23 April 2023
Saint Andrew’s School of Bloemfontein made the trip to the Indian Ocean and Durban to face off against Clifton College in hockey, rugby, chess and golf on Friday and Saturday, 21 and 22 April.
Saints, with some serious talent in their ranks, managed a 3-1 victory in the golf clash, but Clifton bossed the rest of the fixtures, winning all of the rugby matches and all of the hockey games, excepting for one draw and one defeat. They also took the honours in chess.
Rugby
Before they met, Pinnacle Schools had suggested that a match against Saint Andrew’s would be just what the Clifton 1st XV needed after dealing with a murderer’s row of an early season schedule, which had them lined up against one very high-quality opponent after the other.
While Clifton had come off second best in many of those games, they had shown that they were a very competent team and, maybe, all they needed was an opportunity to face a lesser opponent, which would give the Durban school the chance to open up and explore its talents.
Saint Andrew’s had one of the biggest props in South Africa in their line-up; Matthew Simon tips the scales at 138kg (and he told Pinnacle Schools he had been up to 148kg before the start of the season), but it was Clifton that delivered the big hits and came away with a 47-7 victory.
Only the under-16A team was made to toil for their win as Clifton recorded comfortable victories in the remaining fixtures.
Results
1st: Clifton College 47-7 Saint Andrew’s
2nd: Clifton College 50-0 Saint Andrew’s
3rd: Clifton College 28-0 Reddam House Umhlanga
16A: Clifton College 19-6 Saint Andrew’s
15A: Clifton College 40-0 Saint Andrew’s
15B: Clifton College 0-22 Inanda Development
14A: Clifton College 41-0 Saint Andrew’s
14B: Clifton College 12-19 Reddam House Umhlanga u14A
Hockey
On the Riverside Sports Club Astro, the Saint Andrew’s 1st XI gifted Clifton a couple of early goal-scoring opportunities and, credit to Connor McKenzie and his side, they grabbed them to open up an early two-goal lead.
Playing with confidence after their recent win against Maritzburg College, Clifton eventually rolled to a comfortable 4-0 win.
In a rematch between the two under-14 A teams, who had met only weeks earlier in the Independent Schools Festival at Michaelhouse, Clifton performed far better than they had the first time around, drawing 3-3 after suffering an 0-3 loss in the Midlands.
Results
1st: Clifton College 4-0 Saint Andrew’s
2nd: Clifton College 1-0 Saint Andrew’s
3rd: Clifton College 3-1 Saint Andrew’s
4th: Clifton College 5-1 Saint Andrew’s
16A: Clifton College 3-1 Saint Andrew’s
16B: Clifton College 3-0 Saint Andrew’s
16C: Clifton College 6-0 Saint Andrew’s
14A: Clifton College 3-3 Saint Andrew’s
14B: Clifton College 0-1 Saint Andrew’s
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