28 May 2022
The signs were all pointing to a Kearsney College victory when they ran onto the Riverside Sports Club rugby ground. They had achieved some strong results during the course of the season, beating a very good DHS side 24-20, edging out Eldoraigne 41-40, and downing Waterkloof 12-10. Saint Charles College had pushed them close a couple of weeks earlier, with Kearsney eking out a 22-19 victory, but Clifton had also won a tight contest against Saints, claiming the honours 17-10.
In wet and cold conditions, the previous weekend, they had pushed Glenwood hard before succumbing 10-26.
It was not so long ago that the thought of Clifton taking on the Green Machine was a no-go, but Clifton’s rugby staff has been hard at work, challenging their boys to match up to the traditional KZN powers, providing them with the skills to do that, and now they are, in fact, facing off against the best that the province has to offer.
However, the convincing nature of Kearsney’s successes through the various age groups against Clifton, including an emphatic 45-3 win for their second team, suggested the boys from Botha’s Hill would complete the weekend unbeaten on the rugby field, their only failure to record a victory coming in a clash between the Clifton 3rd XV and Kearsney’s 4th XV.
Bright start
With the wind at their backs, the visitors started brightly, too, pushing into Clifton’s half and driving the ball up down the middle. Quick ruck ball saw Matthew Campbell’s side create some space out wide on their left. Clifton closed it down, but when Kearsney once again created fast ball from the breakdown they owned a two-man overlap on the right.
Put into space, right wing Likhona Nunwana rounded the cover defence and sprinted over in the right-hand corner to give his side the early lead. An unsuccessful conversion attempt in a tricky north-westerly wind left the maroon-clad visitors up by a single five-pointer.
Soon, they swept back onto attack, with Clifton working industriously to ensure their defensive line was where it needed to be as Kearsney enjoyed the advantage provided to them by the wind.
Interception
Thanks to more good ruck ball, the visitors, inside the Clifton 22, managed to again create space outside on their right flank, but this time they made an error in judgement. If they had worked the ball through the hands, they would have opened the overlap, but a decision to throw a skip pass, to get it out wide as soon as possible, led to Clifton’s left wing, Mackenzie Haygarth, snatching the ball out of the air and taking the intercept 80 metres to score in the left-hand corner, much to the delight of the home supporters. It was 5-5.
Clifton then managed to negate the early fast ball Kearsney had enjoyed at the breakdowns. The scrums were well contested, while both teams did well to retain their ball, most of the time, at the lineouts in the testing wind.
Especially impressive in this regard were the Clifton second row of Calvin Kidd and Adam Zoio. Thanks to the quality ball they provided, Clifton was able to effectively Kearsney around the edges of rucks, especially through eighthman Joshua Saayman and hefty hooker, Okuhle Meyiwa.
Crashed over
Campbell and company, though, continued to enjoy a territorial advantage and eventually that paid off.
Right before the break, Kearsney shifted the ball down their backline, from right to left, and into the hands of left-wing Junior Dlamini. When he cut inside off his left foot, a clear diagonal path to the try line revealed itself in the covering defence.
If he had the pace to accelerate through the gap, a try was on. He had it. With a despairing defender draped on his back, Dlamini crashed over next to the uprights and the simple conversion gave the visitors a 12-5 lead at halftime.
Immediately after the break, Clifton showed their greater experience of the conditions produced on the Riverside Sports Club grounds, focusing on playing towards the right-hand corner of the field by aligning their kicking game with the direction of the telling wind. Kearsney, by contrast, had adopted a more ball-in-hand approach, but Clifton’s tactics soon proved to be fruitful and better considered.
At the same time, the home side also began to enjoy greater success attacking the channels around the sides of the rucks, and it was from one of these that they found open ground when they struck down the left. Luke Field, who enjoyed an outstanding game in the number six jersey, powered away from the Kearsney defenders stuck at the ruck before feeding the ball to Mackenzie Haygarth.
Game on
Pinning his ears back, Haygarth flew down the touchline, sprinting past the stands holding the boys of Clifton, who threw their hands into the air in joy, as the tryline approached. Over Haygarth went and it was game on, nothing in it.
Once more using the boot, Clifton pushed Kearsney back onto the defensive. Meanwhile, hooker Okuhle Meyiwa had become a real problem for the visitors. Time after time he made good yards carrying the ball off of the rucks, often requiring two or three players to halt his progress.
Power
From one of his carries, the team in black, white and red fed the ball to the backline as they entered the Kearsney 22. Haygarth managed to take it up to within five metres of the try line before he was swamped by maroon-clad defenders.
Once again, though, Clifton recycled the ball. Once more, Kearsney stopped the hosts before the try line, but this time Meyiwa was on hand to pick up and power through a couple of despairing tackles to thud down close to the uprights. A successful conversion saw Clifton hit the front for the first time on the day at 17-12.
Kearsney, though, manufactured a quick response.
After Clifton conceded a penalty inside their half, an excellent kick for touch delivered Kearsney a lineout five metres from the try line. A good take and effective drive saw them force their way over and the scores were level at 17-17.
Fortunes, however, swung again from the kick off. A well-judged drop kick towards the right-hand corner put Kearsney’s left-wing Junior Dlamini under pressure. With the wind taking the ball away from him, he tried to field it over a shoulder, but the ball bounced backwards off of his fingertips and into touch, just five metres from Kearsney’s tryline.
Winning points
Utilising their solid lineout, Clifton hit it up at the Kearsney line before shifting it down the backline, towards the middle of the field.
There, flanker Cameron Vernes managed to pierce the Kearsney defensive line, escaping the clutches of hooker Devahn van der Walt long enough to go over for Clifton’s fourth try of the day.
Another simple conversion and Clifton were 24-17 ahead.
Kearsney pressed for the seven points to pull out a late draw, but the hosts had the bit between their teeth. When the final whistle sounded, they had deservedly recorded their first ever win at 1st XV level over the boys for Botha’s Hill. The visitors were stunned, while Clifton’s enthusiastic supporters celebrated a long-desired success against an established rugby power.
Huge strides
It was the sole victory for Clifton over Kearsney on the rugby field on the day, although their u15A team came close to pulling off another upset, but it meant the so much to a rugby programme that has made huge strides in 2022.
From the Kearsney perspective, their 1st XV results in 2022 have been up-and-down, but their u16A team, convincing 50-0 winners on the day, are reason for plenty of optimism moving forward. A superb season that produced 13 victories and only one defeat suggests better days are ahead for the Greyhounds from Kearsney.
RESULTS
1st XV Clifton 24-17 Kearsney
2nd XV Clifton 3-45 Kearsney
3rd XV Clifton 5-5 Kearsney u18D
4th XV Clifton 0-52 Kearsney u18E
u16A Clifton 0-50 Kearsney
u16B Clifton 7-24 Kearsney U16C
U15A Clifton 10-13 Kearsney
u14A Clifton 3-36 Kearsney
u14B Clifton 0-50 Kearsney
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