St Charles Host Glenwood Again
Glenwood travelled up to Pietermaritzburg to play St Charles College for the first time in 42 years. It was a beautiful day as the friendly Saints staff welcomed us to their picturesque campus. The rugby on offer did also not disappoint as the crowd geared up for the First XV clash.
The game started with an error strewn opening of 10 minutes. Saints were penalised for not rolling away and flyhalf Jordan Hendrikse punished Saints by slotting a penalty to give Glenwood an early lead. Saints missed a golden opportunity right in front to level scores.
Glenwood finally had something to smile about after 24 minutes when a miscued kick from the Saints fullback landed in the hands of Blaine Golden, just inside Saints’ half. From the ruck, Steyn delivered quick ball to the backs. Outside centre Luyanda Mbona broke through some sloppy defence, running in a solid 30 metres to score the first try of the game. Hendrikse nailed the conversion. Glenwood had a healthy lead of 10-0.
From the kick-off, Saints won the ball back and after a couple of phases of sustained pressure they hit straight back with a try just to the right of the upright. The conversion was good, and the score was 10-7.
Saints found some inspiration, with good interplay from the backs as they found their way into Glenwood’s 22m line. An inside pass from the wing and the Saints supporters rose to their feet. An excellent try saving tackle from Jonas in the end held the man up. The resultant scrum collapsed, forcing a penalty and chance for Glenwood to clear their half.
It did not take long for the Green Machine to bag their second try of the day. Scrum half Nico Steyn reacted quickest, picking up from the base of the ruck and dummying his way over on the far right. Hendrikse added the extra two point to put Glenwood in the lead with 17-7.
The game was set alight as Glenwood came firing out of the changing rooms and scored in the opening minutes of the half. Substitute winger Carlo Cloete receiving a pass from Steyn on the blind side to touch down. Hendrikse made no mistake adding the extras. Glenwood ticking over the scoreboard 24-7.
Glenwood looked as if they were shifting into third gear as they pressed up field. Joe Jonas slipping through a couple of tackles. He offloaded to Katlego Thinyane 5m out, but the cross defence did well as Thinyane dropped the ball in contact as he tried to dive over in the corner.
The play broke up when the referee stopped play for an injury. Saints won the scrum and grubbed the ball through from their line. Joe Jonas picked it up and immediately shifted across to the right. He found Cloete on the inside who managed to dot down for Glenwood’s fourth try of the day. The conversion was good, and Glenwood led with 31-7.
Saints kept on fighting and their hard work was rewarded when they scored their second try in the 55th minute. Scrappy defence from Glenwood allowed Saints to barge over the line. The conversion was successful. Score 31-12.
The final nail in the coffin came in the 62nd minute when Dillan Kromhout picked up from the scrum 5 m out. Carrying two defenders with him, he dived over the line, scoring Glenwood’s 5th try. The conversion successful and Glenwood led 38-12.
They ended with the final score 38-12. Saints missed three kicks, 11 points in total in front of the poles which could have told a different story to the scoreboard. But it was a well-deserved victory for the Green Machine who will have to sharpen their skills for Kearsney College next weekend.
Report Mr Alex van der Merwe of Glenwood
