Maritzburg College and Glenwood may pack a bit of a psychological advantage for their trips up to Pretoria this week but won’t be under any kind of illusion about their tasks ahead.
College has the benefit of knowing they have what it takes to beat Pretoria Boys High. They may have sneaked home by a single point in the first encounter earlier in the season on Goldstones but they know they are capable of putting in a better effort. On that day the referee really got after them with the whistle, penalising them regularly and breaking up their continuity. This afforded Boys High many opportunities to carry the ball up. However the College defence stood firm and totally shut down PBHS’s backs. College also scrummed incredibly well. On attack and counterattack the Red, Black and White’s backs were easily better than their opponents. So granted that College won’t give away nearly as many penalties, they should have more ball at their disposal this time round. Winning lineouts, protecting ball, coping with the altitude and breaking up PBHS’s patient pick and drive forward plus rolling maul play will be key to success as well. Boys High are an excellent team on their day. This even match-up could turn out to be a memorable game.
Fullback Jesse Kriel is away at SA Schools trials and Ricci Bamber is sidelined with an ankle injury, forcing College to make their umpteenth backline reshuffle this season. Interestingly Banele Ngwenya is shifted to fullback, while regular centre Murray Janse van Rensburg comes in the wing and tough Thato Molelekoa fills in at inside centre.
For Glenwood in their game against Affies, there is the well documented news that six Affies SA Schools candidates will miss the game. Obviously these aren’t any six players, they are Affies’ six best fit players. So opportunity looms for an upset if one can call it that. Just like College, the Glenwood wants to keep things in perspective though and remain focused on playing to their own strengths, rather than relying on a downgraded effort by their SA number three ranked rivals. Plus Glenwood is sweating over a few injury concerns at the moment, delaying the finalisation of their team. Adding to the build-up excitement is news from the Glenwood coaching staff that they are hoping to see recently implemented structures starting to pay dividends. Fundamentals such as going low in tackles and stopping their momentum, is key to beating Affies. Glenwood should be able to hold their own in the scrums and open play, however lineout accruacy is an area that has let them down at times this year. Attacking threats in the backline have also suffered as a result of poor interchanges between players. The Green Machine has the personnel on board to win this game. If the individual talents can click, Affies will be hard pressed to keep up with them. One thing is for sure, this game will amount to a good contest of note.
Of huge concern to Glenwood has to be the place-kicking. With Warren Potgieter ruled out, chances are that Derwent Stopforth will take on the kicking duties. Michael van Aardt is the other big injury worry. Since moving to the tail of the scrum, he has shown good form, which earned him a Craven Week spot. It is unlikely that he will start, meaning that both Kobus Viljoen and Muziwandile Mazibuko will run on in the same jerseys they wore against Kirkham, while Kay comes back into the starting line-up.
| GLENWOOD | AFFIES | MARITZBURG COLLEGE | PRETORIA BOYS HIGH | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matthew Worral-Clare | 1 | WP Eloff | 1 | Njabula Gumede | 1 | Y. Ngubegusha |
| Sanele Pina | 2 | Francois Steyn | 2 | Vuyo Khatide | 2 | C. Van Heerden |
| Marne Coetzee (C) | 3 | Cornell De Waal | 3 | Mvelo Khumalo | 3 | S. Barber |
| Kobus Viljoen | 4 | Jean Droste | 4 | Rett Pieterse | 4 | W. Scott (C) |
| Sihle Ngxabi | 5 | Calvon Allison | 5 | Robert Kamhoot | 5 | W. Lloyd |
| Rupert Kay | 6 | D Bezuidenhout | 6 | Nicholas Muller | 6 | N. Ralepelle |
| Muziwandile Mazibuko | 7 | Albert Van Heerden | 7 | Cameron Christie | 7 | P. Makgaba |
| Carel Swart | 8 | Steven Meiring | 8 | Reegan Smith (C) | 8 | M. De Waal |
| Mthokozisi Mkhabela | 9 | Louis Venter | 9 | Josh Rencken | 9 | K. Pieterse |
| Unathi Makasi | 10 | Hanco Posthumus | 10 | Lukas Booysen | 10 | D. Harris |
| Akhona Nela | 11 | Andries Van Der Merwe | 11 | Murray Janse Van Rensburg | 11 | W. Dunkley |
| Nkululeko Marwana | 12 | Nico Lee | 12 | Thato Molelekoa | 12 | N. Rodgers |
| Dylan Coulson | 13 | Marchant Van Den Heerver | 13 | Marcel Coetzee | 13 | N. Smith |
| Sphamandla Ngcobo | 14 | Thys Van Wyk | 14 | Cyle Muil | 14 | S. Hlatswayo |
| Derwent Stopforth | 15 | Constant Pretorius | 15 | Banele Ngwenya | 15 | L. Stevenson |
@beet: Yes Beet..that often happens…At one stage in the seccies game thsi weekend I told a opposition parent that i dont mind the ref cheating a bit, but does he have to make it that damn obvious?…At least try to make it look like a honest mistake!
