Rare & Impressive Win for House
Michaelhouse were most impressive as their intensity and cohesion drive them to a 34-8 win over the usual winners, Maritzburg College at College. The win establishes Michaelhouse 1st XV as the top team in KZN.
Recent records pale into insignificance when compared with the weight of Goldstones’ rich history of successes, and Saturday's much anticipated clash between Maritzburg College and Michaelhouse was to be a classic example of recent form meeting an established heritage of home ground superiority.
For Michaelhouse who had won just 46 of the previous 171 encounters between the two schools, a partisan crowd at the heart of College rugby was always going to be a stiff challenge for Michaelhouse.
The visitors from Balgowan were keen to set the record straight having lost their last encounter with the hosts by the slenderest of one point margins, on Meadows and in front of their Old Boys, over a year ago. Michaelhouse had enjoyed an unbeaten run of 16 matches since that day in early June 2014.
The encounter kicked off to a flying start, with College soon gaining the upper hand. They were awarded a number of penalties, but were unable to convert these into points. Michaelhouse though were first on the board, taking the initial lead with a penalty by flyhalf Bader Pretorius.
For a long period of play the game became an arm wrestle between the two forward packs. Michaelhouse's tight five then started to grind out some kind of ascendency which in course allowed their Craven Week pivot to take advantage of some space to score a try close to the poles. Pretorius converted his own try as the clock counted down the seconds to the interval.
Michaelhouse's approach to their game in 2015 has been characterised by their ability to up the tempo in the second half. This shift in gear did little initially to change the face of the game which remained a battle royale between the forwards. The visitor’s patience was rewarded with a converted try. For many spectators, the score, initiated in his own half by the mercurial No.10 from Balgowan, and rounded off under the poles by Academy Week centre, Liam Furniss, was a water-shed point in the match.
College did then reassert themselves, clawing their way back into the game and forcing a number of penalties – only one of which was converted into points. College then engineered a try from a driving lineout which was set up through another penalty.
With their character being tested, Michaelhouse were able to weather the storm, proving yet again that they are as adept at defending their try-line as at crossing their opponent’s. Keeping their cool, they calmly took control of the last quarter of the game. A further penalty by Pretorius and converted tries from flank Zander Prinsloo and lock Jarryd Kleynhans sealed the game for Michaelhouse.
Final score: Michaelhouse 34 College 8.
Scorers:
For Michaelhouse:
Tries: Bader Pretorius, Liam Furniss, Zander Prinsloo, Jarryd Kleynhans
Cons: Bader POretorius 4
Pens: Bader Pretorius 2
For Maritzburg College:
Try
Pen
Teams
Maritzburg College: 15 Ruben van Blerk, 14 A Duma, 13 Sthembokuhle Mpanza, 12 Charl Frackers, 11 Kudzaishe Munangi, 10 Matthew Kriel, 9 Corey Rattray, 8 Craig Glover, 7 Brad Muil, 6 Kelton Thunder (captain), 5 Daniel Immelman, 4 Bjorn Olivier, 3 Andrew Reintges, 2 Samuel Swanepoel, 1 Tanaka Chikwezvero
Michaelhouse: 15 Victor Foster, 14 Frank Goble, 13 Liam Furniss, 12 Ryan Anderson, 11 Mikael Maingard, 10 Bader-Werner Pretorius (captain), 9 Billy Dean, 8 Jack Walters, 7 Luke Tomlinson, 6 Zander Prinsloo, 5 Jaryd Kleynhans, 4 Jordan Sesink Clee, 3 Siyanda Mazibuko, 2 Matt Wiseman, 1 Anele Songca
Replacements: 16 Michael Macleod, 17 Aidan Schwartz, 18 Mulalo Sadiki, 19 Charles Janse van Rensburg, 20 Nicholas Anderson, 21 Nicholas Herbert, 22 David Karam
By Murray Witherspoon
