1 July 2023
Maritzburg College painted a pretty picture for the 2023 under-13 Craven Week, with about 1 000 players, coaches and other support staff descending on the school, along with large numbers of families and their supporters, for the event, which ran from 26 to 30 June.
It’s one thing to look at an image and make a judgment based on that, but the feel of an event, the energy in the air, is every bit as important, so full credit to all involved, the Under-13 Craven Week felt good.
On every field, there was strong support for the teams, with the famed Goldstone’s and Snow’s being joined by Barns, used as a rugby field for the first time in 45 years, to accommodate the busy programme on Friday, the final day of the event.
“It has gone outstandingly well,” Tiny Coetzee, the Local Organising Committee’s Tournament Director, told Pinnacle Schools. “It’s truly gratifying to have this tournament here in Pietermaritzburg. We’re very happy to host it.
“It’s gone off extremely well for the KZN sides, who have just finished in third place in the Craven Week for both the A and the B teams. We are extremely proud.”
A boost for Pietermaritzburg
Ryan Kyle, Maritzburg College’s Director of Sport, said: “I think it has been great for our city to have so much activity. As a school, we are blessed, and blessed with the commitment of the staff.” Kyle said when he visited the Liberty Midlands Mall during the event it was packed with visitors from out of town.
Meanwhile, at College, vendors had done a roaring trade throughout the event, and the sponsors – Stadio, Thirsti, Standard Bank, Unilever, Mediclinic, ER24 and FutureLife – had seen good value delivered to them for their support.
“A perfect partnership”
Coetzee said the choice of Maritzburg College to host the event had been a no-brainer: “The moment that we heard that they were turning 160, we knew it would be a perfect partnership. They just opened their doors, and we haven’t heard one bad thing, one bad comment, from anybody. It’s just been outstanding.”
Kyle, meanwhile, looked very satisfied and happy with the product that College had produced: “In the middle of winter in Maritzburg, it is not always easy to make things look nice,” he said. “The estate staff have done a wonderful job. They are really proud of the work they do. We think, also, of all the people working as medics, all the referees, people who do the washing, everything that goes on, to the kitchen, and all the meals that get made. Everyone has just pulled together and made it work.
“Although Maritzburg College is on show, the success of the whole event is down to everyone taking pride in what they do. It has been great.”
Wonderful support from Saints and GHS
Kyle said College would not have been able to host the huge event without the support of Saint Charles College, Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High and Merchiston. “Girls’ High, Saint Charles and Merchiston have been wonderful. They have really jumped on board,” he said. “All the hard work that they have done on their campuses to welcome the teams has been great. I think the way all four schools have worked together to make it possible has been fantastic.”
With everything off of the field running beautifully – Maritzburg College Deputy Head Matthew Marwick did a sterling job on the public address system and was clearly revelling in talking sport and history, two of his favourite topics – the standards on the College fields were high.
The sheer size of the boys was impressive. That size varied, however. The heaviest player weighed in at 116 kilograms, said Coetzee, but the lightest was a mere 38 kilos!
Some highly entertaining rugby was on show on the final day. Those in charge of the scheduling had done a magnificent job; most matches were extremely closely contested.
An international highlight
One of the highlights of the event, said College’s Director of Marketing, Sally Upfold, was the match between Zimbabwe and Namibia, which was preceded by the national anthems of both countries.
What was truly noticeable was that the support was more wholesome than is often found in competition at older age levels. Too often, referees are loudly criticised, players scolded, with coaches focused on winning as a measure of success. However, this was not the case at College. It was very pleasing to witness.
While many boys have already selected where they will attend high school, there were, of course, scouts on hand. The feedback he’d received from them, said Coetzee, was that they were pleased with the high standard of rugby on display.
Coetzee reflected on the sport in KZN, adding: “I think rugby in the province is extremely healthy right now. I am very proud of the fact that our development programmes are going well. We are in a good place.
The backing of The Sharks
“We are extremely privileged to have great support from The Sharks, and from the KZNRU. They work closely with us. They provide us with our jerseys, our kit. They make sure our transport is sorted, so we are extremely proud of our relationship with them.
“In terms of working with the high schools, we’re very close. We, as the KZN Exec, work together with them and it is a very healthy relationship.”
There was little to see in terms of overt scouting from anybody. College’s Ryan Kyle said that was certainly not how the school approached the event: “The opportunity for schools to come and see the wonderful talent on display has been great. We hope that having it here at our campus has opened up people’s eyes to what we have in Pietermaritzburg.
“Who knows? Maybe there will be a few of these boys who will run out for the red, black and white sometime in the future.”
Leave a Reply