit of pushback surely. I’m sure a good portion of blokes on this forum still live in SA and are all doing the best they can. Not everyone can leave the UK and I’m sure many guys are happy in SA and don’t want to leave anyway. I’m in the UK but I’d never refer to my old town as “Dirtbin” or Pinetown as ” Crimetown” or the comments about Pietermaritzburg. We all know SA has its challenges but everyone there is trying hard to make the most of it. Maybe a slightly lighter tone would go down better matey as you’ve got lots good schoolboy rugby Intel that you share here 👍
@Dixon’s: Yet, you think it’s fine to diss a fellow OB for having an opinion, nice one boet. Not really in the spirit of OGA. Hilton are our oldest rival so always have respect for them, even if they come from a more privileged background.
@Kaya 85: i saw what they had to say. But i wanted to see if any Hilton parents or old boys had an opinion to share. At the Glenwood v Hilton game i sat in my usual spot in front of the pool and as the day went on i got surrounded by Hilton parents. Seemed like a good bunch of people who where enjoying the day and their teams on field success but other than a few hellos indidnt get to converse with any of them.
@ForeverHorseFly: oh TX, didn’t realize he played CW last year, …well he has a chance to build a career for himself now
@ForeverHorseFly: Hoping he doesn’t go the Curwin Bosch route…..
@Kaya 85: Boesak made Craven Week last year. u19 this year so I guess it’s a good thing to bring him into the Sharks u19 fold now in preparation for u20 next year.
@Dixon’s: Lesson learned.
@Dixon’s: Read Skywalker and Hopper’s explanations at the start…gave plenty insight into HC and BMC, and how they built their program…
The other fact to consider is the high attrition rate these days…injuries getting worse and more often, the guys are getting more powerful bigger hits. I see DHS ‘s 10 Boesak is all over the news getting selected for Sharks u19…he doesn’t even need CW to get a pro contract.
@Dixon’s: From his high horse…..gotta love a GOB that disses another GOB, not many of them but there are a few….
all of you have made the classic blunder that people have been making for years on this blog… and that is too have a different point of view to or old friend Grasshopper. nothing will raise your blood pressure higher than trying to have any sort of rational debate with this ou. he will harp on forever and a day about how Glenwood and Musgrave are run down areas and how Maritburg Colleges boarding establishment is the secret to their success and how his uncle played in a unbeaten side in 1965. he has successfully hijacked a post about Hilton College and sucked all of you down his rabbit hole of crazytalk. i suggest dont try and engage with him, he doesnt speak for 99.99% of Glenwood supporters/old boys.
gong back to the topic at hand, are their any Hilton fans here who have an opinion about the current state of the rugby at hilton and how it was achieved? would love to hear you thoughts, and in particualr about the financing of it? not trying to stir any shit, just want to hear am imsiders opinion!
@Grasshopper: Well done to them. That being said, it seems like there’s been a good few injuries in that CW side since it was announced. Hope not too many big name players are out
@Kaya 85: The EP player is actually Boarder Craven Week as Hudson park is Boarder and not EP, that was my mistake.
Keegan Goosen and Kane Plaskett-Burn have been called up to join the KZN Craven Week team. Go Green! Justice….
@ForeverHorseFly: coming back to those players who played Border CW u13, Sharks at GK, and now CW u18 at WP or EP….yikes, I knew schools are recruiting but 3 provinces in 4,5 years…is this normal?
@TJ: classical clueless ostrich comment, like it’s easy to emigrate. I feel privileged & happy every day that I left & have given my kids the best equal future possible. You could pay me enough to go back to Dirtbin. I don’t wish I was there I have my own teams to support here in Harpenden. Glenwood is not what I knew it to be, a very different place. Good luck to all those schools, I watch from afar. As for your opinion, it’s meaningless to me, like water off a ducks back! Red, Black, White…..College!
