Maritzburg College and Westville head into today’s clashes as clear favourites.
At Dixon’s, Maritzburg College will be confident of maintaining their recent dominance over Glenwood. College have completed the double over Glenwood in both 2024 and 2025, meaning the hosts’ last home victory on Dixon’s came in 2023—ending what had been a formidable winning streak stretching back to the 2000s.
Today’s Glenwood outfit is notably young, with seven U17s named in the starting XV, a factor that could test their composure against a well-drilled College pack. One of the standout match-ups will come in the engine room, where promising College lock Sean Jansen is set to go head-to-head with Glenwood’s highly rated Siwesambe Ndamase. Collision dominator Jansen has impressed among the U17 ranks, while Ndamase represents a physical edge of the Green Machine’s pack.
A notable aside: despite sharing a surname, Sean bears no relation to Jake Jansen, who represented the Red, Black and White with distinction in 2023 and 2024.
For both sides, unlocking their backline potential will be a key priority. Should Glenwood find rhythm out wide, the balance of the contest could shift.
Meanwhile, at Bowden’s, Westville host Northwood in what promises to be another high-tempo affair for the home team.
The visitors travel without talented regular No. 8 Jamie Wimble, handing an opportunity to youngster Kevin van Vollenstee to fill the roll.
Van Vollenstee, whose older brother Trevor at fullback also gets positive reviews, drawns comparisons to Enzo van Niekerk, who captained the Durban North outfit in 2022 and 2023. Like van Niekerk, he offers mobility, energy, and a versatile skill set suited to both forward and backline responsibilities.
Westville, however, remain one of the most formidable schoolboy sides in the country. Their ability to dictate tempo sets them apart, and when combined with sharp handling, it makes them exceptionally difficult to defend. The Griffin are likely to apply sustained pressure and generate multiple entries into the opposition in-goal area.
One of the big selection stories is the inclusion of Ezra Karolisin in the starting lineup. The dynamic flank epitomises Westville’s identity—mobile, skilful, and relentless with ball in hand.
If the favourites play to their strengths, both College and Westville should justify their billing—but in schoolboy rugby, momentum and belief can turn even the most predictable script on its head.
| TEAM | WESTVILLE | TEAM | NORTHWOOD | ||
| 1 | Ngcali Nonxuba | u18 | 1 | Awande Mthethwa | u17 |
| 2 | Rorke Stirk | u17 | 2 | Zak Vrey | u18 |
| 3 | Bandile Mncwango | u19 | 3 | Janco Visagie | u18 |
| 4 | Jayden Wiehman | u17 | 4 | Nala Shabangu | u17 |
| 5 | Lwandile Mlaba | u18 | 5 | Ruddy Makoni | u18 |
| 6 | Levin Allen | u17 | 6 | Caeleb Mackenzie | u17 |
| 7 | Ezra Karolisin | u17 | 7 | Tinayeishe Ruwona | u19 |
| 8 | Lwandle Makhanya | u19 | 8 | Kevin van Vollenstee | u17 |
| 9 | Banele Mdletshe | u17 | 9 | Ludi van der Walt | u18 |
| 10 | Jade-Will Koopman | u19 | 10 | Sondelani Sheleni | u17 |
| 11 | Avumila Lisa | u18 | 11 | Jadon Smith | u18 |
| 12 | Curtis Fenton | u17 | 12 | Sifiso Meyiwa | u18 |
| 13 | Jadrian Afrikaner | u19 | 13 | Andile Thwala | u18 |
| 14 | Bukho Sotaka | u18 | 14 | Anesu Kuzonyei | u18 |
| 15 | Luxolo Sonkononkono | u18 | 15 | Trevor van Vollenstee | u18 |
| Coach | ZANDER ERASMUS | Coach | JACQUES DEEN | ||
| TEAM | GLENWOOD | TEAM | MARITZBURG COLL | ||
| 1 | Bonga Cibane | u18 | 1 | Linamandla Mabanga | u18 |
| 2 | Tyler Leon | u17 | 2 | Theo Boshoff | u18 |
| 3 | Zazi Msimango | u17 | 3 | Alande Ngubane | u19 |
| 4 | Siwesambe Ndamase | u18 | 4 | Sean Jansen | u17 |
| 5 | James Swift | u19 | 5 | Josh Thompson | u18 |
| 6 | Andile Mbokazi | u17 | 6 | Mian Pretorius | u18 |
| 7 | Cody Soll | u18 | 7 | Caleb Sweetnam | u18 |
| 8 | Makhaya Mbaile | u18 | 8 | Rory Stanton | u18 |
