1 May 2023
Up against Framesby on Monday afternoon at the Absa Wildklawer Festival in Kimberley, Maritzburg College went into the game with wholesale changes, including the entire pack and three players in the backline. Eighth-man and captain Sasha Kadira sat the game out.
“We just decided that we should have enough in the tank to get us across the line, because we have 24 players here,” College 1st XV coach Tim Orchard told Pinnacle Schools.
Addressing Kadira’s absence, he said: “He needed a bit of a rest. He was able to play. It was just that we wanted to give him a bit more time off, so he can come hard again next Saturday.”
The looming fixtures – Glenwood on Saturday, followed by Westville, and then College’s Old Boys’ Day – were the primary reason for all the changes. “We had to try to manage our players, so that they are fresh enough for those to two big games coming up,” Orchard said. He admitted, though, that it cost the red, black and white their rhythm.
At the end, though, they did have enough in the tank, as Orchard and his coaching staff had hoped, and they came away 19-13 winners.
It was far from a clean performance. The lineouts were more miss than hit – “a work in progress “, Orchard called it – and College also were blown up a number of times in the set scrums. But not because they were struggling. They were dominant. Orchard admitted to being frustrated by that, but he wouldn’t elaborate further.
Just getting through the game with no significant injuries was “the biggest relief”, he reckoned.
Good start
College got onto the scoreboard early after opting not to take a simple kick at goal from in front of the posts. Instead, they chose to run the ball and after six phases Umivuyo Kemke drove off of a ruck to score in the right-hand corner.
No slow start to the day this time for the KZN side, who had come out cold against Stellenberg two days’ earlier. Luc du Toit, from near the touchline, was just left of the mark with his conversion attempt.
(Video clip from SuperSport Schools)
The Maritzburg lead didn’t last long, however, as Framesby, from a lineout deep inside the College 22, levelled the scores when their big tighthead Sean Vermaak forced his way over. A poorly struck conversion attempt left the teams tied at 5-5.
Despite not starting with their first-choice pack, College looked to have the measure of the Framesby boys at scrum time. But College were penalised for scrumming inwards in the 22nd minute and left-footed flyhalf Logan Miller went for goal, with the wind at his back. From four metres inside Maritzburg’s half, around the 15m line, he sent the kick through the posts to edge Framesby in front by three points.
College immediately returned to the attack, but the ball was spilled. At first, the ref thought it was Maritzburg that had knocked on, but the assistant referee indicated, correctly, that it was Framesby who had lost control and College breathed a sigh of relief as fullback Tristan Afrika was off to the races with the ball in hand.
Set scrum dominance, but…
College, again, had Framesby in trouble at scrum time, but the referee blew them up. At the very next scrum, the ref pinged College again. They had Framesby in reverse, but the man with the whistle didn’t like what he was seeing.
Phiwayinkosi Kubheka, who had come in off of the bench, immediately had his way with the 122kg Sean Vermaak and this time the penalty went to the red, black and white.
Luc du Toit put College within seven metres of the Framesby try-line with a touch-finder. Then, from the lineout, Framesby were penalised for a late sack of the Maritzburg maul. Again, it was lineout time, but the ref blew the maul dead. It was half-time. It had been a fractured performance from both sides in the first half.
Second half
Kubheka crushed a Framesby attacker with a massive tackle at the start of the second stanza but, strangely, the referee penalised him, even though the tackled player had landed on his back. It was a significant hit.
Under pressure, College forced a turnover and moved up the field. Flyhalf Du Toit kicked out wide for Mbatha on the wing. Framesby reached the ball first, but Mbatha blasted the receiver as he got his hands on it and College were then able to force a penalty at the ruck.
Once more, Du Toit set up a lineout in the Framesby 22. College claimed the throw-in and, all too easily, Nkululeko Sithole was put into space by the flyhalf. At three-quarter pace, such was the space, he dived over beneath the posts. Du Toit’s conversion put College four points ahead. For the first time, they held the lead.
(Video clip from SuperSport Schools)
Framesby, though, were quickly onto the attack. This time they had a lineout in College’s 22 after the Maritzburg side had presented them with a penalty. It felt, almost, like that was the metronomic nature of the contest.
Framesby reply
The Capetonians mauled towards the College try-line, but the boys from the KZN capital held the ball carrier up, trying to force a turnover. Somehow, though, the ball sprang loose and when it popped out Framesby skipper Hein Terblanche was on hand to snatch it and go over for a try.
Straight away, Maritzburg powered their way into the opposition half. Luyanda Kunene, who had started on the bench, cracked on the pace and was almost through. College, then, won a penalty and the fullback spotted a half-gap. After drawing two tacklers, he offloaded, but his pass was slightly forward and Framesby survived. College had upped the tempo.
They forced a number of penalties in succession and each time set up for a lineout in the Framesby 22. But three times in a row the team from Gqeberha claimed the throw-in. If College has used their lineout effectively, they would likely have enjoyed a comfortable lead.
Counter-attacking brilliance
Then, from a high kick by Framesby flyhalf Miller, Colm Reardon did brilliantly to claim a contested ball.
From there, a pass went wide on the left to Mbatha, who would go on to be named man of the match. He beat two men on the outside, then grubbered past the last defender. At pace, he claimed the ball, cut inside and went over next to the posts. Kunene converted an excellent five-pointer and College were ahead 19-13.
(Video clip from SuperSport Schools)
There was electricity in the Maritzburg attack when Kunene received the ball, and Framesby looked stretched. The red, black and white were more cohesive and more dangerous than they had been, but a converted try would put the red, white and blue outfit into the lead. And, within less than five minutes to play, they were in the College 22. But a powerful scrum from Tim Orchard’s charges gave Du Toit plenty of time to clear.
Time was almost up, and Framesby had a penalty. Logan Muller’s kick for touch was short, but College knocked on. They kept allowing the opposition back into the game.
In the last movement of the contest, the hooter sounded. Framesby were heavily on the attack, but Nipho Buthelezi pulled off a crucial turnover to win a penalty and that big play sealed a 19-13 victory for Maritzburg College.
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