@boxkick: Ek weet nie want hy het n goeie CW gehad. Ek dink die feit dat hy en Massyn so lank beseer was en in n sukkelende Monna span gespeel het.
Maar soos julle behoort te weet…….cowboys don’t cry……..especially not in front of their horses.
@andret – boxkick is n boer…net geweet hy moet die rooi taal mooi leer as hy eendag iets wil bereik. Ek sien die WP en BULLE se losskakels albei in die SA Skole span…wat het met Jaco gebeur dat hy dit nie gemaak het nie?
En as dit dringend nodig is …
Is dit nou tyd om te laat weet dat my familie in Krugersdorp groot geword het, my oom het daar gebly, was taamlik bekend in die motor besigheid. Glo nie hy was a Monna’s seun – dink dat hy ook Potch Boys High toe gegaan het. Toe maar, as a mens lank genoeg in Durban bly is alle tekens van die Wes Rand weg gevee, ons sal nooit heetemaal saamstem nie …. nes College and Glenwood ondersteuners …
@Gungets Tuft: Ek vra jou net een ding mooi asb…….moenie onnodig stir nie.
@Andre T: Ek bly nou in Durban, n 3-yster and a wedge van die strand of. Het in PMB stilgehou om tenk vol te maak en padkos to koop, en die beste skool in the land by te woon 8)
@Gungets Tuft: Nie geweet Maritzburg is by die see nie. Randfontein is n kwaai skuilie plek. Hempas Reademeyer territory.
@Andre T: Eintlik was ek in Randfontein gebore, maar het gedink die manne hier sal nie eers weet waar is Randfontein nie. Van daar af was dit net n stadige verhuising strand toe, via Howick and Maritzburg. Maar wees versigtig, ek is 100% soutie!!
@Gungets Tuft: So jy is eintlik n Wesrander? Moes dit eintlik al lankal agtergekom het.
Ok dan maar Boxkick, Hossfly en Grasshopper verstaan nie afrikaans.
@Andre T: Luister boet. As ek agter jou rug staan and afrikaans praat sal jy nie weet ek’s nie a boertjie nie. Ek is in Roodepoort gebore, my pa het in Potch skool toe gegaan. Toe ek oud genoeg is om te kies het ek Maritzburg toe verhuis. Ek was 6 jaar oud :-)
@Gungets Tuft: I think the refs have complained about this as well. Not enough time and money ploughed into lower level refs in SA, yet the professional like approaches expected of them.
I enjoyed the games that I watched while CW was on coz I imagined the refs got the level of strictness at the breakdown just right to promote good rugby that didn’t ignore the rulebook. I’d like to see more of that at 1st team level. The breakdowns in particular can become a sore point of any game that might otherwise have flowed. I feel that the way around this is a better understanding between what refs want and what coaches teach. This is achieved by follow-ups possibly on the Monday after games whereby ref societies and school coaches can have their input and take something valuable out of it.
@All Black: That can work but okes like Gungie won’t understand. I once worked in Maritzburg for a few days and never heard a word of afrikaans during my stay.
@Andre T: Ha ha. Ok will keep it to simple english. Met up with a fellow in Pretoria this weekend and we agreed that he speak afrikaans and I will speak English. Worked very well.
My view is that the refs for these top games are not often experienced enough. Top schools nowdays are as good (sometimes even better) as provincial U20, hell – even Vodacom cup teams. They are fast, skilled, very technical. They are not Saturday jollers running out just to use up some time.