@Grasshopper: Oh Grassy how I have (not) missed you. I see you still haven’t changed your tune after all these years. You keep on slandering the schools that are making the difference here in the Kingdom of the Zulu but still bang on the drum about the good old days when the Wood was into woodworking in a big way. Rather keep mum about life when you tucked your tail and ran, I think secretly you would love to be back on Umbilo cheering on your favourite team😉
@ForeverHorseFly: Because they stuck in SA (no other option) or are ostriches, yes. I saw for myself, probably 50 boys in Blackmores, which to me is pretty empty. Half glass full or glass half empty. I do know Grey Bloem is up to 5x oversubscribed. If I was going to send my son to a BE in a Gov school it would be College, dedicated houses per year group. The degradation of the Berea, Umbilo and Glenwood is shocking. I would be worried parking my bakkie outside of DHS or Glenwood….but in Paarl or Stellies I would be fine with it…
@Grasshopper: I guess all those boarders I know from before 10 years ago weren’t really boarders and were just pretending to be if it was empty.
And I didn’t say enrollment is better than anywhere else, I said there are more boys at the school now than ever before with the boarding house increasing capacity as a result as well.
Where you send your son is your own choice, plenty of grade 8 parents every year seem to disagree though from DHS, Glenwood and College.
@ForeverHorseFly: Well done Horsie, great stuff. The years have gone by quickly and yes probably 10 years ago (my bad), but it was run down and was empty. I highly doubt enrollment is more than anywhere else, the location is dodgy at best. Glenwood’s too. Like walled gardens in rubbish areas. I would not send my son to either Glenwood or DHS, in fact College too. Super dodge areas and I was in Musgrave a few months ago. College is Maritzburg maybe even worse. In SA, I think private is the only way to go….
@Grasshopper: If your uncle really is on the board, then clearly what your uncle shares with you and what you choose to share on this blog is all hyperbole…its impossible for Blackmore house to have been “run down” five years ago when it had a major refurbishment less than 10 years ago, 2014 I believe it was. As for being “empty”…there is a big difference between not at capacity and empty, the number of students as whole in the school were down during the tough times which is all in the distant past now.
As your uncle is on the board I’m sure you know school enrollment is at an all time high at the school including Blackmore, and capacity in Blackmore was recently increased to cater for it as well with a new grade 8 dormitry.
@Skywalker: Agreed, hence Westville buying houses in Jan Hofmeyr Drive to house boarders. Glenwood are planning to do the same. Northwood are lucky in position, as the wealthy in gated estates in Ballito, will send their kids there due to location, if they don’t go private of new school (Ashton, Curro etc). Where you recruit at grade 8 level is open field, go anywhere. I would even try the Northern Cape. Go on schools who can recruit from all over.
@Grasshopper: I think to be fair Glenwood may not have recuited from the EC as much as others, but they did recuit from other areas. I would say other KZN schools have finally joined them as the pioneers of professionalising schoolboy rugby the way they did years ago. It’s taken time, but the wheel has turned and now every school has realised that talented rugby boys can be found anywhere, and if they can house them and put the right coaching structures in place they can also ‘level up’ their rugby ambitions.
@ForeverHorseFly: No I’m not, my uncle is on the DHS Foundation board, he lets me know what is really happening….
@Grasshopper: Dude, at this point it just seems you just throw things at the wall and hope something sticks…you are wrong again.
@ForeverHorseFly: dude, Blackmores was empty & run down only 5 years ago, it wasn’t anything to write home about & has always been about farmer kids from KZN, not the EC. I think it’s high time the Glenwood buses start on a role again & with the new head from Queens he’ll know where to look. If you can’t beat them join them. I think the buses should head across SA to unearth the talent eg Hendrickse boys…
@Grasshopper: DHS has had a boarding house for over 100 years so I doubt half the team not being from KZN is anything new. Let’s not pretend Glenwood and the rest of the KZN schools don’t have the same split or worse
@ForeverHorseFly: Still half the side plus others in 2nd team, eish! If you can’t beat em join em….
@Grasshopper: You would be wrong…There are 7 players who I know are definitely from KZN. The other 8 are EC/Border and elsewhere but others could still be from KZN as I am not sure.
@ForeverHorseFly: I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole DHS 1st team came from the Border/EC region, like a Dale squared
@Kaya 85: They were both Border u13…so my guess both from there.
@ForeverHorseFly: where those players originally from EC and WC?
