26 March 2023
Maritzburg College visited Van Heerden’s on Saturday, 25 March, for an early season duel with their traditional rivals, DHS, in front of a packed arena, filled with strong support for both schools.
Heading into the match, College were coming off a tough 20-27 loss to Michaelhouse first time out, with ‘House scoring the winning points right at the death. DHS, however, enjoyed a rather less stressful win over Saint Charles, triumphing 52-12 the previous weekend, which had come on the back of a 39-17 win over Voortrekker Bethlehem.
Clean break
On Saturday, in somewhat windy but not too warm weather conditions, much of the early rugby was played in the middle of the field as both teams probed for chinks in the other’s defences.
It was DHS who manufactured the first clean break of the contest, with centre Zingce Simke slicing through the College defence. He looked to be in the clear, but, with the try-line only three to four metres away, he was caught from behind and spilled the ball forward in the tackle.
The referee, then, blew a penalty for DHS, as he had been playing an advantage. The boys in blue and gold chose to drive the ball up, and took the ball right up to the uprights, but College were able to relieve the pressure with a penalty that went their way, after DHS held onto the ball on the ground.
In the early part of the game, the home team was benefitting from the wind, with their kicks being noticeably longer in distance than those of College, and DHS was, wisely, making full use of that advantage.
Missed opportunity
DHS should have gone ahead shortly after that, when they created an overlap on the left. However, flyhalf Deano Boesak, seeing the two men outside of him starting to become squeezed by the touchline, chose to try to sell a dummy and cut inside. College tighthead Aiden Botha didn’t fall for it and stopped Willemse with a desperate tackle, supported by fullback Luyanda Kunene.
DHS, though, quickly shifted the ball inside and then back outside. They made it over the try-line, but were held up, resulting in a five-metre scrum. It wouldn’t be the last time that one of the teams was held up over the line on the day.
From the scrum, DHS drove the ball up, just to the right of the poles. Then, from a short pop-pass, flank Dale Hendrikse found himself in a gap and he crashed over under the uprights (see photo at top). One of the features of the home team’s play, especially in the early parts of the match, was the short pass to a player running just off the shoulder of the ball carrier, to put the supporting player in a gap, and it worked well. A successful conversion made it 7-0.
Advantage doubled
It didn’t take long for DHS to double their score. After fielding a long kick from College, which didn’t find the sideline, the Blue Typhoon counter-attacked down the left flank. When the ball was fed inside to scrumhalf Florenson Ockhuis, he executed a perfectly timed cut inside off of his left foot, which opened up the visitor’s defences.
He accelerated away from the defenders and went over next to the posts. An easy conversion, then, gave DHS a 14-lead lead.
Having fallen two scores behind, College dominated territory, putting DHS under a heavy pressure by keeping it tight, utilising one of two passes and then driving the ball directly at the DHS defenders, forcing them to make plenty of tackles.
College had an opportunity to get on the scoreboard from a penalty, which would have been pretty easy, but they choose, instead, to set up a lineout near the DHS try-line. Unfortunately for the red, black and white, the kick for the touchline went out over the try-line, and with it a try-scoring opportunity disappeared.
At the break, it was 14-0 in favour of the hosts. Christian Everitt and his team had looked the more likely scorers, managing to create a little more space out wide than Maritzburg College, and they had thus looked more dangerous. College, for their part, needed to find a bit more rhythm. They had been forced to play under greater pressure than their opponents, which meant there were no big gains to be made.
In the second half, Sasha Kadira and his side began well, setting DHS on the back foot. They worked their way up to the DHS try-line, but a knock-in just short of the whitewash gave the hosts a scrum put-in and they managed to clear the danger.
College on the offensive
Maritzburg College, though, were soon back on the offensive. From a penalty, they took a tap, wrestling their way to the right where prop Phiwayinkosi Kubheka powered his way over the try-line. DHS, though, had managed to get under the ball and he was deemed held up.
Eventually, though, the pressure told and College were on the board. From a lineout, they formed a rolling maul and made good metres towards the opposition try-line. With DHS in slight disarray, Khubeka, who was a very large sized problem for DHS all day, broke off of the right of the maul and bashed his way over the try-line, much to the delight of his team-mates.
From about 18 metres in from the right-hand touchline, flyhalf Luc du Toit added the extras to make it DHS 14, Maritzburg College 7.
Soon, College were back on the attack after a sharp counter from fullback Luyanda Kunene. He made a scything break with a hard step off of his right foot. Then, when he was challenged by the last defender, he chipped the ball over the top. The sideline won the race for it, however, but Kunene’s incision had taken College back to within five metres of the home team’s try-line.
Change in momentum
After managing to extricate themselves from deep in their own half, DHS, once again, turned the screws on College, taking charge of possession. But it all became a little untidy and on a couple of occasions they conceded the ball by knocking on.
Unfortunately, the game had become somewhat stop/start, as a number of small injuries and the resulting breaks in play broke up the momentum of the clash.
College, though, were seeking an equaliser and forced their way back into the DHS 22. After winning a penalty, they moved the ball right a couple of times before reversing direction and breaking over the DHS try-line through captain Sasha Kadira. It looked as if they had scored. The relentless defence of the home side held once again, though, as the referee signalled that College had been held up for a second time in the match.
The visitors continued to pound away, but DHS managed to force a turnover and cleared their line, celebrating the much-desired relief that the kick had brought as the seconds ticked away.
That marked the last good opportunity that Maritzburg College would have in the contest, and the DHS supporters cheered happily when the final whistle blew as their team claimed the always highly prized scalp of their respected rivals by a seven-point margin.
Reflections on the game
It was a tale of two halves and two styles. When the game was looser and the ball given air, DHS were at their best. Their backs looked good with ball in hand, and there is plenty of pace and skill enough to challenge any opposition.
DHS flyhalf Deano Boesak was one of the standout players of the contest. He exhibited a strong kicking game and the willingness and ability to challenge the defence directly with his slippery running.
College excelled when keeping it a tighter game and driving the ball up with their forwards. They have some menacing, very physical ball carriers, and they ask a lot of the opposition defence by this very in-your-face approach.
Had it not been for a fully committed defensive effort from all 15 players, led especially by player of the match and the scorer of the first try, Dale Hendrikse, DHS would have found themselves on the wrong side of the result. Instead, they made it two on the trot against Maritzburg College, following their impressive 38-14 victory in 2021.
A last word on the rivalry between these two schools, formed in 1863 (Maritzburg College) and 1866 (DHS) respectively: it was pleasing to experience a respectful, friendly rivalry among the supporters, both young and old.
On the field, it was hard-fought, but off of it the respect is healthy and the occasion worthy of the long years of great clashes that have helped these two opponents become better versions of themselves. Well done to both!
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