Overview Sporting Achievements
This past weekend saw Maritzburg College head up to Pretoria to take on the boys of Pretoria Boys High in a full round of sporting and cultural fixtures on Friday and Saturday. In addition to rugby and hockey matches, College’s Choir and Jazz Band played at KES and PBHS, there was plenty of other action with chess, debating, public speaking, golf, tennis and table tennis matches on the go.
Rugby
College took 22 rugby teams to play against PBHS, and were thrilled to win 17 of their matches, including good wins for the U14A, U15A, U16A and 1st XV teams.
1st XV match report – Mr Tim Orchard (1st XV coach)
On the weekend Maritzburg College travelled up to Pretoria to take on Pretoria High Boys School for the second time this season. College was looking for a bounce back performance after their loss at home to Affies where they could see glimpses of what they can do with ball in hand.
The match started brightly for the visitors when Spha Ngcobo finished off a well worked team try when the ball was shifted to the edge and he raced away to score in the corner for a converted try. Unfortunately, a lack of communication at the resulting restart gifted PBHS a try of their own to put the score at 7-7. Elbie Mouton was the next to score when he barged over the try line from close range to extend the lead. The game ebbed and flowed for a number of minutes until College spurned a glorious try scoring opportunity when the ball was spilt over the try line. The third try of the game went to Liam Prinsloo but it was an example of what College could do with ball in hand from deep in the own half. They shifted the ball quickly to the open side wind and found space which, after some slick inter play between the backs, allowed Prinsloo to dot the ball under the poles for a converted try. Not long afterwards, Kuhann van den Berg finished off another well worked try when a set piece move found Prinsloo in acres of space. With the open side winger committed, Prinsloo put a well adjudged kick which allowed van den Berg to race clear of the cover defence and dot the ball down. The game was now College’s as they looked to further increase their lead.
The second half started with PBHS hitting back with a try of their own as they sort to overturn the somewhat large deficit. After the PBHS try, College tried to hit back but poor decision making, and finishing prevented them from further extending their lead. It took College until the 57th minute to score their next try and again it was a well worked set-piece which allowed Ivan Chirengende to crash over in the right hand corner. This score now put College firmly in control of the match. Pretoria Boys hit back again for their third try after a smart lineout move allowed them to score, but the try was not converted. College hit back again in the 65th minute when Kevin Ayliffe smashed over after a bright passage of play from College. College now had the bit between their teeth and looked to score again. Kyle Wilken was the next to score when he scored the mirror image of Ayliffe’s try after another good passage of play from College. The last try of the day was a great example of what College’s lightning quick fullback Ngcobo can do against an unorganised defence. He took a quick tap penalty with College’s 22m and raced away, carving up the PBHS defence as he flew along. Lihle Bester was on hand to finish off the break away as he dove under the uprights much to the delight of all the College supporters present.
College 52
Tries x8: Spha Ngcobo, Elbie Mouton, Liam Prinsloo, Kuhann van den Berg, Ivan Chirengende, Kevin Ayliffe, Kyle Wilken and Lihle Bester
Conversions: AJ Knoetze x6
PBHS: 26
Caption: A jubilant College 1st XV celebrate with coaches and physio staff following their 50-26 win against PBHS.
Credit: College
Summary of Results
| Team | Opposition | Result | Score |
| 1st | PBHS | Won | 52-26 |
| 2nd | PBHS | Lost | 24-25 |
| 3rd | PBHS | Lost | 7-22 |
| 4th | PBHS | Won | 20-8 |
| 5th | PBHS | Won | 38-10 |
| 6th | PBHS | Won | 20-10 |
| 7th | PBHS | Won | 24-0 |
| 8th | PBHS | Lost | 5-17 |
| 16A | PBHS | Won | 31-8 |
| 16B | PBHS | Won | 39-0 |
| 16C | PBHS | Won | 24-5 |
| 16D | PBHS | Won | 64-0 |
| 15A | PBHS | Won | 24-10 |
| 15B | PBHS | Won | 29-7 |
| 15C | PBHS | Won | 36-14 |
| 15D | PBHS | Won | 32-5 |
| 15E | PBHS | Won | 31-7 |
| 14A | PBHS | Won | 36-3 |
| 14B | PBHS | Lost | 12-14 |
| 14C | PBHS | Won | 24-10 |
| 14D | PBHS | Won | 29-7 |
| 14E | PBHS | Lost | 12-31 |
Hockey
Sixteen College hockey teams were in action against PBHS over the weekend; with College winning 7 of the matches, losing 4 and drawing 5.
