Down 0-12 at the break and with their backs to the wall, Durban High School (DHS) dug deep to pull off a thrilling 22-19 victory over a determined Northwood School in front of a vocal crowd at Van Heerden’s Field, in Durban, on Saturday.
It was a contest rich in physicality and commitment – a real arm-wrestle between two proud rugby schools.
The opening stanza was one of frustration for the Horseflies. Sloppy handling and basic errors disrupted their rhythm, while the Knights, with a rugged pack and some bruising defence, forced DHS into mistakes and capitalised on turnovers.
Northwood, unlike DHS in the opening stanza, made use of a couple of opportunities to get onto the scoreboard. They went ahead after 13 minutes, scoring from their well-drilled maul. From a set-up inside the DHS 22, the drive fragmented, and three Knights broke free. Quick support and a neat pop-pass saw them over for the game’s first try.
As the half wore on, Northwood continued to frustrate the hosts. Then, just before halftime, they struck again. A lineout just over five metres out was smartly worked to a back pod, and 8th man Jamie Wimble came cutting back against the grain to slice through the defence for a second try. Trevor van Volenstee made no mistake with the conversion to stretch the lead to 12-0.
DHS needed a strong response, and right from the start of the second half, it was clear they weren’t going to go quietly. Under pressure inside their 22, Northwood conceded a penalty. DHS kicked to the corner, set up a textbook maul, and hooker Okuhle Mbanjwa crashed over to open their account.
The tide had turned. Momentum was firmly with the Horseflies now, and minutes later, captain Daniel Ikotela, who led by an admirably industrious example, provided the spark they needed. Scrumhalf Jaydon Roberts stabbed a grubber through, the Northwood defence fumbled, and Ikotela was on it in a flash.
Gathering the ball just outside the 22, he stepped off his right foot, brushed aside a tackler and dotted down. Jordan van Wyk‘s successful conversion levelled it up at 12-12.
The belief was back. When Van Wyk slotted a penalty from just inside the Northwood 22 with 10 minutes to play, DHS led for the first time at 15-12.
Then, when a Northwood lineout inside their own 22 went awry under pressure. DHS had a five-metre scrum. They launched a series of pick-and-go drives before getting the ball wide to powerhouse centre Zingce Simka, who bulldozed his way over for a decisive score. Van Wyk added the extras and suddenly DHS was 22-12 ahead.
To their credit, Northwood was not done. With time almost up, they attacked swiftly from a penalty, stretching the DHS defence wide left before racing in for a third try, which they converted to make it 22-19. But time ran out on their brave challenge.
As the final whistle blew, there was a touching display of mutual respect between the sides – handshakes, hugs, and warm words, testament to the fierce but fair nature of the contest.
“There’s big respect between the two schools,” said Northwood coach Jacques Deen afterwards. “They’re two terrific schools, two rugby schools. That respect is earned.”
For DHS coach Peter Engledow, it was a victory forged in character: “We were out of it at halftime. Coming off a tough Kearsney Easter Festival, the rain this week, not much training. It was always going to be hard.
“But the boys showed tremendous character. Hard words at halftime, and the way they responded was fantastic. It could have ended badly, but they dug deep.”
Deen was proud of his charges too: “There were moments when we were outstanding. Our mauling was exceptional. When we played to the edges, we looked dangerous. Small margins. We get another shot at them next term.”
The rivalry continues to grow. In 2024, the sides drew 7-7 in Durban North before DHS scored a narrow 18-11 win at home. This time, only three points separated the teams again, further underlining just how evenly matched they are.
There’s little time for DHS to bask in their comeback victory, though. Next up, they head to Kimberley for the ABSA Wildeklawer Rugby Festival, where clashes against Stellenberg, on 1 May, and Paarl Gimnasium, on 3 May – fresh off a 43-31 win over Grey College – await.
RESULTS
1st: DHS 22-19 Northwood
2nd: DHS 12-7 Northwood
3rd: DHS 22-12 Northwood
4th: DHS 29-10 Northwood
5th: DHS 0-14 Northwood
6th: DHS 10-11 Northwood
16A: DHS 24-14 Northwood
16B: DHS 9-10 Northwood
15A: DHS 38-3 Northwood
15B: DHS 45-7 Northwood
15C: DHS 19-14 Northwood
14A: DHS 22-5 Northwood
14B: DHS 50-0 Northwood
14C: DHS 44-7 Northwood
HOCKEY
On the Blue and Gold Astro, DHS picked up a hard-won 2-1 victory over Northwood. The hosts were on the scoreboard in the first chukka, when Tyrique Cloete provided the finishing touch from a counterattack.
While the Horseflies were more penetrative through the next two chukkas, Northwood, with typical tenacity, kept them at bay. With a quarter to go, though, DHS doubled their advantage through captain Josh Mungherera, from a sharp counterattack.
The Knights are at their most dangerous when they’re down. They’ve proved it time after time, and they came roaring back at DHS with a vengeance. Soon, they halved the deficit, with Ryan Herselman netting eight minutes from time.
Unfortunately, for the visitors, who continued to press hard, they were unable to make further inroads and DHS, ahead of a huge challenge that awaits them at the Standard Bank Hibbert Shield, in Gqeberha, from Wednesday, claimed a morale-boosting win.
They’re in an extremely interesting and unpredictable Group D, up against Bishops, Hoërskool Garsfontein, and Parel Vallei.
Overall, there was next to nothing between DHS and Northwood on the Astro, with both winning one and losing one and scoring an equal number of goals in the open and u16 age groups. DHS, though, won both A team matches. Northwood won both u14 games, but only by a goal.
RESULTS
1st: DHS 2-1 Northwood
2nd: DHS 1-2 Northwood
16A: DHS 3-2 Northwood
16B: DHS 2-3 Northwood
14A: DHS 0-1 Northwood
14B: DHS 1-2 Northwood
2nd: Northwood 0-2 Ashton 1st
4th: Northwood 2-0 Ashton 2nd
16C: Northwood 3-0 Ashton 16A
14B: Northwood 0-1 Ashton 14A
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