Overview Sporting Achievements
Maritzburg College enjoyed a great weekend of sport with most games being played away against Westville Boys High. Showed traditional resilience, grit and determination, College’s 1st and 2nd XV teams both came back from tough positions to win their games convincingly, and the 1st XI hockey team also had an excellent 2-1 win!
Rugby
College won 14 of the 20 rugby matches played on the weekend, losing six. Against Westville, College played 17 games and won 14, losing just three. Both the 1st XV and 2nd XV teams were exciting matches, with College coming from behind to win the matches. College’s 1st XV were 7-26 down at one stage, before scoring 35 unanswered points and winning the match 42-26, an outstanding performance. After being 0-19 down, the College 2nd XV secured a 29-24 victory.
Maritzburg College’s Number 8, Sphephelo Mbonambi, lunging for the try line to score in an exciting encounter with Westville, which saw College come from behind 7-26 to win the match 42-26.
Credit: Dan Becket
1st XV March Report (Mr Tim Orchard, 1st XV coach)
On Saturday Bowden’s was the venue a mouth-watering encounter between Maritzburg College and Westville. Both sides were looking to get a vital win before the end of term with this being Westville’s last game of the season. Westville started the match the much better team and raced away to a comfortable 26-7 lead at halftime with College looking all but dead and buried. The expectant Westville crowd were relishing the opportunity to get one over their rivals from Maritzburg but one must never underestimate a College team with their backs to the wall.
The first half of the fixture was all Westville as they had the wind at their backs which allowed them to pin College deep in their own half. This territorial pressure paid off handsomely as Westville were allowed to accumulate points at ease through some very basic College errors. College did score a try of their own, when in the eighteenth minute Sphephelo Mbonambi broke off a rolling maul to score in the corner. The try was converted but that was the only real attacking College had the entire half. Westville entered halftime 26-7 up and looking all set to score a big win against their rivals.
The second half was an exact mirror image of the first, and with the College team with the wind at their backs, having the ascendency and playing all the rugby. In what was to become a famous come from behind victory, Liam Prinsloo barged over to get the ball rolling with a wonderful solo effort which was converted by AJ Knoetze. In the fiftieth minute, Kuhann van der Berg scored the first of his brace of tries to put in motion a juggernaut performance by the College team who now smelled blood and were now dominating proceedings. Keagan Goddard scored next after coming on as a second half replacement to put College in the lead for the first time during the match. The score incredibly now stood at 28-26 and College looked set to score more points in the half. Kuhann van der Berg scored his second try to further extend the lead now to 35-26, with AJ Knoetze in fine form with the boot. College carried on hammering away at the Westville line with Sphephelo Mbonambi scoring at the death to silence the Westville crowd to place the score at 42-26 with AJ Knoetze kicking over the conversion to end the match and to bring down the curtains on a fine College second half performance.
College 42
Tries: Mbonambi x2, Prinsloo, Goddard, and van der Berg x2
Conversions: Knoetze x5
Westville 26
Summary of Scores:
| Team | Opposition | Venue | Result | Score |
| 1st | Westville | Bowdens 1 | Won | 42-26 |
| 2nd | Westville | Bowdens 1 | Won | 29-24 |
| 3rd | Westville | Bowdens 1 | Won | 31-27 |
| 4th | Westville | Bowdens 1 | Won | 24-5 |
| 5th | Westville | Bowdens 1 | Won | 34-5 |
| 6th | Westville | Bowdens 1 | Lost | 7-8 |
| 16A | Westville | Bowdens 1 | Won | 25-15 |
| 16B | Westville | Commons 1 | Won | 6-5 |
| 16C | Westville | Commons 1 | Won | 29-17 |
| 16D | MHS | Tarpeys | Lost | 5-28 |
| 15A | Westville | Commons 1 | Lost | 5-12 |
| 15B | Westville | Commons 1 | Won | 28-19 |
| 15C | Westville | Commons 1 | Lost | 12-19 |
| 15D | Westville | Commons 2 | Won | 50-7 |
| 15E | MHS 15D | Baileys | Lost | 0-15 |
| 14A | Westville | Commons 2 | Won | 25-8 |
| 14B | Westville | Commons 2 | Won | 55-0 |
| 14C | Westville | Commons 2 | Won | 28-0 |
| 14D | Westville | Commons 2 | Won | 56-0 |
| 14E | MHS | Far Meadows | Lost | 0-50 |
Hockey
College’s hockey teams took on Westville Boys High in the main with a few matches against Hilton. In some very tough and close encounters, they played 18 matches winning nine, losing five and drawing four, with goals for being 30 and goals against 19. Against Westville College won six of their 15 matches, losing five and drawing four.
