Durban — Four KwaZulu-Natal school fixtures took place recently to mark the official beginning of the second term of the school calendar rugby season.
Durban High School (DHS) celebrated a successful rugby day against Westville Boys High School (WBHS), while Clifton College and Glenwood High School suffered defeats in their own backyards.
DHS marketing director Steve La Marque said that the relationship with WBHS is always healthy and the winter sports day was no exception.
He said that the results might show that they won 12 of the matches played, but the matches were all close and some could have gone either way.
“The U14A match started as a very close affair with both teams having several opportunities to score. In the end, the strength and depth of the DHS team took its toll on the Westville boys and DHS ran out 40-10 victors. Credit must go to Westville who played with commitment to the end,” said La Marque.
La Marque said that the biggest drawcard for any schoolboy rugby enthusiast was that school sport was again being played for the right reasons and the boys had fun. He said that the games were hard and competitive, but the lasting friendships gained were very evident. He said he saw boys from the same primary schools interacting and laughing together and that proved that results were not really that important to them.
Northwood had come off a big win against a well-drilled Glenwood team at Glenwood 29-22.
“For any team to beat Glenwood on their home field, they have to perform at their best. For us, however, we will focus on areas that we can control.
“It’s all about balance and maintaining composure on both attack and defence. We look forward to hosting Northwood in what will be another good day of schoolboy sport,” said La Marque.
Glenwood sport director John Duncan said it was a tough day as they lost the majority of their rugby fixtures. From the 21 games that they hosted, they won six, drew two and lost 13.
“The U16A game was a game of two halves in which the hosts dominated the first 40 minutes of the game, only for Northwood to clinch the win right at the death. The First XV game was highly competitive and the lead frequently changed hands. Both teams showed a willingness to attack and throw the ball around,” said Duncan.
Duncan said that he looked forward to their next game in the Midlands against Michaelhouse. He said that many of the teams would be working on their accuracy and capitalising on opportunities that they had created.
“Many of our teams will be looking to rectify their sub-par performances from the previous weekend. Our First XV Rugby are looking forward to a tough clash against the hosts, but they should have recovered after what was a taxing North/South and Easter Tournament,” said Duncan.
Clifton sport director Mike Howieson was proud of his sides despite the results as it was the first time they have played Maritzburg College strength-on-strength across both rugby and hockey.
“We had 21 games – which includes nine rugby games – in total and it was a brilliant day of schoolboy competition. The highlight from a Clifton perspective was definitely the firstteam hockey result where Clifton were victorious 2-1. This is the first time in our history we have beaten the First XI College Team,” said Howieson.
Clifton suffered defeats in all their rugby games and will look to bounce back against St Andrew’s from Bloemfontein at home.
DHS played 19; won 12, lost seven. Glenwood played 21; won six, drew two and lost 13. Clifton played nine rugby games and lost all nine.
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