28 May 2023
Riverside was a festive hive of activity on Saturday as the Clifton family came out in force for the school’s Founders Day, offering up their support for the visit of Westville Boys’ High.
In the late morning, Connor McKenzie and his hockey team claimed the honours in the clash of the two 1st XIs, with a late penalty corner winning it for Clifton, but the Griffins were favoured in the 1st XV rugby match.
Two quick tries
Following some pre-game fun, with a cool blazer display by the hosts, the teams took to the field.
Early on, the Griffins ran in two quick tries, the first of them going to Likhona Finca after a break to the outside on the right.
In the 13th minute, Siya Ndlozi was over for try number two for the visitors, hitting a short ball from Finca at pace, bursting between two players, and then turning on the jets to outpace the Clifton cover defence and score in the right-hand corner.
It looked as if it was going to be one-way traffic, but Clifton made it a tough battle for the visitors.
Griffins’ coach Njabulo Zulu told Pinnacle Schools: “We took our foot off of the pedal [after scoring that try] and, once they got a try, they were good.”
That five-pointer came in much the same way they had scored against Glenwood the previous weekend, with the Clifton forwards driving the ball up at the try-line, pounding away with wave after wave, until they were over.
“We couldn’t deal with that”
Zulu paid tribute to Clifton’s feisty forwards: “It was such a frustrating game. We really struggled to deal with their forward pack. They were very direct, pick ‘n go. We couldn’t deal with that. They scored three tries from the pick ‘n go, once they got into our 22.”
Westville, though, were next to score, with the Ndlozi and Finca combination once more cutting the Clifton defence to shreds. This time, starting on the halfway, Ndlozi made the early running before feeding Finca, who galloped through to score under the poles. The simple conversion from the accurate boot of Speedy Ramaloko put the Griffins 14 points clear at 19-5.
On their Founders Day, there was no stepping back from Clifton, however, and they returned to the left-hand corner as their forwards reprised their early try-manufacturing effort to add a further five points to the Clifton tally.
Westville backline vs Clifton forwards
The problem for the hosts was, however, the Westville backline. While Clifton owned an advantage up front, the Griffins were on top when the ball went wide. Finca, again, was at the heart of it, breaking through the Clifton midfield before finding his captain Tebogo M’Khomazi on the inside. When the 8th-man went over, there were four minutes left in the half, and another conversion made it Clifton 10-26 Westville.
Time was almost done in the opening stanza, but it was a case of déjà vu as the Clifton pack, once more, forced their way through the Westville defence in the left-hand corner. Sadly, for the home team, the conversion kick didn’t land for a third time.
From close range, the Griffins had no answer to the ruthless attack of the Clifton pack. The home team also shone at ruck time, forcing a number of turnovers, something which Westville coach Zulu termed “an issue”.
“When we kept the ball, we were very good,” he said, “but, too many times, we just didn’t respect the ball. We forced matters.”
Only four points in it
Early in the second half, Clifton pulled within four points of Westville when captain Adam Zoio burst clear, right through the middle of a ruck on the Griffins’ 22, to go over for five points. This time, the conversion was there, making it Clifton 22-26 Westville.
Clifton continued to play a lot of rugby in the Westville half, but they couldn’t find a way through, as the clock kept ticking.
Then, with just over six minutes to play, the visitors, at last, moved the scoreboard again. Returning the favour, it was the Westville forwards who set it up, drawing in the Clifton defence with a series of pick ‘n goes before going over on the left when they sent the ball wide.
Then, only two minutes remained when the powerful Finca made a superb break from inside his own half, sprinting into a gap before fending off a would-be tackler and leaving the rest of the defenders trailing in his wake.
And it was the magnificent Finca who set up Westville’s final try, two minutes into injury time, to put the gloss on what appeared to be a comfortable 47-22 win for the visitors. It was anything but.
“The scoreboard actually flatters us”
While there were 25 points in it at the end, Zulu felt the result didn’t do Clifton justice. With admirable candour, he said: “The scoreboard actually flatters us. We scored three tries in the last seven minutes. It was really close.”
A win, though, was what the doctor ordered, after a setback last week against a talented KES line-up. Especially, also, since another big challenge awaits Westville next week.
It takes place on Bowden’s against DHS. Earlier this season, the Blue Typhoon claimed a 24-20 win over the Griffins on Van Heerden’s. Will home ground advantage tip the scales in favour of coach Zulu’s charges? A fantastic game is in the offing.
Results
Hockey
1st: Clifton 1-0 Westville
2nd: Clifton 2-0 Westville
3rd: Clifton 0-3 Westville
4th: Clifton 0-1 Westville
16A: Clifton 1-0 Westville
16B: Clifton 1-1 Westville
16C: Clifton 0-0 Westville
16D: Clifton 0-5 Westville
16E: Clifton 0-3 Westville
14A: Clifton 3-1 Westville
14B: Clifton 0-3 Westville
Rugby
1st: Clifton 22-47 Westville
2nd: Clifton 3-57 Westville
3rd: Clifton 3-34 Westville 4th
4th: Clifton 0-36 Westville 5th
16A: Clifton 7-54 Westville
15A: Clifton 0-52 Westville
15B: Clifton 0-45 Westville
14A: Clifton 12-15 Westville
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