1st XI Match Report (Mr Kyle Emerson, 1st XI coach)
Two structurally and tactically teams squared up against each other and put on a good display of schoolboy hockey. Westville were the first to open the scoring after the midfielders did well to get out of the College press after a defensive error. The Westville captain broke into the attacking zone and passed the ball into the circle which did not find anyone. Roan Marais stepped over the ball thinking it would go out and it, very unluckily, hit the post of the goal and stayed in play whilst deflecting to a Westville striker in the circle who rolled the ball into the goal. A comical, and frustrating way to concede, but a good opportunity taken by Westville.
College continued to look for the equaliser with both teams creating scoring opportunities. College stayed true to their game-plan and were patient in keeping the ball and worked to break down the Westville defence. Bryn Brokensha received the ball in the circle and pull it past his marker to hit a quick backhand past the goalkeeper. Finding the equaliser shifted the momentum and gave College the belief that they could find the next goal.
Early in the second half, Ross Graham did well to dispossess a Westville defender in his own circle and earned College a penalty corner. Matthew Ponter buried a drag-flick, and this gave College the lead. Westville did step higher and run harder for the last quarter and did everything they could to put the College team under pressure and find the equaliser. Two penalty corners were well saved by Roan Marais in the last few minutes, and this would be the difference between the two teams.
Travelling and playing at Westville is not easy and having a few boys sick meant the College 1st XI was not at their best. It was the grit and ability to work together and follow a plan that enabled them to grind out a result in their favour.
Summary of Scores:
| Team | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score |
| 1st | Westville | Westville Astro | Won | 2-1 |
| 2nd | Westville | Westville Astro | Lost | 0-1 |
| 3rd | Westville | Westville Astro | Drew | 1-1 |
| 4th | Westville | Westville Astro | Won | 4-2 |
| 5th | Hilton | Water Based | Won | 2-1 |
| 5th | Westville | Thomas More | Drew | 1-1 |
| 16A | Westville | Westville Astro | Won | 2-0 |
| 16B | Westville | Westville Astro | Won | 1-0 |
| 16C | Westville | Westville Astro | Lost | 0-1 |
| 16D | Westville | Westville Astro | Lost | 1-4 |
| 16E | Westville | Westville Astro | Drew | 1-1 |
| 16E | Hilton | Beckingham | Won | 3-0 |
| 16F | Hilton | Beckingham | Won | 7-0 |
| 16F | Westville | Westville Astro | Won | 2-1 |
| 14A | Westville | Westville Astro | Won | 1-0 |
| 14B | Westville | Westville Astro | Drew | 1-1 |
| 14C | Westville | Thomas More | Lost | 1-2 |
| 14D | Westville | Thomas More | Lost | 0-2 |
Squash
A number of College squash players have been officially announced to represent various KwaZulu- Natal provincial teams:
U14A: Tilak Nana
U16A: William Galliers
U19A: Shrivar Maharaj
U19B: Matt Mason, Nikhiel Moodley, Thomas Pratt
Cross Country
College’s senior and junior cross country teams had good results in Race 6 of the Midlands League hosted by Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High School at Collegians, with three senior boys finishing in the top 10 and two juniors in the top 10.
Seniors
2nd- J Werth
5th- L Newlands
8th- S Arnold
Juniors
4th- L Shangase
7th- E McAllister
Soccer
It was a great start to the knock out phase of the KZNHSFA leagues for College’s teams as the u14 and u16 sides both won their semi-final games, and will both face Westville in the finals next week.
This week, the u15 and 1st XI teams are competing in the semi-finals vs Hillcrest and Carter respectively.