On Reunion Day, before a big crowd at Goldstones Maritzburg College beat Hilton 37-5 in an FNB Classic Clash on Saturday. Reunion Day at Maritzburg College is always a special occasion. There is never any doubt about the motivation of any team on this day. This year there was an added incentive for the 1st team rugby side to do well in that they wanted to rectify the previous year’s result against Hilton. A virus had made more than half the side unavailable on the eve of the match and it had not been a happy day. The match was played on a steamy, hot afternoon and started earlier than normal because of TV coverage of the game. Maritzburg College set the tone early in the game with some massive hits on their opponents and it became very apparent who wanted this game more. The first five minutes were all about setting the platform and the College boys were not holding back. The first points of the game came in the eighth minute after a great run by scrumhalf Mat Seba. Hilton played the ball from an offside position and Marcel Coetzee slotted the ensuing penalty. From the kick-off College immediately went back onto the attack. Some excellent structure was used to work the play deep into the Hilton 22. Goi Le Roux was on hand to finish off a set of phases and scored a great try to make the score 8-0 after 14 minutes. The conversion was missed. The next five minutes were a bit scrappy as Hilton tried to get back into the game. Mistakes from both sides suggested that the ball was becoming slippery with sweat and the handling deteriorated. A penalty was awarded to College in the 19th minute and Coetzee duly slotted the kick to give the home team an 11-point cushion and things were looking good for the home team. As has happened so many times this season, a College mistake gave their opponents a sniff and they took it gratefully. The College line-outs were poor on the day and this kept Hilton in the game. From one such line-out, Hilton eighthman Sébastien Desvaux de Marigny raced into the College 22. Brad Dickerson and Terry Matsa carried it on and eventually Brad Dickerson plunged over a try that suddenly had the visitors within 6 points of the home team. This sparked some urgency into the College team and they were immediately on the attack from the kick-off and a minute later they had scored their second try. A mistake by Hilton at their line-out gave College some good attacking possession that ended with a scrum 10m from the Hilton line. A set move seemed to have fallen apart when the ball went loose but some great recovery work from the backs set up some ‘phase play’ that resulted in another Goi le Roux try under the posts. Le Roux had to work hard for the try and left a few Hilton defenders on their backs, wondering what had hit them. Coetzee was successful with the conversion. College were now 18 -5 to the good and looking confident. Half-time soon followed and it was far happier home side that enjoyed the break. It was crucial that College applied pressure early in the second half and the team did not disappoint. A great set play put Goi le Roux into space and an open run to the try line gave him his hat-trick. The conversion was good from Coetzee and at 25-5 the result was no longer in doubt. It was now all about College maintaining their structure and keeping the momentum going. Unfortunately the captain, Daryn Goodson, was forced from the field with an injury and was soon followed by the try scoring, Gio le Roux, with cramp. This certainly led to a breakdown in the fluency of the team but it did not stop Maritzburg College from scoring two further tries in the half. In the 44th minute Marcel Coetzee, who had some good runs in the game, ghosted through two tackles to score just to the left of the uprights. This try came from some good forward play but continued momentum was difficult as the team lost many of their own line outs. Coetzee converted his own try to give the home team a comfortable 32-5 lead. A few minutes later and College were back on attack and this time it was loosehead Tiaan Steyn, who went over for the five pointer from the fringe of a ruck. It was just reward for a player who had done much of the hard work for his team before this. Unfortunately the conversion was missed and the scoreboard showed a healthy 37-5 lead. With 15 minutes still to play there was expectancy for the home side to run away totally. This failed to materialise as all structure disappeared and the mistakes kept coming. So often this happens when boys get excited and try to force tries. They move away from what they know and suddenly the game turns into a messy affair. Handling errors and turnovers ensued and the game ended without any addition to the score. A 37-5 victory sounds good but on the day the College team were good for even more. The occasion perhaps got to some of the boys and the handling errors alone cost many tries. Even with these errors the team produced some great rugby and showed just what they are capable of. All in all this was a good day for the hosts across the board and a great day was had by all. Scorers: For Maritzburg College: Tries: Renard le Roux 3, Marcel Coetzee, Tiaan Steyn Con: Marcel Coetzee 3 Pens: Marcel Coetzee 2 For Hilton: Try: Brad Dickerson Teams Maritzburg College: 15 Matthew Kriel, 14 Xolisa Guma, 13 Marcel Coetzee, 12 Jordan Koekemoer, 11 Byron Watson, 10 Mac van der Linde, 9 Mat Seba, 8 Daryn Goodson (captain), 7 Renard (Goi) le Roux, 6 Hayden Tharrat, 5 Slade Stuart, 4 Wian Jacobs, 3 Mcedisi Dlamini, 2 Masikane Mazwi, 1 Tiaan Steyn. Coaches: Ryan Strudwick, Kevin Smith Hilton: 15 Thomas Webber, 14 Terry Matsa, 13 Tristan Blewett (vice-captain), 12 Daniel Loftus, 11 Darren McGhee, 10: Kieran Hayne, 9 Matt Dahl, 8 Sébastien Desvaux de Marigny, 7 Brad Dickerson, 6 Etienne Marx, 5 Jayson Gouws (captain), 4 Peter Frost, 3 Andrew Svenningsen, 2 Bafana Motloi, 1 Andrew Peverelle, Coach: AC Blume Referee: Blake Beattie (KwaZulu Natal Referees Society)
Posted on: Thu, 05 Jun 2014 09:41:18 +0000
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