Maritzburg College beat Michaelhouse

Match Report

Maritzburg College went up from Pietermaritzburg to Balgowan and beat Michaelhouse 24-10.

Michaelhouse and Maritzburg College have been playing each other since 1872, in days before Michaelhouse was even called Michaelhouse or in Balgowan but was called Bishop's College and in Pietermaritzburg. College have won more often than Michaelhouse and did so again this weekend.

The following report is from College:

Michaelhouse were something of an unknown quantity, not having played a match in South Africa at this stage. During the Easter vacation, they had toured England, winning four of their five matches.

College started quickly and kept Michaelhouse on the back foot for the first fifteen minutes. The forwards won plenty of good ball and the backs showed a pleasing willingness to spread it wide. Flyhalf Travis Huntly opened the scoring when he slipped through a gap to score in the right-hand corner and right wing Stuart Balcomb added a second try, in almost the same spot, after a superb sequence of play had seen the ball move first to the left and then to the right, through six phases. Huntly converted both tries with excellent kicks for College to take a 14-0 lead. Michaelhouse slowly came back into the match, but were kept at bay by punishing first-time tackling.

In the second half, Michaelhouse began to win more ball and exert some pressure, but it took some sloppy handling by College, trying to counter-attack, to present them with a try in the corner, by scrumhalf Ross Cronjé. This, too, was converted with an excellent kick by his twin brother and halfback partner, Guy Cronjé, to reduce College’s lead to seven points. The goal-kickers traded penalties to take the score to 17-10, but it was College who had the last word, when Kurt Schonert (prop) was driven over near the corner from a line-out. Huntly, whose goal-kicking was outstanding, converted from the touchline to drive the final nail into Michaelhouse’s coffin.

Scorers:

For Maritzburg College:
Tries: Travis Huntly, Stuart Balcomb, Kurt Schonert
Cons: Travis Huntly 3
Pen: Travis Huntly

For Michaelhouse:
Try: Ross Cronjé
Con: Guy Cronjé
Pen: Guy Cronjé

By Tony Wiblin