16 April 2023
Glenwood hosted Northwood on Saturday afternoon, fresh off of a brilliant performance in their last match against Worcester Gimnasium, while Northwood came into the contest having won two of three at the KES Easter Festival, where they went down to Paarl Boys’ High in their last outing.
The Green Machine had won three on the trot at the Kearsney Easter Festival and were full of confidence, rightfully so. Their 57-8 dismantling of Worcester was as complete a performance as one could hope for. Northwood, though, were not about to hand a victory to Glenwood.
Strong Glenwood start
Still, early on it looked as if they had no chance of stopping the Green Machine, whose start was as clinical as their play had been in the victory over Worcester. From the kick off, Glenwood played with outstanding control of the ball, driving it up, setting up rucks, running off of the rucks, and all the while pushing the Knights backwards.
Then, hooker Keegan Goosen spotted some space behind the Northwood ruck and leapt over it before pinning his ears back and sprinting onto the last defender. Then, he passed inside to scrumhalf Tyrique Hardnick, who raced through and dived over beneath the posts. The simple conversion by Jaco Williams put the hosts into a 7-0 lead.
Given the ease with which Lithemba Mfupi and his men had clicked into top gear, matters looked ominous for Northwood. But that was clearly not something that bothered the visitors.
Superb solo effort
In the 12th minute, from a short lineout on the Glenwood 22, Northwood flank Alu Nte caught out the home team, dummying a pass to the backline before sniping through a hole in the ranks of the lineout. With one man to beat, he sold another dummy and cut back inside to go over for an excellent solo five-pointer.
A big feature of the first half was the manner in which both teams fiercely contested the rucks. It resulted in a number of penalties killing off the attacking team’s surges.
With less than a minute to go to half-time, Northwood snatched the lead. From a ball moved wide to the right, the Knights sliced through the Glenwood defence. Then, they shifted the ball inside.
The second of those passes didn’t go to hand, but Nokuthenda Gunda responded instinctively and brilliantly, volleying the ball ahead with his right boot, and then winning the chase to dot down to the left of the posts.
Cade Latham knocked over the conversion and the referee whistled for half-time. Glenwood 7-12 Northwood.
On their game
After the restart, Glenwood were, once more, on their game. Just as they did in the first half, they came out focused and efficient, and it didn’t take long for the Green Machine to score their second try.
They forced their way deep into the Knights’ territory where they won a penalty. Instead of an easy shot at goal, they chose to take a tap. Time after time, they drove hard at the Northwood try-line. The visitors exhibited ferocious defence. Eventually, though, captain Lithemba Mfupi powered his way over the whitewash for five points, pulling Glenwood level at 12-12.
Mfupi had gone over just to the left of the uprights. It looked like an easy conversion, but Northwood flew out at the kicker, Jaco Williams, and he, surprisingly, missed the opportunity to give his team the lead.
When the Green Machine earned a penalty inside the Northwood 22, they turned to scrumhalf Hardnick and he slotted the kick to put the home side into a 15-12 lead. Northwood flyhalf Cade Latham, though, replied for the Knights to make it 15-15 with 14 minutes played of the second stanza.
Glenwood back in front
From the kick off, Glenwood won the put in at a scrum. They went blind and centre Chijundu Okanta cleverly drew two defenders before releasing winger Bakhosibakhe Gamede. He rounded the Northwood cover defence on the left and sprinted in to dot down near the poles. Hardnick added the extras and Glenwood were 22-15 to the good.
The two rivals were going at it blow-for-blow, and Northwood duly found a reply to once more even the scores five minutes later. This time it was a penalty try to the visitors and, crucially, Glenwood also lost a player to the sin bin for a spear tackle. It was 22-22, but 15 players taking on 14, and Northwood exploited their numerical advantage well.
Even though the man who was binned was in the back division, the Knights also began to boss the tight scrums, winning a number of penalties in succession as they pushed Glenwood off of the ball.
