Overview
Maritzburg College was proud to be a part of the St. Charles College 150th Old Boys’ Day with many of our rugby and hockey teams in action against Saints. College produced an excellent set of results against some tough competition with convincing wins. College’s soccer teams enjoyed a good week of fixtures, and the cycling, cross country, and canoeing teams produced some excellent results.
Congratulations to 5th former Matt Lock who competed in the Suzuki Ultra Sprint Triathlon in Sun City placing 3rd overall in the men, 2nd in the U19 category and 5th overall in a time of 1:18:22.
Hockey
College’s hockey teams enjoyed a great set of matches against local rival Saints on their 150th Old Boys Day. With fixtures on both Friday and Saturday, College recorded an excellent 14 wins from 17 matches, drawing one and losing just two, with a positive goal difference of 51.
1st XI report (1st XI coach and Hockey Director, Mr Mark Sanders)
Touted the Pietermaritzburg Derby, College would be hosted by St Charles on their 150th Reunion weekend. A wonderful atmosphere surrounded the St Charles turf.
The St Charles boys were fired up and came out of the blocks with a fierce mentality that College would need to manage and slow down in the first few minutes. With a series of high balls, College pushed St Charles back into their half keeping them at bay. Viwe Ndlovu, the College goalkeeper, made a few sharp saves in the first quarter to keep the scores level, before Liyema Sishi scored a counterattack goal to put College one nil up after the first break. College maintained a high percentage of possession and territory, finding it easy to outlet and create several opportunities, before they scored a penalty corner through a well-directed flick from Dane Jackson taking the score to two nil. The wind was slowly being knocked out of the St Charles sails as College scored a further two goals through fast paced counterattack as well as a controlled and measured build up pattern of play.
The result of five nil is testament to a solid performance from the Maritzburg College team. Every boy in the College team stood up to the challenge – congratulations on a well-deserved win.
Summary of results:
| Team | Opposition | Result |
| 1st | SCC | W 5-0 |
| 2nd | SCC | W 6-0 |
| 3rd | SCC | D 0-0 |
| 4th | SCC | W 3-0 |
| 5th | SCC | W 4-1 |
| 16A | SCC | W 3-0 |
| 16B | SCC | W 4-1 |
| 16C | SCC | L 1-2 |
| 16E | SCC | W 3-2 |
| 16D | SCC | W 3-1 |
| 16F | SCC | W 1-0 |
| 16G | SCC | W 6-0 |
| 14A | SCC | W 10-1 |
| 14B | SCC | W 2-1 |
| 14C | SCC | L 0-1 |
| 14D | SCC | W 2-1 |
| 14E | SCC | W 9-0 |
Rugby
The Maritzburg College rugby teams faced determined action from St. Charles over the weekend. St Charles were formidable opponents on their 150th Old Boys’ Day, but College was ready to rise to the occasion.
Against Saints, Maritzburg College played 10 matches, winning nine and losing only one – a reflection of their dominance and skill on the rugby field. Overall, College played 25 matches, winning 19 and losing six.
1st XV report (1st XV coach, Mr Nico Breedt)
College expected a fired-up home team and that is exactly what we got. St Charles scored first with a brilliant cross kick try under the posts. College spent much of the opening exchange defending like trojans, but St Charles managed to eventually build their lead to 10-0. College had opportunities to hit back but were inaccurate and impatient and the pressure was very evident, before they finally managed to strike back with a brilliantly converted try, giving a half time score of 7-10.
The second half saw more accuracy in play from College, and after sustained pressure, crossed the line but were unable to convert. The score was 12-10 to College. Minutes later St Charles forced a penalty and successfully optioned for poles, to take the lead 13-12. As the match continued College managed to play more in the host`s half and were rewarded with a converted try with 20 minutes to go. This was shortly followed by St Charles closing the gap again with a 3 pointer. The score stood at 19-16 to College with 17 minutes to go.
Soon after College scored again with persistent pressure on their opponent’s goal line, extending their lead to 26-16 and 13 minutes remaining. For the last 10-12 minutes, St Charles threw everything they had, and College defence and discipline were tested to the maximum. To the relief of the RedBlackWhite spectators, College’s resilience was enough, and they managed a hard-fought victory under tremendous pressure, final score 26-16. This was a victory the team can be very proud of with some amazing work rate and dedication by all the players.
Summary of results:
| Team | Opp | Result |
| 1st | SCC | W 26-16 |
| 2nd | SCC | W 61-3 |
| 3rd | Midlands 1st | W 34-7 |
| 4th | Linpark 1st | W 29-0 |
| 5th | Ashton 1st | W 19-10 |
| 6th | Haythorne 1st | W 39-14 |
| 7th | SCC 4th | W 15-7 |
| 8th | Howick 2nd | L 5-32 |
| 9th | Linpark 2nd | L 24-29 |
| 10th | SCC 5th | L 15-37 |
| 16A | SCC | W 47-0 |
| 16B | Midlands 16A | W 55-7 |
| 16C | Asibemunye | W 31-10 |
| 16D | SCC 16B | W 14-8 |
| 16E | Howick 16A | L 22-27 |
| 16F | SIyahlomula | L 7-27 |
| 15A | SCC | W 22-14 |
| 15B | Ashton 15A | W 40-0 |
| 15C | SCC 15B | W 39-0 |
| 15D | Howick 15A | L 8-16 |
| 14A | SCC | W 38-0 |
| 14B | Linpark 14A | W 55-5 |
| 14C | SCC 14B | W 39-3 |
| 14D | Howick 14A | W 25-0 |
| 14E | PBHS 14D | W 17-14 |
Soccer
The past week saw College’s soccer teams take on local rivals Newton, Heritage Academy and Ixopo, as well as competing in the Wildey tournament.
Summary of results:
U14A vs Newton, won 7-2
U15A vs Newton, won 6-1
U16A vs Newton U19B, drew 1-1
2nds vs Heritage Academy, drew 2-2
1sts vs Ixopo, won 3-1
Played 5: Won 3, Drew 2
The College 2nd XI soccer team competed in the Wildey Tournament.
Summary of results:
vs Carter 1sts, drew 2-2
St Nics 2nds, won 2-0
vs Ixopo 1sts, lost 0-2
Linpark 1sts, drew 1-1
Played 4: Won 1, Drew 2, Lost 1
Canoeing
It was a busy weekend for the College canoeing team who competed in both the SA Slalom Championships and the KZN SurfSki Championships. Congratulations to the boys who took the top three places in the U18 category at both events!
South African Slalom championships in Bethlehem
U18
Scott Venniker 1st
James Gotte 2nd
Joshua Craig 3rd
KZN Surfski championships – Tiffany’s to Blythdale
U18
Keegan Vogt 1st
Luke O’Connor 2nd
Jayden JvRensburg 3rd
Cross Country
The College athletes took part in the first cross country race of the season at Treverton in very muddy conditions, placing second overall.
Summary of results:
Juniors
J Wilson 2nd
C Markham 8th
N Msimang 9th
D Davies 11th
Senior Boys
L Makhobo 1st
I Ishmail 19th
Cycling
Competing in very challenging conditions at the KZN XCO Lap Race #2 the College cyclists did very well on a tough course.
Summary of results:
Youth Men:
Cole Baxter 9th
Diego Rencken 12th
Junior Men:
Kayden Searle 2nd
Brynn Fourie 7th
Caden Wood 9th