Founded in 1863, Maritzburg College played its first rugby match in 1870, against Hermannsburg. Playing on the old Market Square in the centre of town under Winchester Rules, College won by two goals to nil, in the first recorded rugby match played in the old Colony of Natal

Rugby quickly became the game of choice at College and, apart from a short period of time in the 1880s and 1890s, when football enjoyed a considerable following, has remained the most popular winter sport at College.

A stand-out player in the early years was strapping farm boy, Philip Nel, who was the First XV captain and all-powerful head prefect of the school in 1921. Nel captained the Springbok team on its all-conquering tour of Australia and New Zealand in 1937. It remains the only Springbok team in history to have defeated the All Blacks in New Zealand. Such was the quality of the play of his imperious team that it was given the tongue-in-cheek accolade of being “the greatest team to leave New Zealand’s shores”. On the ship returning home, Nel formally announced his retirement from Springbok rugby by throwing his trusty old rugger boots into the sea. Like Alexander the Great, he had no more worlds to conquer.

Outstanding teams in the last five decades include the 1972 First XV, which supplied 10 Craven Week players and conceded only one try in 19 matches; the 1978 First XV, which won all of its matches; the record-breaking 1985 team, which won all of its 18 matches, including a 44-0 triumph over Bishops and a 10-4 win over a Grey College side brimming with five SA Schools caps; the 1987 side that included SA Schools’ captain Brenton Catterall and three other SA Schools’ players; and the 1988 First XV, which won all 15 of its fixtures.

Despite the retirement of the much-loved Mr Nicholson in 1982, that decade was a period of almost unbroken triumph for Maritzburg College rugby, and from 1981-1990 losses were suffered only against Glenwood (twice), Hilton and DHS (once each) among KZN schools. 

This rugby success continued into the 1990s, with the 1994 team delivering an unbeaten season against all South African teams, losing only to Gisborne BHS in the final of the World Schools’ Tournament in Bowral, Australia. Another highlight of the decade was the unbeaten 1995 side, which enjoyed wins over Ermelo, Selborne, Grey High and Paul Roos Gymnasium, and big wins over Glenwood (61-13), Westville (62-6) and Kearsney (43-3). Skippered by Zane Aszalos, the 1995 XV contained two SA Schools’ captains – Pieter Dixon (1995) and Richard Kelly (1996).

By 2022, the explosion of professional rugby around the world meant that the number of Old Collegians playing the sport on the international stage had increased dramatically, and Maritzburg College alumni have in the last 30 years won caps for the Springboks (including Joel Stransky, Butch James, Peter Grant and Jesse Kriel), England, USA, Italy, Germany, Cyprus and Spain.

For decades, the school’s redoubtable Chief Induna, Zablon Kwelha, was a loyal supporter of the First XV. He travelled widely by bus with the Maritzburg College boys to watch them play, often taking bets on their success with his contemporaries at DHS and Glenwood. An unofficial adviser to his great friend, Mr Nicholson, he fervently held the view that each College First XV should contain at least one red-headed player – “For extra fire!”