Crucial penalty option
They had a chance to go clear with what would have been a relatively easy kick at poles, but they chose to run the ball and were stopped by a knock on. Then, from another penalty they had won at scrum time, flyhalf Latham was about to kick for touch. On the side-lines, the coaches exhorted their charges to take a quick tap penalty. They listened, quickly moving the ball wide to the left, where they had space because of their one-man advantage.
Halted out wide, they brought the ball back to the centre, where a ruck formed. The ball was then presented to Latham on the left. He sold a dummy to his outside, cut inside on a sharp angle towards the posts, and there was daylight in front of him. He dived over under the uprights to lift his side into the lead again. Latham also added the conversion to make it 29-22 to Northwood.
“To be honest, I didn’t think I was going to get past those defenders, but I got through and luckily we got the points on the scoreboard,” Latham said after the game.
The players and coaches alike celebrated ecstatically. Belief was coursing through the Knights’ veins. An upset was on the cards.
Yellow card setback
Glenwood needed a converted try to level matters, but Northwood had the bit between their teeth, once more winning a penalty at scrum time with a huge eight-man shove. After too many penalties conceded at the set piece, the referee showed a second yellow card to the Green Machine, making their task of rescuing the game much more difficult.
Northwood kept their foot on the pedal, holding Glenwood in their own half up until the last minute. Then, the men in green exited for one last shot at saving the match. They won a lineout and drove their way into the visiting team’s 22, but a two-man tackle dislodged the ball. With that knock-on, the referee blew his whistle and Northwood ecstatically celebrated a cherished victory.
Like many others, Northwood have suffered at the hands of Glenwood on the rugby field in recent times, with the Green Machine having often been KwaZulu-Natal’s top 1st XV, so Saturday’s win was very emotional, said Knights’ coach Jeremy McLaren.
“I don’t know when last we came here to beat Glenwood,” he told Pinnacle Schools, “and we’ve worked so hard, but we’ve lacked confidence. But we told the players that we believe so much in them. I think they showed that they could do it. It’s massive.”
What stood out in the Northwood effort was that they contested everything. There was no lineout left uncontested, never a scrum not fought for, never a ruck conceded. That’s how it should be, McLaren said.
“We’ve worked hard. Most of our teams is in grade 11, so we knew if we could eliminate them in the set scrums and eliminate them in the lineouts, and have the freedom to play, we would have a chance.
“I think every contest should be a 50/50. If you just allow them to play, they’ll get themselves going. We had to not give them scraps, because that is what they wanted. We’re very blessed with this victory.”
With the game on the line, it was Northwood who finished much the stronger, dominating especially in the set scrums to win a number of penalties that kept Glenwood pinned deep in their half. Commenting on his team’s winning try, he said: “I think the reality is Glenwood were down and out on their feet and our conditioning has been so good in the last six months. We just felt we should take it to them. It’s probably brave not to take that penalty. We’ll take it.”
Captain’s comments
For captain Enzo van Niekerk, who impressed with his tireless work rate and leadership from the front, it was a defining win in Northwood’s season: “It was everything that we have been waiting for. Our team definitely had the talent. We hadn’t been using it to our full potential, but I feel like today we were up there, still not our full potential, but up there.
“It was a very emotional game, but the gents put their bodies on the line, and I couldn’t be prouder as a captain.”
Perhaps the biggest surprise in the contest was Northwood’s dominance in the set scrums. That was the fruit of lots of hard work, Van Niekerk explained: “It’s something that our scrum coach has been working on hard throughout the year. We haven’t really lost a scrum.”
Disappointment
Disappointment was etched on the face of Glenwood’s captain Lithemba Mfupi, but he was philosophical about the loss: “It was a rugby game. You win or you lose on a Saturday. Unfortunately, we got the short end of the stick,” he said.
After a superb start, he said he felt his team had fallen off their game. “I think we switched off. But I can’t fault the effort of the boys. They were there to the last minute.”
It’s a loss, but this Glenwood team, when they’re accurate, are incredibly difficult to stop. They’ll be back and will surely record some impressive victories, but on Saturday, 15 April, on Dixons, the honours belonged to Northwood.
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