| 9 | Vincenzo Loutz | u17 | 9 | Dominic du Toit | u18 |
| 10 | Jonah Chaita | u17 | 10 | Liyema Tsoko | u18 |
| 11 | Zubenathi Molulo | u17 | 11 | Lwanzo Vyambwera | u17 |
| 12 | Jakub Bednar | u18 | 12 | Olwethu Kosani | u18 |
| 13 | Cade Isaacs | u17 | 13 | Brent Smith | u17 |
| 14 | Lebohang Skosana | u18 | 14 | Caleb Scheepers | u18 |
| 15 | Rosco Williams | u17 | 15 | Lungelo Hadebe | u18 |
| 16 | Inganathi Pepu | u17 | 16 | ||
| 17 | Thabiso Nkuhlu | u17 | 17 | ||
| 18 | Ethan Swindon | u18 | 18 | ||
| 19 | Nathan Lupke | u18 | 19 | ||
| 20 | Riley Foxcroft | u18 | 20 | ||
| 21 | Lohan Carolus | u18 | 21 | ||
| 22 | Joshua Kopp | u18 | 22 | ||
| 23 | Siya Kheswa | u17 | 23 | ||
| Coach | JUSTIN HOLLIS | Coach | HENDRE MARNITZ |
@ForeverHorseFly (Comment #29)
Nice work by Indlovu Construction on the new classroom block, running our of space on the campus I see. That must have cost a good R20m+
@Westville_Boy (Comment #31)
Potentially but I have multiple friends teaching in the top 8 KZN boys schools, one is at DHS, 3 at Westville….my 3 sisters are all teachers & I know a few of the selectors. So it’s not via a grapevine. I’ll visit myself in Easter next year to show my boy where I went & will pop in at DHS & Westville too…
@Grasshopper (Comment #30)
I think the problem is that you believe everything everyone tells you. Unless you in the school system and have in depth knowledge of what is going on i guess you will never really know. I get the feeling you have been a little mislead but anyways stick to your guns and do what you believe is necessary.
@ForeverHorseFly (Comment #29)
Wonderful stuff, my uncle is one of those funding OBs (Class of 79), so yes I do know what is happening. Well done, you lucky to have a few wealthy OBs still invested, ours have mostly left the country eg Gordon Murray, Daryl Lee etc. Re your head, let me tell you, I know him personally, he was my head of year in 1995 and 1996, he is not a nice man. I won’t divulge too much here, but there is a reason he is called Pinhead. He was heavily involved with the ‘success’ Glenwood had and that so happened to be when ‘Clever Trevor’ was there. A leopard doesn’t change their spots. He only took the DHS job because he didn’t get the SACs one. So mate, on the outside it looks all rosy, what happens in the inside I’m not sure. Enjoy the success, I guess he needs to retire soon as is the same age as my uncle and attended DHS at the same time, so must be 65 now.
@Grasshopper (Comment #21) You are completely and truly naive as to what is truly happening on the ground at DHS and it shows, telling us about your dad and grandad as if it absolves everything else you say on this Blog means nothing. First of all whatever you think about or think you know about the leadership at DHS is completely at odds with what everyone else thinks, your opinion of them means absolutely nothing to us who see with our own eyes what they have been able to achieve…DHS is at a very very good place, not just with rugby but academically and culturally…as for the recruiting and placing in primary school, those are underprivileged talented kids who are afforded an opportunity to play rugby and attend a quality institution, no one can convince me that is wrong. Investing 6+ years into funding a student education vs the normal 5 or sometimes 2 if you picking up u16 players shows more commitment as you are banking on your coaching to help those kids reach that potential. Then my final point is around funding of the school…we wont apologize or even be embarrassed for having wealthy successful old boys who want to give back to their school. It is a testament to the caliber of men produced who not only leave DHS to to do big things but have the generosity to give back in a major way. To me that is to be commended, not just them but all who give back, whether big or small.