@ForeverHorseFly: Good stuff, glad it’s all under control. My dad and uncle were/are DHS old boys. In fact, my uncle is an OB contributor. When I was given a choice of DHS or Glenwood, I chose Glenwood for 2 reasons, closer to me living on the Bluff so shorter bus journey and that I felt it was a more all-round place for me back in 92. Nothing against DHS, I used to attend games there as a kid. I think having had Pinheiro as a teacher, I’m not fond of him and how he conducted himself back then. Also, the blatant recruitment of Glenwood staff was annoying. I think Glenwood have more ground for aggrievance than DHS. I do hope the fixture comes back, it’s a highlight of the year for the boys. Glenwood vs DHS (since 1922)
Played: 139
Glenwood win: 59
DHS win: 69
Draws: 11
Our record since 2000 is pretty good. Played 26, won 19 , lost 6 and drew 1, 73% win rate. Glenwood and new Head Mr Pierre Jacobs have some ambitious plans which I hope will come to fruition. Key will be ensuring our feeder schools feed us, not DHS, Westville and others. Improve facilities and ensure the best teachers and coaches work at the school.Looking forward to another 100 years of rivalry with the school across the road, where the Horseflies reign…
@Grasshopper: As an Old Boy I certainly didn’t want the Glenwood game canceled and would love to have it back next year but I doubt the decision was down to just the Headmaster…I am sure a decision like that would need the buy in of the Governing Body and DHS Foundation as well.
As for the financial umbilical cord being cut…The Foundation is in a very good place and very well run with a great CEO and knowledgeable board. In as much as the old boys are contributing financially, the majority of the capital comes from the sale of the old boys club property in Durban North. So as long as that capital is invested property and im assuming divided proceeds are being used to fund bursaries, development projects etc…the contribution of the old boys is an addition and if for whatever reason this addition dries up(which I doubt it will) there is still the capital proceeds to use which makes our current resurgence sustainable.
@ForeverHorseFly: No issue with grade 8 recruiting at all, go for it. Pinhiero is ruthless in this part of his tenor and will want to ensure DHS are the best, good for him & the school. When the financial umbilical cord is cut it will be tough. It’s a real pity for DHS for the past few years as you could have got a good few wins over the arch enemy in that time….silly call from Pinhiero..
@ForeverHorseFly: Great, bring on the Durban derby again, Glenwood thrive in being the underdog, that is what is was like for 100 years. We are not afraid, we don’t have the same financial muscle but will always be like a dog in a fight.
@Grasshopper: I don’t know the details so can’t comment on all that…maybe they left for legitimate reason and weren’t poached, I don’t know…I was just lamenting what could have been had they still been there in 2024 as part of what could still be a really good DHS 1st team in 2024.
@Grasshopper: Are you sure Palma was referring to DHS? In any case, as long as those buses are bringing in grade 8s, I don’t see the issue.
@ForeverHorseFly: Yeah I know it cannot always be helped for but two trips to the Midlands on successive weekends on its own was not ideal. To have it after a trip to Kimberley even tougher.
A pity for DHS. We could all have been raving about their success this season right now. There was not much in those two Midlands matches.
@ForeverHorseFly: Ah ok, so outside of KZN so no noise about poaching and cancelling matches like DHS did with Glenwood
@Palma: DHS buses everywhere in Border and EC, like picking up kids along the way through Queenstown, KWT etc
@Grasshopper: Sorry, misread your question…Hudson Park and Wynberg
They defy school rugby laws by raping and pillaging border schools of their talent.
@ForeverHorseFly: To where? OR is that a secret?
@Grasshopper: They moved schools.
@ForeverHorseFly: Lost where?
@Kaya 85: I had high hopes for that DHS u16 team come 2024 but I see we lost two influential players who were KZN GK last year (one made EP Craven Week as u17 this year and the other WP XV Craven Week as u17 this year)…hopefully others can step up and it can still be a good year.
@Grasshopper: I hear you, teams can grow stronger or some may weaken (like the Northwood u14A team of 2018).
But still, at u16A level, to not register a single point against Northwood, DHS or Kearsney and score an average of 7 points a game only, and to have 5 teams put 30 or more points on you…I question how much can be turned around with that same team of 15.
Based on Skywalker’s u16 results from last year, wow DHS could be mean in 2024, and Kearsney might also have a great team in the pipeline…
provided the guys are looked after, coached and managed properly, etc. etc.
