30 August 2023
Maritzburg College is going to be a hive of activity this Saturday, 2 September, with the school hosting its Family Day and the Nashua Midlands Sevens. There will be something for all to enjoy.
Besides the exciting rugby action, there will be hockey 7s, an art and photo exhibition, fun competitions, live music and entertainment, food stalls, bring and braai (with fires provided) and jumping castles. Parking will be available on Barns’ Field.
Brent Gademan, College’s dust artist extraordinaire, will also be showing off his talent alongside Goldstones with his latest creation. Be prepared to be amazed: https://www.pinnacle-schools.com/2023/08/25/college-brent-gademan-240823/
Nashua Midlands Sevens
The Nashua Midlands Sevens, meanwhile, features action in the under-17 and under-15 age groups, with Goldstones hosting the under-17s and Snows the under-15s.
The under-17 lineup includes College A and B, Michaelhouse, Saint Charles, Northwood A and B, Hilton College, Glenwood, Linpark and Howick.
In the younger age group, College, Saints, Howick, Midlands Development, Northwood A and B, Linpark, Kearsney, Howick and Glenwood will battle it out for the title. Predicting a winner of either competition is well-nigh impossible.
Pinnacle Schools – YouTube – Check out the Pinnacle Schools YouTube channel for highlights.
College’s challenge
College, who finished their 15-man season later than most, will trot out their top under-17 line-up for only the second time this season. They rested their frontline players for the Glenwood Sevens, to give them time to recover, and then unleashed their first-choice selection last week at the DHS Sevens.
They started out strongly and recorded a convincing win over Saint Charles, who have proved themselves to be one of the leading Sevens sides with consistently good performances week in and week out. Northwood, then, comfortably handled the red, black and white, which resulted in College facing Saints once more in the Plate Semis. The second time around, Saint Charles recorded a solid win.
Saints making their mark in Rugby Sevens | Pinnacle Schools (pinnacle-schools.com)
Now, on Goldstones, and with one event behind them, College will be aiming higher in front of their supporters on Family Day.
Top contenders
Saints are a formidable outfit. They’re adept at using the full width of the field and have some strong and fast ball carriers, which makes them a real challenge for any opposition. They’re well drilled and can be devastating if given space to create attacks.
DHS and Westville lead the way at Glenwood Sevens | Pinnacle Schools (pinnacle-schools.com)
Northwood’s A and B sides enjoyed strong showings at the DHS Sevens. The A team made it to the semifinals where they were stopped by the hosts. However, their record included the aforementioned solid victory over Maritzburg College and a narrow two-point defeat to DHS, who went on to win the event, in pool play. Northwood’s B team, meanwhile, won the Bowl.
Michaelhouse enjoyed an excellent run at the DHS Sevens. They twice managed hard-fought victories over their great rivals, Hilton, including in the semi-finals. Then, in the title-decider, they pushed DHS to extra time before losing out to a sudden death try.
A tad unpredictable
Hilton, for their part, are a dangerous outfit. They surprised one of the better teams of the season thus far, Westville, in the cross-pool playoffs to qualify for the final four at DHS. They’re also a tad unpredictable, so their ceiling is the title. It could also go the other way.
Glenwood has a very strong rugby pedigree, but they didn’t perform to the best of their ability last weekend. However, like College, they were late starters to the Sevens season. The two schools met in the last matches between KZN schools on 12 August, so their best is surely yet to come.
Add to those teams a Northwood B team that has proved its ability to hang with the top sides, along with the unknowns of Linpark and Howick, and a thrilling day of running rugby is on the cards.
Under-15 competition
In the under-15 competition, College will be eager to have another crack at Northwood. Those two contested the under-15 final at DHS, with the Durban North school snatching victory right on the final whistle. No doubt, on familiar turf, College will be confident they can reverse that result.
There will be eight other teams standing in the way of last week’s finalists, of course.
Kick off on both Goldstones and Snows is at 08:00, and the finals start at 16:15.
Under-17
Pool A
Maritzburg College
Linpark
Saint Charles
Northwood B
Hilton College
Pool B
Michaelhouse
Howick
Northwood
Maritzburg College B
Glenwood
Under 15
Pool A
Maritzburg College
Saint Charles
Michaelhouse
Linpark
Northwood B
Pool B
Howick
Midlands Development
Northwood
Kearsney
Glenwood
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