@Westville_Boy (Comment #27)
Typical and expected WOB response.
@Grasshopper (Comment #26)
You say that in front of the mirror every morning?? Like said good luck.
@Westville_Boy (Comment #25) We are going to need a lot of that & funding, BUT we like a challenge. Glenwood boys are resilient & generally from a mid to lower income background, fighters not feeders. I grew up rough & tough from the Bluff, but now thriving in the UK. We are built differently, we will persevere, we will win……
@Grasshopper (Comment #24)
Good luck
@Westville_Boy (Comment #23)
The only salty people here are you & Fly, you forget things like Marne-gate etc where Westville were petrified of playing an SA schools player. I have been to the school & area in the last 2 years, it’s like Nigeria the surrounds, barbed wire, squalor & dodgy people. It’s a tough place to make look attractive, that is not down to the school. Westville was once a great place, I lived there for 10 years, not so hot these days either. It’s the degradation of SA as a whole. For a decent education you have to go private. Yes our OB fund might to trying to empty the ocean with a bucket, but we must try. It would be wrong to just give up. Westville & DHS have the same long term future without a solid funding or income pipeline, that can dry up, we know at Glenwood. 20 years of dominance was hard to maintain & at a time when their were rules. Now it’s just a free for all. Both of you can point fingers, call me salty & be schadenfreude but at least I care. Westville have always been wannabe’s in rugby, now they have it. DHS has been a pillar of KZN rugby since the start, I’m just not a fan of the current leadership who I know personally. Anyway, enjoy your wins, we did for 20 years taking all the saltiness then, we will try our best to bring the Green Machine back…
@ForeverHorseFly (Comment #20)
He is so salty. And you right if a boy is identified by Gwd I can promise you that if any other school sees any potential in the boy and offers the same scholarship… there is no way that kid goes to Gwd… Its simple have a look at how many boys want to leave Gwd daily how many boys contacts the school to please help save them… throwing 15 scholarship at the problem wont work. But I guess unless you actually go and see the problem you will never really know.
@Grasshopper (Comment #17)
Its not… You forgetting that you dont recruit a superstar… You coach a kid with potential… Dhs has quality personal at the school… Gwd simply dont.. Stop nit picking about age you simply have zero proof about any of those claims so please cry about that somewhere else.
@ForeverHorseFly (Comment #20)
That’s a real woke reply. Disrespect a school, come on, my grandad & dad went to DHS. At the moment I would not be proud of DHS & its leadership, it maybe getting some decent sports results but the way its doing it really isn’t the DHS my dad loved & told me about, the place I watched most of my schoolboy rugby as a kid in 1986 onwards. DHS, has taken the Glenwood blueprint from 2000-2020 & taken it a step further. I mean putting kids up in primary school is just wrong. Anyway, we’ve now allowed other schools to go ahead unchecked, so it’s time we did the same again. Using the 50 year older age is a joke, rugby only really became mainstream in 1910 when Glenwood was your main rival locally. Only 15 years ago DHS was in the doldrums, but Glenwood continued to play DHS & keep the ties. Since the current leadership came in, ties cut. That is an ego in the way. DHS have bought their way back, well done. It’s time we did the same…
@Grasshopper (Comment #19) Not everyone thinks like you, contrary to your beliefs, no one wants to see Glenwood down and out. Your constant vitriol against even constructive criticism is just sad. Maybe you should create and engage on a Glenwood only rugby blog because honestly no one is out to bash you or Glenwood here but you seem to always be eager to smear other rival schools. Call DHS all the names you want, it doesnt change the situation Glenwood finds itself in and for you to disrespect a school nearly 50 years older than your own school says more about you than DHS.