@ForeverHorseFly: Thats right! I thought it was closer to 70 odd, so 82-0 is pretty emphatic. So in fact vs DHS Lost 82-0.
So yes, really would love to get a team list and see how it compares next year.
I really thought DHS could beat them this year. Like you say on another day could have been done.
@ForeverHorseFly: The battle of the wallets continues, hopefully DHS finally decide to play Glenwood again. We will be whipping boys for another 2 years but then things will start to turnaround, the new Head is doing good things. Our OBs need to come together again….they drifted a bit under Barnes…
@Skywalker: We all know sides mature over time, those that got pumped in year 8 can turn things around by matric, it happened in my years. If the coaching is good and they stick together they will produce a decent team.
@Skywalker: And Glenwood were robbed in 2022 at Hilton. I would loved to have seen the Hilton side from 2022 play the Glenwood side of 2018, I know who my money would be on….
@Skywalker: I was at that u16 DHS vs Hilton last year. The actual score was 82-0 but they stopped counting at 54-0 and made that the official score.
@Beet I might be abit biased but Hilton and Michaelhouse were lucky to play DHS when they did after Wildeklawer…by then DHS had played too much rugby in a short space of time(which I guess was their own doing)…they just couldn’t defend…and losing both games in the dying minutes of the game.
What was/is of interest to me, was that while the spotlight was on their impeccable 1st team last year, assembled to celebrate their 150th in style…the money had clearly run out a bit, or other schools had responsed (ala Michaelhouse)…because their u16A team took some big losses, and the few they won were close. Results against KZN teams was as follows:
Vs Northwood Lost 31-0
Vs St Charles Won 19-14
Vs Michaelhouse Lost 19-7
Vs DHS Lost 54-0
Vs Westville Won 15-7
Vs Maritzburg College Lost 36-14
Vs Glenwood Won 20-17
Vs Kearsney Lost 52-0
Vs Michaelhouse Lost 33-10
These players should be their 1st team next year, or form the bulk of the team. Would love to know how many end up in the team, or whether this sutuation will be ‘rectified’ with some new additions arriving
It’s an open secret that a few years ago they set out to become one of the best in KZN and SA in the 4 main sports (Rugby, Cricket, Hockey and Waterpolo), and yes recruited hard to do so… and they have done just that. They have the rescources, great facilities, coaches, are a destination boarding school, and all it needed was the real intent to do so.
Looking just at 1st team rugby, they have had some serious talent to work with over the last few years (4 SA schools players in 1 team last year is incredible). But still BMH must be given massive credit for how he has coached them over the last number of years. They play like the Bokke. Big forwards, great set piece, watertight defence, great kicking scrumhalves and flyhalves, hard htting centres and some speed at the back to finish off. Simple, very effective, low error rate, very tough to beat!
I do agree they could tour a bit more. They have kept their schdule very compact and dont stretch themselves, but its meant almost flawless seasons each year. Just to mention although the season was cut short, the great Maritzburg College team of 2021 did defeat them in a tight contest up at Hilton.
Glenwood beating Hilton 67-7 in 2014 was the watershed moment, they just couldn’t get beaten by ‘lowly’ Glenwood rabble like that. The famous cancellation of fixtures because of ‘professionalism’ and wanting to avoid ‘injury’ then turned into a massive effort to get the best team possible for the 150th in 2022, scouts scoured the country for the best, lots of silent bursaries etc and voila, suddenly Hilton is strong again. Yet, they got to miss some of Glenwood’s best sides in 2018 etc, how convenient for them. Glenwood plough on, not worried about a loss, we’ve been playing these guys since 1915, history is bigger than ego. I still don’t think any of these sides touch the Glenwood side of 2018. They usually have a very short season, 12 games max and avoid the big sides from the Cape and Gauteng. They more recently pushed the boat out a bit. To maintain this, they will need more injection of cash, with school fees in excess of R300k a year, to take the hit of 10 to 15 ‘free’ scholarships takes some cash plus paying Mcleod-Henderson, which must be in excess of 2bar now, just to keep this record. Glenwood will be back, I like what the new head has planned and what out Hilton…