26 April 2023
The 2023 rugby has season has, thus far, been a very exciting one for Maritzburg College, with performances throughout all of the age groups improving by leaps and bounds, and some exceptional results being achieved, including, most recently, a 47-15 victory by the 1st XV over Pretoria Boys’ High.
College’s new Director of Rugby, Hendré Marnitz, hails from that part of the world, having led the rugby programme at Garsfontein before his move to Pietermaritzburg. Now, he is enjoying leading the charge of the red, black and white.
So, why the success? What is Marnitz’s philosophy about the game? We wanted to know…
He explained: “We want to make better people, so we try to assist the boys on and off the field and build relationships. Hard work is one of the cornerstones. Developing skills: if the players are skilful, they can play in any way that we want to play. So, we spend a lot of time on skills’ development. And we want to play at a really high tempo.”
That’s it, in a nutshell. But it takes buy-in from the boys to make it work. Pleasingly, Marnitz revealed, they’ve embraced his way.
Training hard
“The boys enjoy the way we train. They enjoy training hard. They’ve embraced our new way of doing things. I think we have really turned the corner.
“We are very excited. I think the rugby programme, at the moment, is doing really well. The junior sides are developing talent and bringing the boys together. They’re living the school’s values and showing what the school stands for. Boys that pull on a College jersey know what they play for, and they are proud to wear it. That’s very exciting.”
Coached by Tim Orchard, the 1st XV has put together impressive results on the field. After two narrow early season reversals against Michaelhouse and DHS, teams which have proven themselves to be high quality units, captain Sasha Kadira and company have really come into their own.
This past weekend, College made the long trip up to Pretoria for their annual derby against Pretoria Boys’ High, and they produced an astonishing set of results on the rugby fields of South Africa’s capital city, winning 25 of 28 games.
Marnitz commented: “I thought that the way that the boys conducted themselves in Pretoria, on and off the field, was very pleasing. And the rugby that was produced was of a very high standard. The results were very, very good, so we’re very happy about that.”
Turning to the 1st XV’s sensational counter-attacking success, he said: “Ball in hand, we were really good against Pretoria Boys’ High. There were some things we have worked on now for a while, and it’s nice to see when you’ve worked on a couple of things that they come off.
“I think the boys are growing in confidence. We all know confidence is such a big factor in sport, and you can see it in them. I’m looking forward to see what we can do in the next couple of weeks.”
Casting an eye on the future, he said: “The exciting things for us is that a lot of boys are coming back next year, so it will be nice to put the under-16s with this group that stays behind.
“We have put a big emphasis on not distinguishing who is grade 11 and grade 12. We see it as one group. When we fill water bottles, they both fill water bottles. There is no distinguishing there. We’re one group, and I think the boys enjoy one another’s company, so when we go away on these tours we go as one.”
Success has come early in Marnitz’s tenure. But did he expect that he would see such strong results so quickly?
Credit to the boys
“Early days, you have to look and learn and see what is available,” he said. “A lot of credit has to go to the boys for the amount of hard work they have put in. We’ve had many mornings when we’re up at five and training, which a lot of people don’t know about. All the hard work is now coming to fruition. It’s now paying off.
“The boys don’t complain, which I find very positive. If you say, we’re going to do something for 20 minutes, yes, it’s all-hands on deck. If we say, tomorrow morning we’re going to train at 05:00, they’re all there, they’re all committed, they’re all keen.
“That’s one of the fundamental qualities of the school, and that’s why the rugby programme is doing well. What the boys bring to the table is a never-say-die attitude, and that’s something that you can’t really coach. The school’s culture embraces hard work. It’s very exciting.”
Turning point
Interestingly, a turning point for the 1st XV this season came in a loss. But it was against Grey College, ranked number one in South Africa, with the Bloemfontein boys winning the game at the Noord-Suid Tournament 37-24, but not before being pushed all the way by College.
Truth be told, the final score doesn’t do justice to how close the match was. And the manner in which the 1st XV challenged Grey was a boost for Maritzburg College’s belief and its rugby programme.
“The Grey game came at a very interesting time for us. The expectation in the country is that Grey is, by far, the best team in the country,” Marnitz said.
“That game could have gone two ways: you either get beaten very badly, or you show up and you fight for all 70 minutes. For us, the way the boys got stuck in for 70 minutes was exceptional. A lot of people took notice of the College boys against Grey, and it was so pleasing how well the boys played, and how well they fronted up against Grey’s dream team.”
Winning rugby
Since then, College has rung up five wins on the trot, against a Lions Invitation XV (50-5), Hoërskool Nelspruit (32-19), Jeppe (26-20), Clifton College (33-5), and Pretoria Boys’ High (47-15). They’ve played some fantastic rugby.
Now, they get to test their mettle against another two quality opponents at the Absa Wildeklawer in Kimberley, playing Stellenberg at 11:30 on Saturday, 29 April, and Framesby at 12:40 on Monday, 1 May.
College nation is excited, and so, too, should be fans of schoolboy rugby. A tasty menu of the best of South African schoolboy rugby awaits, and Maritzburg College is a worthy participant at the table.
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