I don’t query refs decisions generally and never when next to the field (helps nobody, especially the boys), because they know more than me (or I would be reffing), but I think that the Society should have a better ranking system and get refs appropriate for the game. This, to me anyway, was the issue with the ref for the College-Affies game. He will be a good ref one day, but this match was way too early in his career, he just seemed like a deer in the headlights on occasions.
Then – simplify the damn laws. The ruck-maul is a free for all that captains need to be able to judge after the first three rucks and get his team to adjust to the way the ref is going to blow, because no 2 ever blow it the same.
@All Black: Admonished??? Blackie don’t use these ununderstandable words. Crikey man……you see sometimes we don’t understand each other and then you think I’m stirring.
I think he panicked and made some horrible calls. Saw him talking to touch judge re time and I have a feeling that he had made a mistake and went against what he had told everyone. I agree, no ref cheats (except Bryce Lawrence) but they can make calls that influence the outcome that are wrong. I just think this fellow had a poor feel for the game and was not prepared or keen to make any big calls. The time issue was bizarre, the rolling maul a call that no-one could understand and the potential penalty try a crucial call. He also would not allow the College 9 to stand in a position that the law clearly does allow. Wont go into detail but then admonished the player for questioning his call. Lets say it was frustrating.
@All Black: If all this is true then there is definately something wrong in the referee’s society. Watson should be fired and a new person to take control. Most of these games are recorded these days and the refs need to be reviewed the Monday after the games by the panel.. Incidents like you’ve pointed out above should be discussed with the ref in question who should then either be banned for cheating or demoted to go and blow Natal schools teams.
@Andre T: Look I think its important to make a clear distinction between the 2. The guy who unintentionally makes the wrong call and the one who goes out of his way to make the wrong call.
Do you guys honestly think that a ref will blatantly cheat in front of a huge crowd? Do you really think Jeffrey Dahmer killed and ate all those victims?
It’s all in the mind man, same with the Groot Trek……there was never something like that or a person called Dingaan………it’s just a myth to charge up the boerTjies.
Refs never cheat…….they only make wrong calls.
2 incidents that happened right in front of where we were sitting.
1) College 5m out and on attack. 2 man overlap out wide and defense sucked in. PBHS flank intercepts pass between 9 and 10 from a cynical off side position. Probably going to be a try. PBHS supporter next to me groans that it is going to be a penalty try. Ref gives College a penalty, flank throws the ball away so a quick tap cant be taken. No card and then still stops College from taking it quickly once they have the ball.
2) College score final try and ref says 2 mins to go. Even signals it with his fingers. College kicker already on the mark takes quick kick, no more than 15 secs, and College are already back waiting for kick off. Ref blows final whistle.
Anyway, dont want to harp on this but it ruins a good game played by two teams who really came to play.
@All Black: I think its obvious that Andre is not being serious. I witnessed Jam in action over the weekend in the u21 game so I related to the voice thing.
On a serious note I actually heard a few other complaints about reffing from other parts of the country as well. Obviously everyone believes with varying degrees of emotional control attached that referees are human and will make mistakes but the real word that we should be using when a ref intentionally makes a call that he knows is wrong in order to benefit one of the teams is CHEATING. There is no way around this. As much as we want our referees who make mistakes to improve and do a better job, we should make a stand (I don’t know how) to remove cheaters from the game.
I guess we are not going to get a mature response from Andre T. Beet you seem to like it. Over this.
@Andre T:
@all – I am not for one moment saying the ref was to blame for Glenwood loosing, just that he took, what was to be a spectacle of schoolboy rugby away….the last 20 min of the first half and the first 20 of the second half was like being at a bazaar….absolutely nothing happened and there was just this buz from both stands as people starting talking to each other as apposed to watching the game…he just killed the game…
@Andre T: Not touchy – just get irritated with deliberate stirring.
Our seconds beat the Affies 2nds – how is that going to help.
All Black – I thought the ref against Affies 1sts on Goldstomes was also pretty ordinary. Both teams suffered though, so it influenced the mood rather than the result (except perhaps the collapsed maul in the Kent corner where College were brought down 3m short and Affies stole the ball) – but in the end the better team won.
