10 June 2023
Maritzburg College turned up the heat on their Northwood rugby opposition in Pietermaritzburg on Saturday to achieve a stellar set of results. Wins were few and far between for the visitors, but there were plenty of tight contests.
On the hockey front, the advantage swayed back and forth between the two schools as the competition moved between the different age groups.
Rugby
1st XV report
Maritzburg College had let their game a week earlier against Hilton College get away from them after a slow start, but against Northwood they rectified that.
“The boys went well, with two very good tries first up,” College 1st XV coach Tim Orchard told Pinnacle Schools. “The second try, especially, was excellent.”
College, though, then became a little loose in their play, and the Knights responded with a magnificent try from a speedy counter-attack down the left-hand touchline.
It was 14-7 in favour of the red, black and white at halftime.
Second half
In the second half, the home side got back to their winning recipe, tightening things up to turn the screws on Northwood, which saw them win going away by a 36-14 margin.
It was the kind of response that he was after from his players, Orchard said, after a disappointing performance in a loss at Hilton College the previous week.
“We spoke a lot about owing it to ourselves to have a better performance,” the coach said. “We were a lot more physical and more direct. We were direct like we wanted to be against Hilton.
“When Northwood started upping the pace, it was a bit frenetic. That affected the way we played a bit, and it became a bit of an arm wrestle. Once we went back to what we know, and what we do best, we pulled away from them.”
Results
1st: Maritzburg College 36-14 Northwood
2nd: Maritzburg College 57-26 Northwood
3rd: Maritzburg College 17-10 Northwood
4th: Maritzburg College 50-0 Northwood
5th: Maritzburg College 15-8 Northwood
6th: Maritzburg College 38-5 Northwood
7th: Michaelhouse 6th 7-5 Maritzburg College
8th: Michaelhouse 7th 24-19 Maritzburg College
16A: Maritzburg College 32-29 Northwood
16B: Maritzburg College 28-0 Northwood
16C: Maritzburg College 12-12 Northwood
16D: Maritzburg College 27-5 Northwood
15A: Maritzburg College 14-10 Northwood
15B: Maritzburg College 28-29 Northwood
15C: Maritzburg College 20-19 Northwood
15D: Maritzburg College 27-12 Northwood
15E: Maritzburg College 29-21 Northwood
14A: Maritzburg College 31-9 Northwood
14B: Maritzburg College 17-17 Northwood
14C: Maritzburg College 50-0 Northwood
14E: Maritzburg College 50-0 Northwood
14F: Maritzburg College 12-17 Northwood
Hockey
Matters on the Astro were very tightly contested. College won five matches, Northwood claimed seven wins, and there were three draws.
The 1st and 2nd teams drew, but College won the other three open age group matches, with their depth, as it so often does, shining through.
The under-16 age group, meanwhile, was wild! There were 32 goals scored in six matches, with College winning two of them, Northwood three, and one being drawn. The biggest hockey result of the 15-game schedule went the way of the visitors, with their under-16 A side claiming a superb 5-2 victory over a very good Maritzburg College team.
At under-14 level, it was all about Northwood. They’ve proven themselves to be among South Africa’s elite teams in the age group this season, and that’s where they picked up four of their seven victories on the day.
Results
1st: Maritzburg College 0-0 Northwood
2nd: Maritzburg College 1-1 Northwood
3rd: Maritzburg College 1-0 Northwood
4th: Maritzburg College 2-0 Northwood
5th: Maritzburg College 4-1 Northwood
16A: Maritzburg College 2-5 Northwood
16B: Maritzburg College 4-2 Northwood
16C: Maritzburg College 3-3 Northwood
16D: Maritzburg College 2-4 Northwood
16E: Maritzburg College 3-1 Northwood
16F: Maritzburg College 0-3 Northwood
14A: Maritzburg College 0-6 Northwood
14B: Maritzburg College 0-6 Northwood
14C: Maritzburg College 0-1 Northwood
14D: Maritzburg College 1-3 Northwood
Leave a Reply