30 July 2024
After going down to DHS in a draining battle a week earlier, Northwood picked themselves up, dusted themselves off, and captured victory on Dixon’s Field for a second year in succession, beating Glenwood 31-17 on Saturday.
With the win, the Knights confirmed themselves as second to only the Horseflies in KZN in 2024.
Coach Jacques Deen explained afterwards why his charges have enjoyed such a strong season: “The boys have made it a success because of their ability to play with the ball. It’s unbelievable.
“From the backline to the forwards, it was incredible. They’ve got hands. They can attack, they’ve got a kicking game, and then we go and we maul and scrum like that. It’s a complete package.”
Frankly, you’re going to get no argument here. The Northwood 1st XV of 2024 was an exceptionally well-rounded team with their skills being complemented by an industrious attitude and a hard, physical edge.
For Glenwood, it has been one of their worst seasons in many years, in terms of results. There should, however, be optimism in the ranks. They’re very young and there have been numerous instances in the past in which a team has taken its lumps when younger, then gone on to become a dominant outfit the following year. One year of experience and one year older can make a world of difference.
On Saturday, the Green Machine trailed 5-19 at the break as Northwood looked on course for a routine victory, but the home side caused a flutter or two in the ranks of Northwood’s supporters when they pulled to within two points at 17-19. Classy team that they are, though, the Knights put together a good response and scored two more tries to come away with a 14-point victory.
Overall, the results were very even. Northwood won seven matches, Glenwood won six, and one match was drawn.
The visitors fared better in the u16 and open age group matches, while Glenwood was strong in the younger age groups, especially at u14 level.
Results
1st: Glenwood 17-31 Northwood
2nd: Glenwood 17-17 Northwood
3rd: Glenwood 0-15 Northwood
4th: Glenwood 0-40 Northwood
16A: Glenwood 24-45 Northwood
16B: Glenwood 0-29 Northwood
16C: Glenwood 31-12 Northwood
15A: Glenwood 12-10 Northwood
15B: Glenwood 10-21 Northwood
15C: Glenwood 7-43 Northwood
15D: Glenwood 20-12 Northwood
14A: Glenwood 8-0 Northwood
14B: Glenwood 26-7 Northwood
14C: Glenwood 40-0 Northwood
HOCKEY
On Friday evening, the Northwood 1st XI recorded a comfortable 4-0 win over Glenwood on the 3 Schools Astro.
It was a familiar result for the home side, who lost a good number of matches by the same score against other leading KZN schools.
Make no mistake, though, Glenwood has improved during the 2024 season. Their trajectory has been up, and that was, perhaps, best reflected in the KZN Coastal C team winning their inter-provincial week, with plenty of Glenwood boys in their line-up.
Northwood, meanwhile, continued a pleasing trend for the school of finishing the season a much better and more formidable team than when they started it. Progressively, they became a much tougher outfit to break down, and their results reflected that toughness.
The boys from Durban North won all six of the matches, with their u16B team being pushed hard in a 2-1 win.
Results
1st: Glenwood 0-4 Northwood
2nd: Glenwood 1-3 Northwood
16A: Glenwood 0-6 Northwood
16B: Glenwood 1-2 Northwood
14A: Glenwood 0-2 Northwood
14B: Glenwood 0-3 Northwood
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