A 1 or 2 point game (Grey PE, Paul Roos, PBHS, Michaelhouse, Glenwood – all away from home and on hectic travel schedules) are always going to have their “if only” moments, and apparently have no effect whatsoever on how teams are ranked in SA by any of the people that rank teams.
If you want to see how College react to matches, why not read the offical report at :
http://www.maritzburgcollege.org.za/downloads/category/23-2012 – Newsletters – I think you will find them balanced and fair.
@All Black: Referees should be taken out of rugby. Technology should be the ref. A Hawk-eye type of device should be installed that swings over the field like that camera in the IPL. If programmed correctly there can be one set of rules worldwide. The voice that controls the game should be a sexy husky Kim Carnes kind of voice and not someone like Lusanda Jam.
Andre T. If you must know the ref for the College game was just as poor. He did not know basic positions at set pieces and was extremely poor at the breakdowns. We have the video of the game and some of the decisions were completely wrong. College maul from 22 to 22, maul gets collapsed by Boys High (according to touch judge as well) and College get a scrum? How is that possible? Use it or lose it or penalty to College. Those are your options. Not whinging but when a ref has a direct influence on a result then something should be said. Kzn have their fair share of poor refs so it is not just Pretoria.
@Gungets Tuft: Gungie……jeepers but you okes are touchy this morning. Well done on your Super XV side.
I’ll rephrase the thing……maybe College must play KES’ 2nds next year.
@Andre T: Andre – easy tiger. College 2nds beat Affies, U16A beat Affies, I think the 4ths drew 12-12.
Pretoria Boys we beat at home, lost by a point away. Our junior teams won at U16A, U15A and U14A this weekend, after a 7 hours bus ride, at altitude.
And not all KZN schools complain about the ref, so perhaps be a bit more direct in your comments. Unless you are deliberately trying to p#ss off everyone in KZN, in which case – congratulations – you are doing very well at that.
@Andre T: The refs are always blind and deaf…….what a miserable boring excuse. Was Graham Henry born in Natal?
Another possibility for schools like Glenwood and Maritzburg is to play against the Pretoria schools’ 3rd teams and maybe record victories to gain confidence.
@boxkick: @Greenhopper: I must say I was very surprised to see the margin between Affies and Glenwood. I expected the game to be a lot closer in terms of points. Very sad to hear that the ref influenced the scoring.
KZN and Lions schools find themselves in troubled waters. Playing each other more often might see some better results for both unions against other union’s schools. I think KES still unbeaten against Natal opposition, must be for a few years running now.
@beet – 3 tries in the first 15-20 minutes to affies 1st team and the extremely average referee is what cost the first team their game…glenwood was simply not allowed to play…when glenwood was hot on the attack the ref would find something to penalise them for – glenwood even got penalised for the affies hooker popping in the scrums…the boys did fight to the end and need to be concratulated for that…hope they can regroup for College…having said all of that, glenwood first time tackles didnt come off and they looked somewhat naive in the contact situation – affies no8 ran through glenwood no8 a couple of times – glenwood was also a bit slow in reloading on defense and the affies no9 caught them out on various occasions arround the scrums and rucks…glenwood went for touch 3 or 4 times in the second half and should have gone for points which would have braught the game more to affies and forcing them to press the game as well…a fair score IMHO would have been 20/ 28 if glenwood was allowed to play…
In the open sides and having been at Affies in 2009 when most of these teams got hammered aby 40 odd points , all I can say it was a huge improvement , 5th Team should have won going down 11- 7 a Affies supporter of 25 years said “ Affies are nervous they don’t know what it’s like to lose.” The Ref made a telling mistake in the last two minutes that should have seen the 5ths win . 4ths played extremely well. The 3rd again should have won , a Affies Touch Judge awarding 5 m line out from a penalty that clearly went over the full backs head in the dead ball area , and scored a try form here . Glenwood to learn that the number 8 can’t keep taking the ball , he needs to push in the scrum and let the scrum half feed the line, 3rd battled in 1st half winning no scrums or lines outs , but only losing 10 – 7 , second played well, steady , a bit short on discipline, must say . 1st team, they looked like they were going to loose from the kick off. Fast and excellent hand skills, everything done as pace and direction.