@ForeverHorseFly (Comment #18)
We not stupid or naive, we don’t have the money of Saad High but have to start somewhere. Saad High is in a dump area so no pull there. We all know the Saad High crew secretly love seeing Glenwood doing poorly. We won’t be using any Pinhead tactics. Point is we as a group of OBs will lean in everywhere, not just financially. The school should have moved to Ballito years ago. 15 to 30 bursaries will be a good start plus a great coach. Nothing drives us more than being written off….
@Grasshopper (Comment #17)
@Westville_Boy is right, bursaries alone wont be enough. The facilities must be there but more importantly the right leadership needs to be in place as well…A turnaround is not as easy as you are making it out to be, Clifton for example has the facilities and recently had a good u14 intake two years ago, but failed to keep most of that intake in place the very next year and not sure where they are with their rugby program at this moment but the point is that there will be setbacks along the way. To just say 15 bursaries but not knowing who or what the strategy is to convince them because you never going to find 15 kids who aren’t being recruited elsewhere as well so then it becomes how do you convince them (at the current moment) to choose Glenwood over someone else.
@Westville_Boy (Comment #16)
Nothing attracts 13 year olds to Glenwood, that is a strong statement. I can’t see DHS being that more attractive. Yes, there are multiple issues and barriers to cross BUT DHS did it, Parktown are doing it, Jeppe have done it. If you meaning demographics, well yes the school needs to be more mixed for sure. College have turned things around in a decade. It can be done and you have to start somewhere. 15x bursaries is a good start and Glenwood got lambasted and burnt in the past for recruitment, now it’s a complete free for all, so we might as well join it. Seems age isn’t really a factor either these days….
@Grasshopper (Comment #15)
Time will tell… I do hope that Gwd can restore the glory days of the past as it only makes Kzn region stronger.
The task is much bigger than you think throwing a couple scholarships at the problem wont help.
Nothing attracts 13 year olds to Gwd for now hopefully your old boys can turn that around.
@Westville_Boy (Comment #14)
Mate, what are you on about? Are you arguing that Westville facilities are 10x better? Maybe they are, not sure. It’s also a land-locked school, with 3x rugby fields and a big swimming pool. Glenwood don’t have a swimmer intake so I guess we forfeit swimming and waterpolo and focus on basketball, rugby and athletics. We do really well in athletics. Hockey we have the Three Schools trust astro and cricket, about the same as Westville. We have a decent gym & the Ivan Clarke pavilion, same as Westville. So not sure where Westville are so much better, unless it’s off campus. You tell me. The money would not go to the school, it would be in an Old Boys Trust managed by proper accountant OBs, a transparent board and with strict controls. It would not be poured down a dark ‘Clever Trevor’ drain…..
@Grasshopper (Comment #13)
I beg to differ as I have been in the school system for sometime and I pretty sure that the facilities are know where near so please dont go there i am agreeing with you that its a good plan.. I never once had a dig at Gwd. I would love to know the feeling of the old boys and if they willing to hand over money to the school not knowing what they would do with it.. Out of interest would you know if Gwd are doing any active recruitment???
@Westville_Boy (Comment #12) We will obviously do our research with all stakeholders and hopefully a full-time Head is announced soon. We can’t turnaround the suburb and area BUT we can try and make the BE as good as it can be, look at College & DHS is horrible areas. DHS BE was only fixed about 8 years ago. I lived in Westville from 13 to 23 and visited multiple times, the facilities don’t seem that much better. The BE being houses in the area is more personal touch. BUT our target market it to lift talent out of poverty, not provide a 5-star luxury resort. Also, we need to spread the net further than just KZN, it needs to be hidden gems coming in, not superstars aged 12 BUT those who you can see have the right attitude and can be moulded by great coaches, teachers and mentors. Boys with hunger. Even look overseas if needs be. Give us 3 to 5 years, BUT the OBs need to be less talk and more action. We can do this……
@Grasshopper (Comment #11)
This is a great idea and it should work… Gwd issue is the following if Gwd try and recruit any of the same boys to the school. As opposition recruitment they welcome the boys to do a walk around and see Gwd… then do the same at lets use Wbhs as an example… no matter what scholarships you hand out the boy will never choose Gwd.. In my opinion befor money is spent on recruitment…the money should be used for facilities… catering…. the right personal… But this is just my opinion. Good luck.
