16 April 2023
Clifton College welcomed Maritzburg College to the sunny climes of the Riverside Sports Club on Saturday for a clash between the two 1st XVs. Both had been in action during the Easter holiday, with Clifton participating in the Saint Stithian’s Festival and College strutting their stuff in the Saint John’s Festival.
In Johannesburg, they had experienced different fortunes, with Clifton losing all three of their matches and College winning their three. But such black and white details can be misleading. Clifton, after all, had taken on two undefeated teams, Bishops and Michaelhouse, and a third, Kingswood College, which has lost only once all season.
And Kingswood’s record included a sparkling 34-5 win over Marlow. The same team from Cradock had lost 25-32 to DHS on a last-minute try. And that’s the same DHS team that defeated Westville this past weekend; at the Kearsney Easter Festival, the Griffin had won all three of their matches, including a 14-9 win over England’s best, Hartpury College.
The shine from College’s win over Jeppe
College, meanwhile, ran roughshod over a Lions Invitational XV, by a 50-5 margin, then beat Nelspruit 43-19. In their last match, they accounted for a very strong Jeppe team. And that strength became all the more apparent this past weekend when Jeppe took down Monument 30-24. Monnas, like Westville, had exited the Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival with a perfect record.
All this goes to say that two good teams were in action at Riverside. Some may have under-estimated Clifton, but the fact of the matter is, although their record thus far in 2023 has not been sparkling, they are competing at the highest level against some very good teams. It wasn’t too long ago that Clifton was unable to compete against the best. That is no longer the case.
Given a hellacious schedule, which included five games in 11 days (College had played in the Noord-Suid Festival before the Saint John’s Festival), a decision was made to rest some of the team’s players. They included, among others, captain and eighth-man Sasha Kadira and the exciting loosehead prop Phiyawinkosi Kubheka.
Man management
The decision was all about man management, College coach Tim Orchard told Pinnacle Schools. But those changes had an impact on the pack, which has been very impressive all season for the red, black and white.
Almost predictably, it led to some errors, which Orchard described as “very frustrating”.
College, though, started the game on the front foot, working their way deep into Clifton’s 22, but the home side defended stubbornly to keep the visitors at bay. There is, however, only so much goal-line defending one can do before the line is breached, and that finally happened in the eighth minute.
From a set scrum on the 15-metre line, five metres out on the left, College fed the ball to the backline. Flyhalf Luc du Toit popped a short ball to Colm Reardon, who hit the line at pace, running between two Clifton defenders. They half-stopped him, but he drove through their tackles and reached out over the line to score as he hit the ground. An easy conversion from near the posts put College 7-0 in front.
A perfect swan dive
In the 14th minute, they increased their lead. Quick ball speed down the backline earned them an overlap on the left and Reardon was able to run in for a try from 60 metres out, executing a perfect swan dive just left of the uprights to put an exclamation point on the five-pointer, his second of the day.
Another Du Toit conversion opened up a 14-0 gap for the visitors.
Clifton, though, are no pushovers and they kept meeting College head-on. “They were dogged. I think that’s the right word to use,” College coach Orchard said. “They came at us. They scrapped well. They didn’t shirk from the challenge.”
For the next 10 minutes, much of the action took place between the two 22s, but College then penetrated deep into Clifton’s territory. Resolute defence, though, repelled the danger and then, with half-time nearing, the home side put College on their own try-line for the first time in the match. It was time for Maritzburg College to demonstrate their defensive mettle.
Clifton try
They did. But, with only 30 seconds left in the half, Clifton forced their way over for a try, wide on the left, with captain Adam Zoio dotting down. The conversion attempt was wide, but Clifton was very much in the game at 5-14 down at the break.
Early in the second half, Clifton continued where they had left off, exerting pressure on College, but the red, black and white stood firm. A bit of an arm wrestle took place in the middle of the park, until College broke through for a third try in the 18th minute of the stanza.
Hat-trick
From a lineout on the halfway line, Clifton claimed possession and sent the ball down the backline. They were close to creating an overlap, but Colm Reardon read the situation perfectly and was ideally positioned to intercept the ball as the pass was made out wide. He hit the accelerator and there was no one to stop him as he crossed the try-line for his hat-trick.
Flyhalf du Toit tacked on two from in front of the posts, putting College 21-5 ahead.
Credit to Clifton, after that sucker punch, they put it behind them and took it to College once more, playing the game inside the visitors’ half.
Long range try
Then, however, in the 27th minute, College hit Clifton with yet another long range try. From a scrum inside their own 10-metre line, the team from Pietermaritzburg shifted the ball right, down the backline. Some good running lines opened up space for Reardon, and he took an outside gap around the closest defender.
He cut back against the angle and was scragged, just, by a desperate covering tackle, but Luc du Toit was on his shoulder to take a pop-up pass on the 22 and run away from the defenders to score under the posts. He knocked over the kick to extend the College lead to 28-5.
Undaunted, Clifton made their way into College territory with a sharp bust up the middle. They managed to keep College pinned back in their half until the last minute of the game.
Alongside the field, the Clifton support was outstanding. Theirs is among the most consistently vocal, no matter the state of the contest.
Then, with time all but up, College had a put-in just inside the Clifton half, on the left side of the field. More good running lines from the red, black and white caught the home team too narrow at the back and opened the way for Chiringende, out on the wing, to complete the scoring in the right-hand corner.
A little harsh
While 33-5 was, ultimately, a comfortable scoreline, it was a little harsh on Clifton. They had brought a lot to the clash and put College under pressure for long periods of time. But Maritzburg’s ability to strike from long range proved pivotal to them posting another tick in the win column.
Their rugby fortunes appear to be on the up and up, but more stern examinations lie ahead, with KZN schools showing during the Easter holiday that the sport in the province is in very good health. And Northwood’s win over Glenwood, coupled with a DHS victory over Westville on Saturday, showed there is very little between the sides, and predicting results is a foolish enterprise.
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