I don’t think Dylan should have played, again hurt his shoulder and we really needed him for the coming weekend, They took 18 players into the match , again same problems as we have been experiencing all year
I think our u16 played well, some really good talent here and should dominate the selection of the 1st team for next year , certainly they have the speed. Truly to watch the Affies boys play at pace , we just looked to slow around the park, and certainly our attempts to “bash” didn’t work, when the backline started talking risks in the last quarter it started to look better
Beet – my son at Glenwood said the school was not “amped” about going up to Pretoria
Usually the day before a trip like this the boys (most of the school) rev up the teams with warcries and they all get hyped up about the games but not so this year
maybe too much rugby and too many mountains to climb in the last 3 games – willing to bet though this will not be the case when Grey arrive at Glenwood
Not a great day for the 2 KZN teams.
College came close to recording a really good win but Glenwood were surprisingly far off losing by 18 points. I’m sure they put in a huge effort tho.
Glenwood rugby results vs Affies; http://www.glenwoodhighschool.co.za/sites/default/files/vs%20Affies.pdf
3 wins and a draw is an improvement on last year and it was away. Maybe next year at home we could get 5 wins. Hard luck to the 1st team it was always going to be an uphill battle…
@kcob: Sorry 28-10
@kcob: 27-10 to Affies if Rugby365 has it right.
Glenwood score, anyone?
@kcob: Yeah, sorry. Was looking for one name, missed Khubeka right next to him. Doops – for me at least – were a shoo in. What a pity Dan Kriel was injured – could have had 2 sets of twins from KZN in the squad.
@ hungers So have the three Kearsney boys. All four KZN boys through…well done guys!
Jesse Kriel has made the final 28 man SA SChools squad. Fantastic stuff, great player. Small compensation for not having him in the team in Pretoria today.
@Gungets Tuft: Final Score for the 1st 15 – College 25 – PHBS 26
How many games have College lost by 1 point this year???
@grasshopper
i thought that the GW U15As were going to win their game! what an incredible Affies side this must be
Glenwood U15A team has had some ‘interesting’ changes to the team which seem to indicate that the coach is still testing them. Was thrilled to see U15B drew with Affies and 2nd team won. I still rate Glenwood’s 2nd team as one that fulfills the textbook principles of great team work and rugby – probably due to an amazing coaching team.
College 1sts – half time College 11 – PBHS 13
@star: Yeah, you are correct – I read it wrong on the boards. Starts in Lane 5 in the final. Fantastic stuff, Phelps squeaking in by 7/100’s of a second or something. Can’t write him off though.
Cam vd Burgh through to the Semi’s in the mens 100m Breaststroke as well. Bit short for him, he prefers the 200m.
College vs PBHS early results – incomplete and dribbling through
U14A – College 22 – PBHS 0
U15A – College 15 – PBHS 11
2nds – College 27 – PBHS 25
First Hockey – College 3 – PBHS 2
U16A Hockey – College 4 – PBHS 2
U16C Hockey – College 1 – PBHS 0
U14A Hockey – College 1 – PBHS 1
GW U16 beat Affies narrowly by 29-27. This was the only team which won last year as U15A’s when Affies travelled to Glenwood. The pride of Maritzburg College – U16A remain unbeaten in 2 and a half seasons beating PBHS 13-11. Well done U16 lads for keeping theKZN flag flying in Pretoria!!
@Gungets-I think he posted the 2nd fastest time beating another of the all time greats in Lochte. At 20 years he is racing the greatest swimmers of all time in their pronk. Consensus is that the next 2 Olympics will be his time.Dare we dream now?
And for the swimming fans, especially the Westville okes, Chad le Clos posted the 6th fastest qualifying time in the 400m IM – in the final tonight at 8:30pm. Beat Michael Phelps’ time. Once the S15 Semi is over, stock up and stay in your seat!!
Glenwood 4th’s win 22-10, great result! Showing the Glenwood open’s strength. At Greenwood, the Affies Under16A’s are their weakest in years, I don’t think our side have lost to them since Under14.
@Gungets Tuft: Hope I got that U15A result right – the tweet was a bit confusing now that I read it again. Might be the other way round
College vs PBHS early results
U14A – College 22 – PBHS 0
U15A – College 15 PBHS 11
First Hockey – College 3 – PBHS 2
U16C Hockey College 1 – PBHS 0
U14A Hockey College 1 – PBHS 1
whoever is posting these scores – well done keep it coming !
