The 2023 Chronicle

Pat Lambie Player’s Player Trophy: Wandile Mlaba Pat Cilliers Most Valuable Player: Campbell Ridl

The buzz in the school in the build-up to the Hilton fixture was tangible. Rugby jerseys hung out of boys’ windows in the Main Quad, a few Broad Stripes appeared over “Pissing Pete”, war cry practices revved up and the boys’ focus seemed very much on the sports fields that week. What a wonderful day it was, too: the car parks were full and gazebos plentiful while the teams battled it out on the fields. For the most, the results went our way, winning ten of the 18 matches played, with the open age group faring best, losing only one match – sadly a big one! The U15As were the only A team to come out on top, with a score of 19-3, but our strength in depth was demonstrated. The First XV game was an absolute cracker where we clawed back from a poor start to lose 17-20 in a nail-biting last few minutes. The atmosphere was just incredible, with the banks of Meadows a sea of red and the boys singing, screaming and dancing in the stands. A real celebration of schoolboy rugby, even if we did not win the big prize. Fortunately, we had a chance to redeem ourselves later in the season. Once the dust had settled on Meadows, we travelled to Botha’s Hill to play Kearsney – never an easy fixture. Our teams again fared well, playing some great rugby and coming out on top in 13 of the 18 matches, which was very pleasing. It was quite clear that our teams were well prepared physically and organisationally, with only the U14s taking a bit of a beating. The U16As picked up a good win and the U16Cs and U15Cs achieved our biggest wins of the day, both by 50, with the First XV snatching a 23-20 victory in the final couple of minutes. It was great to be back at Kearsney with a full house, as the last time we had played there in 2021, families and friends watching were wearing masks behind the school fences. It was a reminder to savour these special occasions. Our last fixture before the half-term was against DHS at home. They have undergone a resurgence in their sporting fortunes, especially in their A teams. We expected a tough day, but did not disappoint, winning 13 of our 20 matches, including a nail- biting 20-19 result for the U15As and 50 pointers for the 4ths, 5ths, 6ths and U15Cs for the second week in a row. The First XV snuck a great win after a tough few weeks’ matches, which left the school on a high before the half-term break. We then travelled up the N3 to play Pretoria Boys High for our out-of-province fixture. What a wonderful trip for the school, with all the teams getting to tour and our hosts making us feel so welcome – yet another reminder of how sport should be played. Touring is never easy, especially when the teams are billeted out, but our boys performed brilliantly with clean sweeps in the open and U16 age groups, as well as a great 29-20 win for the U14As. We won 13 of the 21 matches, the most played on any day this season. We look forward to returning Pretoria Boys’ hospitality for our Old Boys’ Day in 2024. Northwood were our next opponents as we travelled to their home ground in Durban North. They, too, have become formidable in recent times, and their strength in depth has grown over the last few years. Added to this, it was their old boys’ day, so our teams certainly felt the pressure of the occasion. We again fared well in the older age groups, with another clean sweep, but struggled in the junior age groups, with only the U15Bs picking up a win. Overall, we won ten of the 19 matches played, with the Sixth XV putting in the most dominant performance winning 42-10.

Kevin King U16 Most Valuable Player: Dominic Sesink-Clee Ruan Combrinck U15 Most Valuable Player: Nicola Salamousas Ross Cronje U14 Most Valuable Player: Fabiano Fierro he 2023 rugby season built on the successes of 2022 and was one that will be remembered fondly for many reasons. The boys approached it with much excitement and vigour, especially in the open age group, as they knew there were not going to be any easy games. Our season began with our welcoming a returning Helpmekaar to Balgowan, and again, it proved to the perfect preparation. Helpmekaar play in a tough highveld league and have a strong physical presence, which we generally coped well with, and, despite being steamrolled a little in our younger age groups, it gave us the confidence to take on Maritzburg College the following weekend. The transition from summer to winter sports is always a challenge, so it was pleasing to come through relatively unscathed. College returned to Michaelhouse for a full school rugby fixture for the first time since 2018. They are our oldest rivals and traditionally the strongest rugby school in the province. Our matrics were the only year group in the school to have played them, when we travelled to Pietermaritzburg in 2019 and received a hiding. This time was different, with the boys producing some fantastic rugby and refusing to back down to their opponents, winning seven of the 19 games, including four of the seven open age group games, with the first team winning 27-20. It was quite evident that our strength and conditioning programme was paying dividends with the teams that day, with those who had invested in the programme faring better. It was a great day out on the rugby fields against a strong and respected opposition – one that left Michaelhouse rugby excited for the second term to come. Our First XV and age group A sides all attended festivals during the Easter holidays and fared well. The U14As and U16As played in the Skonk Nicholson Tournament at College against EG Jansen, Secunda and Garsfontein. This was another wonderful opportunity to experience different styles of rugby and we fared well, only narrowly losing two of their six games. The U15s hosted the inaugural festival at Michaelhouse, which was a huge success. They won all three of their matches against St David’s, St Andrew’s and St Stithians. The First XV attended the St Stithians Festival and came away with three wins over St Andrew’s, Clifton, and St Alban’s. The second quarter started with a bang against Glenwood. We had not hosted the Green Machine in a full school fixture since 2015. We were hopeful of good results, as we had fared well in Durban in 2022 and laid some of those ghosts of the past to rest. And we performed even better at home, winning 13 of the 19 matches, including a clean sweep in the open age group, with the Second XV running away with a 50-12 win. Some of the rugby played that day was quite spectacular, and the skills and fitness levels were remarkable. It was just what we needed the week before our first Hilton game of the season. T

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