It is definitely that time of the season for both Hilton and Maritzburg College. Both inland KZN schools make the trip down the N3 towards the coast without several go-to players who are injured.
College will be without influential lock Jake Jansen who could well be their player of the season so far or very close. Their pack is further weakened by the absence of Imivuyo Kemka and Bohlale Maphisa. Considering Northwood will be without star player Vuyo Gwiji and still don’t have Tersius Bezuidenhout to call on, perhaps its Even Stevens in the pack. For MC things don’t get better in midfield where centre pairing Nkululeko Sithole and Swelihle Mbatha are out. Lee-Rynne Sinkfontein has deputised at 13 with great success before so there will be confidence in his ability. This means the bigger step up will be asked of u17 flyhalf Jordan Thackeray in the 12-jumper. The Knights are capable of producing flair in their line and with strong-running dangerman Siya Nkosi at 10, he will be looking to exploit any channel he deems to be potentially disorganised, something a reshuffle that MC has been forced into can bring about. With it being NW Old Boys’ Day and MC normally having a large traveling supporter contingent, the Durban North venue is expected to be packed and should produce a great vibe for all in attendance.
Hilton visits Westville minus their two biggest assets – captain Hanu Pieterse and flyhalf Liyema Nela. They have a couple of other dependable forwards out as well – experienced Ross Brown and versatile u17 Stewart Falconer. The Hilton coach has been turning water into wine for a couple of seasons now but still it is going to be a big ask to get a “W” at Ville. Westville by comparison are fielding a near full-strength team. Seth Glyn stands out as the only regular who could potential have strengthened their starting lineup. Coach Jabz Zulu team is on a roll and the form means they have confidence. Perhaps also the bonus of having played the weekend before while Hilton were on midterm holiday. This match represents a good chance for Westville to get a first win against Hilton since 2015. Yes that is a surprisingly long drought. The schools did not meet in 2023 due to not being able to find a common date in their respective congested second-term ending rugby seasons.
| TEAM | NORTHWOOD | TEAM | MARITZBURG COLLEGE | ||
| 1 | Reuben Vos | u18 | 1 | Rambo Kubheka | u18 |
| 2 | Werner van Nieuwenhuizen | u18 | 2 | Siyabonga Nyathi | u18 |
| 3 | Sphe Ntshangase | 3 | Aiden Botha | u18 | |
| 4 | Lian Terblanche | u17 | 4 | Jayden Smit | |
| 5 | Titas Cesonis | u18 | 5 | Naz Isaacs | u18 |
| 6 | Ayavuya Makula | 6 | Struan Oosthuisen | u18 | |
| 7 | Ethan Macey | u18 | 7 | Cyril Cherayi | u17 |
| 8 | Dewald Mostert | 8 | Mumbere Vyambwera | u17 | |
| 9 | Jed Mun-Gavin | u17 | 9 | Rayke Maartens | u18 |
| 10 | Siyanda Nkosi | u19 | 10 | James Slevin | u18 |
| 11 | Carlos Lovell | 11 | Amahle Hadebe | u18 | |
| 12 | Bongane Khumalo | u17 | 12 | Jordan Thackeray | u17 |
| 13 | Ramatuku Sikhakhane | 13 | Lee-Rynne Sinkfontein | u17 | |
| 14 | Kwenzo Dlamini | u18 | 14 | Ntsika Mkize | |
| 15 | Aphiwe Buthelezi | 15 | Luyanda Kunene | u19 | |
| Coach | JACQUES DEEN | Coach | TIM ORCHARD | ||
| TEAM | WESTVILLE | TEAM | HILTON | ||
| 1 | Akhona Maseko | u18 | 1 | Oliver Proudfoot | u18 |
| 2 | Jeshua Ferreira | u18 | 2 | Josh Grant | u17 |
| 3 | Bandile Mncwango | u17 | 3 | Ben le Roux | u18 |
| 4 | Moustapher Gcina | u18 | 4 | Trent Chubb | u17 |
| 5 | Wandile Simelane | u17 | 5 | Kieran Hunter | u19 |
| 6 | Chris Cloete | u18 | 6 | Dylan Neill | u18 |
| 7 | Brandon Eke | u17 | 7 | Meyer Malherbe | |
| 8 | David Humphreys | u17 | 8 | Emmanuel Dankwah | u17 |
| 9 | Ryan Pistor | u18 | 9 | Zander Vorster | u17 |