I would think that the 1st team game may be played earlier today -with Super 15 semi at 5 oClock
would you say that the u16’s win bodes well for 1st team next year especially so being an away game
Glenwood Under16A won 29-27, well done boys, especially away from home :-)
Glenwood Under 14A lost 8-20
Glenwood Under 15A lost 5-43, the Affies side must be incredible! To beat that side by that margin is crazy. Methinks the boys are learning to travel and play at altitude the hard way.
Good luck to Glenwood & College – both schools have more support than you realise – stacks of Old anonymous old boys in the background routing for you guys following the game on facebook BBM etc
@beet: Yes, she does, runs all the systems and administration. Top lady, you can see where her boys get their nature and talent from.
I really hope that College and Glenwood can go up to Pretoria and show some form.
2 from 2 is not an unreasonable ask for this weekend. Its especially important for Glenwood to get a result. Altho they have injuries, no one is going to take notice of that, they’re just going to remember and comment on all the Affies players that were missing.
@CyndiAtRugby: Thanks Cyndi.
I will keep that in mind.
@Beet – Awesome article, if you ever need photos …
@Gungets Tuft: Doesnt she work for Glenwood?
@Greenwood Derwent has often gone on as a reserve and is a great ‘safe’ player. He doesn’t try flashy moves or anything like that but he really does make an impact on the field. His run last Saturday shows how much confidence he has gained. He is also a ‘toughie’ who is not afraid to tackle even the big guys.
There are photos of the Kearsney games (including the misty day) on my Facebook site. It will be great to watch some of the sporting highlights from that tournament.
Finally, so sad to see that once again there are other teams playing at the same time as the 2nd team. (U15B & U16B) I understand the Grey boys still have to drive back, but it really is a pity as the 2nd team are playing awesome rugby. I have heard that Heino Beneke is unlikely to be back by the College game but is expecting to play the Grey game … and its the last of the season
@Greenwood: Schedule sent out by Brad McNeill’s mom …
Glenwood vs Grey Bloem Fixtures on Friday 10th of August; http://www.glenwoodhighschool.co.za/sites/default/files/GLENWOOD%20VS%20GREY%20COLLEGE%20Fixtures%2010%20AUGUST%202012.pdf
Eish, a day less to recover after the big derby game up in Maritzburg the weekend before….
Hey Guys – if anyone is interested there are repeat broadcasts of Kearsney 2012 Festivile games on Supersport Copied & pasted from Email received from Glenwood – maybe Beet can broadcast this
Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival on Supersport
Please note that the 2012 Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival will be flighted on Supersport at the following times. I hope you all get a chance to watch it.
24-Jul-12 22:00 SS6 / SS6A
30-Jul-12 16:30 SS1 / SS1A
31-Jul-12 04:30 SS1 / SS1A
31-Jul-12 14:30 SS1 / SS1A
02-Aug-12 06:00 SS1 / SS1A
02-Aug-12 13:00 SS1 / SS1A
14 Aug-12 17:30 SS1 / SS1A Subject to change
15 Aug-12 22:00 SS6 / SS6A Subject to change
Kindest regards
Shelley Mc Neill
Systems & Data Adminstrator
Glenwood High School
Tel: 031-2055241×234
Fax:031-2055838
Where did Stopforth come from ? never heard of this bloke before Kirham game last Sat. apparently he did well and what happened to Warren ?
I heard a Rumour from a very reliable source – face to face that U18 SA trials may take place during the week and not this weekend but then surely by now we would have heard about this -!
Good luck to both Glenwood and College against the Pretoria neighbours. It must be daunting playing in the shadows of Loftus Versfeld. Both KZN sides will be meeting monster packs and dealing with travel fatigue and altitude…..Haibo!!
@Beet, great write up once again! You are becoming a legend of KZN schools rugby in the Tony Stoops mould for WP schools rugby. Do you know if Vermaak and Coulsen are fit and playing? Potgieter and Van Aardt missing is a big concern, especially Van Aardt as he gives us that extra physicality requirement against a monster Affies pack….