16 April 2024
(Article by Marlowe Bloem)
Clifton College hosted Glenwood High on Saturday at the Riverside Sports Club, with both sides yearning for a win after Clifton narrowly lost to St Stithians College last time out and Glenwood went down to Maritzburg College.
From the kick-off, it was the visitors who applied pressure. They reclaimed possession and immediately put Clifton under heavy pressure. The hosts’ tackling was strong, but eventually the lack of possession overwhelmed them.
Glenwood played through the phases and made it onto the scoreboard just before the 10-minute mark when a forward pod bashed its way over the try line to put them 5-0 ahead.
Clifton went onto the attack from the kick-off and forced their way down deep into the Green Machine‘s 22, but a turnover saw Glenwood breaking out before a long, well-judged cross-field kick from flyhalf Kungawo Ncamazane forced the home side to take the ball over the sideline, giving the visitors a lineout inside Clifton’s territory.
Glenwood had control of the ball once more and they slowly gained territory. Then, after forcing a five-metre scrum, they were rewarded again, when their big centre Lizwe Mtetwa went over from a practiced set piece move.
In the 34th minute, Glenwood added another try when flyhalf Ncamazane cleverly changed the direction of play. After receiving the ball from scrumhalf Ronan Rankin, he opted to fling it out to the blindside. Right-wing Sthabiso Dube was stopped, but he popped the ball up for the fullback Lesedi Khumalo, who was steaming onto it. He hit the gap and was through to score.
At half-time, it was 17-0 to Glenwood.
In the sixth minute of the second half, a well-judged kick over the Clifton defence caught out the home team and the flying Sthabiso Dube gathered the ball before going over for five points in the corner.
Clifton then enjoyed an extended spell of good possession. Patiently, they played through the phases and their reward came when they scored in the 55th minute from a ruck. Their burly centre Bradley Beeslaar, who had joined the pack near the Glenwood try line, was rewarded for his initiative when he picked up and forced his way over.
Four minutes later, when an attempted grubber by Clifton was blocked, Glenwood’s Lizwe Mtetwa beat the cover defence to the ball, toeing it ahead, before gathering and going over beneath the uprights.
In the last minute of play, with play having become loose, Glenwood flyhalf Ncamazane, with good tactical awareness, and seeing that the Clifton defence had been sucked in and was narrow, put in a cross kick out to right-wing Sthabiso Dube. He collected the ball on the bounce, beat a scrambling Clifton defender on his inside, and dotted down in the corner.
The final margin of 27 points was, perhaps, a little unkind to Clifton. A few handling errors cost them dearly.
For Glenwood, flyhalf Kungawo Ncamazane displayed a good feel for the game and his decision-making was on the money. That will be a cause for optimism for the Green Machine whose defence in 2024 has been solid, but their attack less effective.
On Saturday, Clifton visits St Charles, to face the Pietermaritzburg boys on their Old Boys Weekend. Saints look like a more than useful outfit. Their record this season includes a win over Milnerton, who recently upset highly regarded Rondebosch. ‘Bosch won all three of their matches at the Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival, which included wins over Kearsney and Westville. It will be a tough challenge for Clifton.
The aforementioned Westville, meanwhile, will host Glenwood on Saturday. Westville is coming into its own and on the weekend gave high-flying Jeppe, who beat Grey College, all they could handle in Johannesburg. The Green Machine, too, faces a stern examination.
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