College squeeze past Michaelhouse
A late try saw Maritzburg College clinch a thrilling 25-24 win over Michaelhouse in their 171st encounter on Meadows at Michaelhouse on Saturday.
Michaelhouse Old Boys' Day was the backdrop to the day's fixtures which were a grand celebration of over a century of collegiality as a large crowd gathered on the banks of Meadows to watch the highly anticipated clash between these old rivals.
Michaelhouse Old Boys of every vintage had been treated to what must be the first ever U15A triumph over their Maritzburg rivals as a rejuvenated team ground out a final minute tighthead which lead to a try to cement what will become a famous 25-17 victory.
The Michaelhouse Mighty Sixths had also clinched a great victory and the highly rated Michaelhouse 2nd XV had set the final scene with a convincing 27-10 win over College.
In the first team game the home side came out with guns blazing and raced to a 10-0 lead within the first three or four minutes.
What has become the expected College 'never say die' attitude quickly became a factor as they responded with 11 unanswered points of their own. The lead then changed hands a few times and the half time score was 17-18 in the favour of the visitors.
Whilst the Michaelhouse No.10 was mercurial with ball in hand, his usually dependable boot left at least half a dozen points on the field during the half. In contrast, the visitors made use of two long range penalties to ensure the lead going into the break.
The second half continued at a ferocious pace but the best was saved for last. With just four minutes on the clock, Michaelhouse launched an attack from deep within their own twenty two to score an audacious converted try to make the score 24-18 in their favour.
From the kick-off that followed, College were awarded a succession of penalties, and although Michaelhouse defended as if their lives depended on it well into extra time, they were unable to prevent College from scoring close to the poles. The conversion was a formality as College claimed a last gasp 25-24 win.
Michaelhouse: 15 Robert Lee, 14 Liam Furniss, 13 Jason Schwegmann, 12 Michael Tatham, 11 Victor Foster, 10 Bader-Werner Pretorius, 9 Thomas Walker (captain), 8 Matthew Potgieter, 7 Jack Walters, 6 Zander Prinsloo, 5 Andrew Vogel, 4 Gary Porter, 3 Siyanda Mazibuko, 2 Bradley Roberts, 1 Louis Albertse.
Replacements: 16 Matt Wiseman, 17 Michael Mandy, 18 Jordan Sesink Clee, 19 Mulalo Sadiki, 20 Nicholas Anderson, 21 Aidan Versfeld, 22 Frank Goble.
Report from Michaelhouse
