KZN schoolboy rugby news – 26/04/2025

Kearsney surprise Glenwood thanks to a thrilling finish

Grant Bashford’s Kearsney followed up their best win of the season—against Pretoria Boys’ High—with a thrilling 32–31 upset over Glenwood. While Glenwood had looked the stronger outfit during the recent Kearsney Festival—boasting superior physicality and pace—Kearsney’s growing attacking confidence, sparked by the promotion of creative flyhalf Jayden Jonsson, proved decisive on the day.

The hosts struck early with two well-taken tries, but Glenwood, led by inspirational captain Lizwe Mtetwa (inside centre), who crossed twice, rallied to take a 24–22 lead at half-time. When Glenwood stretched the gap to 31–22, it looked like a credible loss was on the cards for Kearsney. But much like Northwood’s comeback at Goldstones earlier this year, the One-Stripe showed immense character, scoring two late unconverted tries to pull off a famous comeback and secure back-to-back wins over the Grasshoppers.

There are still plenty of difficult away fixtures to come, and memories of the heavy Hilton defeat might resurface, but for now, the general consensus is that Kearsney’s season is a success—especially when judged against the potential of this young squad. Kearsney do not have a 1st XV match this Saturday due to expected opponents Northwood traveling to Absa Wildeklawer instead.

Glenwood now head to Absa Wildeklawer as well, where they’ll take on a good Nico Malan side—a match that should be a cracker—and follow it up against a youthful Marlow team. There is still no word on the whereabouts of head coach Derek Heiberg who has been away from the team since the start of the Easter weekend.

DHS Dig Deep, Northwood Impress Again

Unbeaten Durban High School (DHS) were made to work hard for a 22–19 win over a spirited Northwood outfit. The Knights raced to a 12–0 lead at the break with two well-constructed tries. But Peter Engledow’s half-time team talk sparked a reaction, and DHS hit back quickly after the restart.

They turned to their experienced players to shift the momentum—flanker Daniel Ikotela and KZN’s standout player this season, Zingce Simka, both crossed for crucial tries to swing the game in DHS’s favour. Northwood rounded things off with a beautifully-worked try that showed just how dangerous they can be when playing their brand of expansive, handling rugby.

Both sides face steep challenges at Wildeklawer. DHS, with five u19 players, will likely be one of the oldest squads at the festival, but they face two of the youngest teams—Stellenberg (8 u17s) and Paarl Gim (6 u17s) — in what promises to be a true test of School’s setpieces, forward power, midfield defence and overall regrouping structures.

Northwood are debutants at the tournament. They face the top ranked school in the nation in Paarl Gim and then take on HTS Drostdy—a tricky fixture, given Drostdy’s dynamic back-three and a solid back-row that can create real issues at the breakdown and in open play.

College Too Strong for Pretoria Boys’

Maritzburg College delivered a dominant performance on Brooks Field, dismantling Pretoria Boys’ High 45–28. The Candies battled for possession and territory throughout, while College executed their plans with clinical results. Full credit to PBHS, though—they fought to the end and were rewarded with two late tries to bring some respectability to the scoreboard.

College head to Wildeklawer with a much more favourable fixture list compared to 2024. They take on Jeppe in what looks like a 50/50 clash, followed by hosts Diamantveld. While playing the host school in Kimberley is never straightforward, most would back the Red Black and White to continue their winning streak.

Hilton Demolish St Charles, Michaelhouse Looms

St Charles vs Hilton may be remembered more for the confusion off the field than on it, as both teams wore nearly identical white kits and neither was willing to budge on a clearly necessary jersey change. This unwillingness to budge might be indicative of the tension between the sets of school officials. That said, it wasn’t a bad St Charles side, and this isn’t the strongest Hilton team we’ve seen—but the 74–14 scoreline was a proper mauling.

Next up for Hilton is the big one—Michaelhouse on Meadows. So much rich history and the rivalry runs deep, and results often come down to emotion and heart. Although Hilton enter as the form team, it would be unwise to count out House, who on paper still have more quality than their results suggest. Last year’s derbies were separated by just one point in each match.

House Under Pressure

Michaelhouse had to adjust their fixture list after Clifton opted to play their second XV. House responded with an 80–5 demolition of a Zimbabwean school—marking their second win of the year, both against visiting sides from across the Limpopo.

The bigger story, however, is Clifton. The small co-ed private school had been making big strides in rugby after building a boarding house and investing in coaching infrastructure. But things have unravelled. Clifton have lost key rugby figures like Ross Saayman, Grant Bell, and Meryke Terblanche. The programme is now in rebuild mode in what is a fiercely competitive market. The lesson? School governing bodies need to be absolutely sure they’re appointing the right person when selecting a new headmaster.

As House prepare to host a red-hot Hilton team, the pressure is on James Fleming. He was rightly celebrated in 2023 when Michaelhouse were crowned KZN champions, but two seasons later, he’s arguably under the most scrutiny of any coach in the province. Last year’s heart-breaking finale is still fresh in the minds of House supporters, and they’ll be hoping to bury those memories once and for all.

Ville season reduced even further

Westville remains undefeated, though their fixture against Jeppe was cancelled due to heavy rains in Durban—making it their second cancelled game of the season. That leaves the Griffins with just 13 matches this year, and as the only Tier 1 state school in the country not playing third-term rugby, it may be time for them to reconsider their calendar.

Ville travel to KES next. While the Red Army are always a different beast on their home turf, Westville should go in as favourites. Who could forget last year’s epic 36-all draw? Hopefully, this weekend brings more fireworks.