The 2025 Chronicle

XV, they were billeted out to parents again. There is always some concern about everyone arriving on time for kick-offs, but they did brilliantly on and off the field. Pretoria Boys are a sporting school on the rise and were particularly strong in the junior age groups. Our U14As put in a gallant effort, going down 16-18. Our opens played fantastic rugby, with the Fifth XV the only side to go down in what was sadly their only loss for the season. The Second XV again produced a starring per formance, running out 63-12 winners as the best-performing team of the day. The return of College to Balgowan on 7 June brought an air of expectation as we wanted to put right some of our disappoint ing results from our visit there a few weeks back. The mid-year exams had started, and the frosts had set in, but the teams really warmed to the occasion, especially as we were back on Meadows. We won nine of the 24 games, and what was most pleasing was the Second XV to Ninth XV all coming out on top – a first against our oldest rivals. It was not that long ago that taking 50s against College was the norm, so it was hugely rewarding to see our teams all competing well, regardless of the results. Our penultimate weekend of the season was Westville at home. Like the other big state schools, they have ramped up their sports programme and are very strong. However, our teams were once again very competitive, and despite losing 12 of the 20 games, we produced some fantastic wins, in particular Mr Felix’s U14As, Mr Venter’s U16Bs and the Second XV. We had played some extremely tough fixtures over the final month of the season but went into the return Hilton weekend feeling confident. The boys’ training focus had paid dividends, and we were fit and ready to finish on a high. Our teams are never short of motivation for the Hilton derby. The day did not disappoint, and our boys did themselves proud. There were a few disappointments, but the overall winning ratio was 14 out of the 19 games, with the Second XV drawing 24-24. The Sixth XV had a famous win, not just for the result but also for their famous lineout try, which went viral. Their captain, William Russon, ended his Michaelhouse rugby career unbeaten on 30 wins. The U16As had a brilliant end to their season, winning 27-8 on Gilfillan. It was a memorable way to finish what was overall a brilliant rugby season, one with plenty of highs and lows. We had a solid group of boys selected to represent the Sharks schools in the various interprovincial tournaments during the July holidays, and there must be special mention of the Grant Khomo team, ably led by Jaydon Jubber and coached by Mr Ball, who won their tournament. We were also very proud to see three recent Old Boys, Wandile Mlaba, Campbell Ridl (both 2023) and Luke David son (2024), included in the Junior Rugby World Cup in Italy. Wandile lifted the trophy with the Baby Boks by beating New Zealand in the final. I would like to make special mention of a few staff members who left us at the end of 2025, and to thank them for their contributions to Michaelhouse rugby: our Rector, Mr Clark; our Deputy Rector, Mr Gittins; and three up-and-coming coaches, Mr Kiln, Mr Mchunu and Mr Zondi. Finally, thank you to Mr Greg Muirhead, our Second XV coach and loyal servant of 18 sea sons. You will all be sorely missed.

wins, seven losses and three draws from the 12 games. The U14As showed a marked improvement – after losing by 50 points to Grey, they almost beat Bishops and then inflicted a half-century hammering on St Andrew’s. We bade farewell to Mr Ryan Strudwick after the tour as he and his family left for Ipswich in England. He has made such a big contribution to sport, including rugby, at Michaelhouse in his seven years and will be missed. We returned for the start of the second quarter and had to make some rapid adjustments to our scheduled fixtures after Meadows was flooded, resembling a river rather than a rugby field. We shifted games to Baileys and arranged matches against multiple schools to ensure that there were fixtures for all our teams in what ended up being a muddy but fantastic day of rugby. It was wonderful to welcome back our brother school, Peterhouse, from Zimbabwe for the first time in years, and the other teams played Clifton, Amanzim toti, Thomas More and Ashton College, who all proved com petitive opposition. It became clear that we would not be able to host Hilton on Meadows for the first Saturday of May, owing to Meadows’ be ing soaked, so Baileys it was. Much hurried work went into pre paring the field for the big derby, including all the stands, picket fences, gazebos and camera stands, not to mention the rush for chairs and blankets on the Friday. Although not Meadows, the scene was picture perfect, with the ground packed and the front of the school as the backdrop. Our teams had a brilliant day overall, winning 14 of the 20 games. It was a wonderful day of rugby despite our losing some key matches. Mr Ball’s U16As were the exception, as they were the only A team to win, doing so 39-22. Certainly, it was a Hilton/Michaelhouse day that the boys will remember for its differences. We welcomed Kearsney for our following fixture, again on Baileys, this time on a Friday owing to the scheduled bridge blasting on the N3. The atmosphere was electric yet again for what proved the most successful day of the season. The teams played brilliant rugby, winning 18 of the 19 games against one of our most similar rivals. The results were especially pleasing for what is normally a tough day on the first weekend after the Hilton/Michaelhouse fixture. The performance of the day be longed, arguably, to Mr Muirhead’s Second XV for their Super Rugby-style 53-10 win. In our last fixture before the half term the First XV and A teams were due to play Glenwood in the newly formatted Sharks Schools trials day in Pietermaritzburg, with the rest of our sides meeting Glenwood in Durban. However, we were forced to make another last-minute adjustment because of the N3 closure. The trials shifted to Hilton on the Friday, where our First XV and age-group A teams played Northwood. Overall, we enjoyed a successful outing, with our age-group teams all win ning. Fortunately for the rest of our teams, College had also been left without a fixture and offered to host us for a tradi tionally tough but thoroughly enjoyable day. We only managed three wins overall, which came through the Fifth XV, U16Es and U15Bs. The Second XV drew 32-32. Half term then pro vided us with a well-earned break, and we were ready for the last four games of the season. The school travelled to Pretoria Boys High for a full set of sports fixtures after the long weekend in what has become our out-of-province fixture. The tour is a wonderful opportunity for all the boys to get a feel of touring and, apart from the First

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