@Skywalker (Comment #10) Yep, it takes just one or 2 great intakes. I’m going to try and push the OB community to pay for 15x Bursaries, naming each after a prominent OB, 1) Kevin Curren 2) Warren Whiteley 3) Jordy Smith 4) Andile Phehlukwayo 5) Steven Jack 6) Gordan Murray 7) Colin Munro 8) John Allan 9) Rod Gould 10) Derek La Marque 11) Jaden Hendrickse 12) Jordan Hendrickse 13) Greg Nicol 14) The Madsen bursary 15) Toppy Hortop bursary We will need probably R200,000 per bursary, so R3m. That is only R500 per month for 500x Old Boys. That is doable. The bursaries should be for sports allrounders only. Then we need to get the best coaches possible PLUS a recruiter who can follow the DHS buses around the EC/Border. We need to actively recruit and then do more in Grade 10, like Westville. Each bursary should include a mentor to look after the boy and chat to them weekly. They should be helped all the way through to matric. We cannot have a great school like Glenwood drift off the Tier1 programme like Pinetown & George Campbell did……
@Grasshopper (Comment #9)
Unf that is what it takes. Investment is essential to turn it around. But DHS, WV, Hilton even NW have all shown it can be done. To give some perspective, in 2022 (only 4 years ago, NW vs Westville: played 14, NW won 10. The NW u14 age group (the current Matric class) cleaned Westville up:
u14A won 50-0
u14B won 42-0
u14C won 52-5
The u15 and u16 results were much the same, yet WV 1st went unbeaten last year, are top 10 again this year so far; and on the weekend we played 19 and won only 2.
NW recruitment/investment under new headmaster is nowhere and WV went the opposite way. Just an example, but a lot can change in a few years with money. I wish you guys well.
@Westville_Boy (Comment #7)
Just participating is not good enough, the Glenwood Old Boys have had enough of mediocrity, we will be leaning in more now. We need to get the school back to where it should be. We are going to take a beating vs Westville which will be hard to take BUT 2 or 3 years of pain is expected before our money will start to pay off. No more just letting all the other schools raid our feeders, no more just pitching up……enough is enough now…..
@Skywalker (Comment #5)
Agreed Nw played very well. Was a good game from them not a good start though.
@Grasshopper (Comment #6)
Least you tried
@Skywalker (Comment #4)
A few crumbs, u14a lost 0-22 & u14b lost 19-24. U15 lost 15-25, so tiny hope. Lost every rugby game on the day at home. Biggest shock was 1st team hockey drawing 2-2 & u14a hockey winning 2-1. It’s a sad state of affairs really. Only 5 years back we were 50% wins at home….
Watched the NW game and despite their size and pacy backline of WV, NW could actually have won that game. They will be left thinking what if. The 6 points missed off the tee alone draws the game. Some very silly errors that led to 2 or 3 of the Ville tries. Nw impressed me with their fight and some well worked tries. Had the Ville scrum in reverse a few times as well. Unf Wimble and Parkinson on the sidelines still. Only gets tougher I feel against DHS next week. But they showed they can compete. They might still surprise someone this year
@Grasshopper (Comment #3)
What were the overall results? Any juniors coming through to help turn the tide?
@Mate (Comment #2)
We had 20 years of dominance after College had 90 years over us, back to status quo. As I said you cannot compete with a school with 500 boarders, too much depth….
@Grasshopper (Comment #1)
Where are the days of Greenstones?
The only hope for Glenwood is home advantage and the oddity of derbies, otherwise I’m afraid another loss at 1st team and probably over 800 points on the day, unless games are called early. The days of reigning over College are over. You cannot compete with a school with 500x boarders coming from farms around KZN….