Midweek action in KZN sees Durban High School square off against potential banana peel team Clifton College on Wednesday evening at 19h15 on Van Heerden’s field. 3 days later DHS travels up the M13 to play an ever improving Westville. Although tough, for the DHS 1st XV the 2 games with 3 days of recovery in-between is still within adequate but spare a thought for their junior A-teams who each come off the back of 3 tough matchdays at the Glenwood Bizsport last week. All these A-teams take on Clifton on Wednesday and then meet Westville on Saturday. That makes it 5 games in 12 days for their under-14A and under-15A and 5 in 11 for their under-16A. The Clifton 1st XV haven’t had too much time to settle themselves, having only recently arrived back in Durban after a 4-game tour to Namibia where they recorded wins against Windhoek (32 – 26) and Pro-Ed Academy (29 – 8) before going down to Elnatan (12-19) and Walvishaai Private (18-31) as part of the Walvisbaai Desert Festival.
DHS results during the holidays:
|
1st XV |
|
|
Pretoria BH |
8-39 |
|
KES |
17-20 |
|
SACS |
13-24 |
|
u16 |
|
|
Montana |
15-10 |
|
Jim Fouche |
22-5 |
|
Rustenburg |
10-17 |
|
u15 |
|
|
HTS Witbank |
26-13 |
|
Rustenburg |
15-17 |
|
Ben Vorster |
10-23 |
|
u14 |
|
|
Kempton Park |
10-0 |
|
Ben Vorster |
21-0 |
|
Montana |
17-13 |
Teams:
| # | DHS | # | Clifton |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | S. Ndebele | 1 | Mathew Law |
| 2 | N. Febana | 2 | Brian Murray-Rogers |
| 3 | L. Ndlungwana | 3 | Jordan O Connor |
| 4 | L. Witfield | 4 | Dillon Faber |
| 5 | S. Ndlovu | 5 | Andrew Evans |
| 6 | D. Roberts | 6 | Cameron Mainguard |
| 7 | P. Rees | 7 | Ruben Vosloo |
| 8 | N. Ntuli | 8 | Nicholas Downes |
| 9 | K. Ngidi | 9 | Keegan Nxumalo |
| 10 | L. Van Zyl | 10 | Karl Goedeke |
| 11 | S. Biyela | 11 | Cameron Johnson |
| 12 | B. Buthelezi | 12 | Gareth May |
| 13 | L. Thembe | 13 | Guy Artbuthnot |
| 14 | S. Khumalo | 14 | Luke Milosvesky |
| 15 | D. Brian | 15 | Sean May |
Great vibe with DHS drumming in the background. The DHS backline seemed to have more flair and running in them (as with the other age groups) on the night.
Some strong commitment by individuals but too many errors kept Clifton out of the game.
@seabass: Ja I totally agree on the healthy rivalry. I was told earlier in the year that CC were not in able to be part of the Port Natal Night Series and I was thinking that it would be the ultimate preseason compo if Porties, George Campbell, Northwood, DHS and Clifton could all participate, because they form a potentially more interesting collection of closely match rivals than those expected to compete for top honours in KZN. St Charles can be added to this mix as well.
@beet: In my opinion, both teams were flat, after touring and and extensive travel, and this reflected in the standard of play on the night. Both teams still played with passion and intensity and a healthy rivalry is developing between the two schools which is good for KZN schools rugby. Le Roux was the difference on the night coupled with basic errors by Clifton at crucial moments in the game. Still, an enjoyable night of rugby at a rugby field steeped in tradition and pride. Better than lying on the couch watching shyte series tv…
@oldschool: I always like it when the 1st XV game touch judges are society refs. They add so much value that schoolboys no matter how much training they have received cannot do.
@star: Yeah definitely not disagreeing with anything you are saying. A stronger finish by Clifton and they could have limited their loss to a single digit figure or who knows even produced a linebreak and with it a winning score.
I also believe what you say about Westville having too much ammo for DHS, based on better structure up front. Altho here I think Pablo Rees’s injury will result in Aza returning to the DHS 1st XV and he could have a positive effect on their overall forwards game. Another sorely missed DHS player was Peter at fullback, who’s absence was responsible for the backline reshuffle and possible lack of accuracy that played out. If he is fit again on Saturday, it will add a lot of value to the DHS attacking game.
So Westville, altho favourites may not want to be thinking too hard about their tough Easter challenges before Saturday evening. KES vs DHS should be a good motivator.
@beet: Ja Beet I was also at the game , I felt for the Clifton guys as they were missing 4/5 first choice backline players whom were injured during their tour to Namibia …. in addition add some weird penalties within kicking distance and 1/2 missed kicks by Clifton …..and the final try should not have been scored as the ball actually went over the dead ball touch line from the penalty punt and not before the flag as the smiling schoolboy lines man had indicated ……should have been a lot closer …. I really believe that under Ross Saayman Clifton rugby should get stronger each year ….
I also watched the u14A game and was expecting a better clash as the Clifton side has the potential this year .. however they imploded due to a total lack of commitment ….. DHS has a very good backline and will be interesting to see the backlines of kearsney DHS and College compete …Glenwood at this level are the clear front runners …
@ Beet- I am not saying that the result did not reflect the balance of play.I am saying that Clifton had an opportunity by doing the small things right to upset the applecart and I presume create a bit of history. That was the sad part. And remember the better team does not always win
@star: I actually think the final score was a fair reflection of the balance of play. Clifton has precious few attacking opportunities, posed no threat out wide, but did ever so well to play to their own strengths (around the fringes and organised D) and stay in the game for so long. DHS passing, handling and even scrumming errors when they were in advanced positions looked to have cost them a big victory at one stage. I personally think DHS should have played a lot more flat ball with inside passes and their forwards were not involved enough in attacking open play. I guess even more disappointing for them was that given their expansive style of play, their potential dangerous wings did not get ball. I was very impressed with Van Zyl’s long line kicking. It’s a major factor in ensuring DHS play the game in the right part of the field. In the end, it’s a good win for DHS. I’m sure they would have taken a 33-10 win before kickoff. They did not produce the same wow factor as their George Campbell performance tho.
I actually felt for Clifton here. With 15 minutes to go and with the wind at their back they were only 6 points adrift. Instead of playing for territory and keeping it in the forwards they played loose in their own 22 and paid the price. DHS gained momentum and their 2 key players Ntuli( no8) and the flyhalf( Van Zyl) took control.
Westville should have too much ammunition for DHS but still need to have some structure up front and take nothing for granted.
Beet – I had to leave this game early – can you post the score
with respect to these 2 teams what I did see was two 2nd tier teams battling it out & playing what was not exactly entertaining rugby – IMO DHS played much better at the Porties Nite series & when School takes a ride up the M13 on Saturday this will be a long hard day for them at all levels