| 10 | Unathi Mlotshwa | u18 | 10 | Bakana Xola | u19 |
| 11 | Jadrian Afrikaner | u17 | 11 | Requilme Adonis | u17 |
| 12 | Blake Allbon | u18 | 12 | Daniel Sweeney | u18 |
| 13 | Michael Satade | u18 | 13 | Khazimla Makali | u17 |
| 14 | Jade-Will Koopman | u17 | 14 | Rukudzo Madinga | u18 |
| 15 | Zekhethelo Siyaya | u17 | 15 | Ivan Jjuuko | u18 |
| Coach | NJABULO ZULU | u18 | Coach | BRAD MACLEOD-HENDERSON |
@Henkies (Comment #4)
Thanks, yes an amazing win on OBD. Cant get much better then making history against College in front of a packed crowd. They have been really good this year. On the day they can compete with Westville for sure. I think they will again be quite evenly matched. Not sure if any unjuries though. Will have to see.
@Skywalker (Comment #3)
Congrats on the winSkywalker. Any season which has a win over College is a successful one in my view. Yes Sat will be a huge matchup. I think Northwood have been more consistent in their performances this season. They haven’t really had a poor game except maybe against Jeppe where they lost their defensive structure. It’s interesting to compare the sides. Maybe NW have the edge in the forwards and Ville have some real X Factor backline players. Yet another KZN match up which is very difficult to call.
@Henkies (Comment #2)
Agree. Last year they would let other teams in at the death, and the entire 2nd half of their season saw them drop off. Great win for them.
NW play them on their OBD this Sat. Worried. Westville have shown they can go toe to toe with the best and have serious gamebreakers. NW I fear will be flat after the intense high of this past weekend on our OBD. Could get ugly if we dont pitch mentally!
@beet (Comment #1)
It was a very impressive win for Westville Beet, especially considering they were 8-23 down with 35 min gone on the clock. They really turned that game around. Against Glenwood,Kearsney and now Hilton they seem to reserve their best performance for one half which has been enough to win these games.
WESTVILLE 40 HILTON 26
Crucially, just before the break, Ville scored a psychologically boosting try. Left wing Jadrian Afrikaner managed a perfect inside diagonal thread through the defense, drawing them to the outside. This allowed Z. Siyaya to cross for his second try, making it 23-15 to HC at halftime.
In the second half, HC struggled to get going. Among other issues, their lineout game fell apart, while Chris Cloete had another excellent performance, highlighted by very good lineout throw-ins. Westville executed smart plays and innovative strategies, with lineouts being the source of their first two tries after the break. At 30-23 to Ville, HC launched a major assault on the Ville line. They threw everything at Ville, and any other KZN team would likely have succumbed to the pressure. However, HC only managed a surprising drop goal, their only score in the second half.
Jade-Will Koopman, who had an amazing game-changing highlight last weekend against KES on the same field, had another memorable run in this game after Ville returned an exit kick. The skilful, multi-talented right wing first moved forward, then ran backward and across the field to link up with queued-up players on the left. Among them was the hard-to-stop Mike Satade, who broke two tackles on his way to the line for the final try of the match. Lock Wandile Simelane also had a carry in-between, showing his pace and adding to the evidence that a big difference between the teams is Ville’s ability to produce point-scoring strike plays from a long way out.
For the second weekend in a row, Griffin supporters were treated to an entertaining match. They could feel very proud of their boys, particularly their character when down on the scoreboard.