1st XI match report – Kyle Emerson (1st XI coach)
Travelling to Pretoria to take on PBHS never easy; facing the determination and fight of ‘Boys High is difficult enough, and to do it at altitude is a tough adjustment.
College started the game well and had the ascendency early on as they broke the high PBHS press on numerous occasions, earning multiple circle entries in the first quarter. There were too many missed chances during this phase which the team would regret. The opening goal came in the 13th minute when a high ball was thrown by Aiden Carter to Julian Konigkramer, who beat his defender and passed the ball to Bryn Brokensha on the far post. College continued to dominate the first half but could not extend their lead, and a few minutes before halftime College went down to 10 men after receiving a green card. PBHS capitalised and earned a penalty corner which they flicked into the goal. Their second goal would come just before half-time when the College defence got lazy in their marking, and a ball was hit into the circle with a good back-hand deflection beating the College keeper.
College’s momentum kept being stifled when they picked up cards at the wrong time in the second half. In the 4th quarter College had 6 penalty corners in a row which were kept out by the PBHS defenders. It eventually ended with a stroke awarded and Alex Styan slotted it in the goal to bring the scores level with 9 minutes to play. Another card to College meant that PBHS could pile on the pressure, and resulted in them earning another penalty corner which the drag-flicker scored, giving them the lead, with 6 minutes remaining. College searched for the equaliser, but with PBHS having a numbers advantage, this was difficult. On the stroke of full-time College earned a penalty corner which resulted in an exciting finish, but Matthew Ponter couldn’t beat the goalkeeper and his drag-flick was well saved. The match ended with the final score at 2-3.
The match was an epic battle from two teams who never gave up, playing an exciting game of hockey, and the result would go to the team who made the most of the opportunities which they had.
Summary of Results:
| Team | Opponents | Result | Score |
| 1st | PBHS | Lost | 2-3 |
| 2nd | PBHS | Won | 2-1 |
| 3rd | PBHS | Won | 4-0 |
| 4th | PBHS | Won | 3-2 |
| 5th | PBHS | Lost | 0-4 |
| 6th | PBHS | Lost | 0-3 |
| 16A | PBHS | Drew | 2-2 |
| 16B | PBHS | Won | 6-0 |
| 16C | PBHS | Drew | 0-0 |
| 16D | PBHS | Won | 1-0 |
| 16E | PBHS | Drew | 0-0 |
| 16F | PBHS | Won | 3-0 |
| 14A | PBHS | Won | 3-2 |
| 14B | PBHS | Drew | 0-0 |
| 14C | PBHS | Drew | 0-0 |
| 14D | PBHS | Lost | 0-3 |
Other Sports vs PBHS
- Cycling vs PBHS: N Burczak 1st, C Sellick 3rd
- Chess vs PBHS: College lost 5 – 15.5
- Golf vs PBHS: College won 2.5 – 1.5
- Debating vs PBHS: College Seniors won; Best speaker: Mikhail Karrim. College Juniors lost; Best speaker PBHS
- Squash vs PBHS: Played 24; Won 15, Lost 9
- Public Speaking vs PBHS: K. Steele – Gold+, K. Marais Gold++(winner), M. Ngubo – Gold+, A. Khumalo – Gold+
- Table tennis vs PBHS: 1st team lost 1-9, 2nd team lost 1-9, 3rd team won 3-2, 4th team won 3-2. Played 4, won 2, lost 2
Other Sport
Squash
College’s 1st team squash side travelled to East London this past weekend to participate in the SA Top Schools’ Tournament, hosted at Selborne College. This tournament involves the top schoolboy teams from across South Africa. After a tough weekend of fixtures and some tight matches, College finished in 8th position overall – effectively ending the season as the 8th best school side in South Africa – a very well done to all our 1st team players.