10 June 2025
On Northwood’s much-anticipated Old Boys’ Day, with the stands packed and Reece-Edwards Field buzzing with expectation, Hilton College delivered a performance full of grit, guile, and growing maturity to defeat a fired-up Knights team 35-22 in a King Price Derby Series clash.
Scoring 35 points against a side as defensively disciplined as Northwood is no small achievement. The Knights, known for their tough, confrontational style and marshalled by four Sharks Craven Week players in the pack, simply don’t give up that many points at home. But Hilton, who came into the clash licking their wounds after an 18-26 defeat to Durban High School (DHS), shrugged off that disappointment in the best possible fashion by imposing themselves early and maintaining control when the contest threatened to tip against them.
Key to Hilton’s victory was their ability to build and maintain momentum, linking forwards and backs with impressive precision.
Captain Liyema Nela, once again a steadying presence at flyhalf, got the scoreboard ticking with an early penalty.
Soon after, Hilton executed a textbook attacking sequence from a lineout deep inside the Northwood 22. After stretching the defence first left and then back to the right, Nela looped around cleverly, linking with Tristan Uys before popping a beautifully timed pass to fullback James Peattie. In space and at full pace, Peattie soared over the line with an extravagant, arm-outstretched dive that brought the Hilton faithful to their feet. Nela converted to make it 10-0.
Northwood, to their credit, responded with intensity and found some reward through a quick-thinking piece of play. After winning a scrum penalty, scrumhalf Jed Mun-Gavin spotted space out wide and zipped a long pass to wing Abenathi Ntsele, who stepped inside and dotted down in the corner. Still, the home side trailed by five points.
Hilton, though, were unshaken. Their rolling maul, a feature of their play all season, earned another penalty and Nela obliged, making it 13-5. Then came a critical moment. With Northwood throwing in five metres from their line, Hilton disrupted the set-piece, stole possession, and won a penalty. Quick-thinking Kyle-Reese Clements took a quick tap-and-go and, after a wave of surges, it was the powerful scrumhalf Zander Vorster who picked up and burrowed over for Hilton’s second try. Nela converted, and at 20-5, the visitors were in control at the half.
Northwood needed a response, and they found one. From a powerful lineout drive, the home side battered their way into the red zone before centre Bongane Khumalo (see feature photo, courtesy of Northwood School on Facebook) sliced through a half-gap to score. The margin was trimmed to 10-20.
However, just as Northwood appeared to seize some momentum, they were pinged for not releasing, and Nela punished them with a long-range penalty to keep his side ticking along at 23-10.
Khumalo, a real livewire for the Knights, then produced a dazzling break from deep, drawing the last defender before sending Ntsele in for his second try. The crowd roared and the belief swelled.
Moments later, Northwood was awarded a penalty try after Hilton illegally stopped a maul rumbling towards the line. Suddenly, it was 23-22 to the visitors and it was game on.
But pressure reveals character, and Hilton didn’t flinch. Returning to their structured power game, they drove deep into Northwood territory. Tighthead prop Mholi Khuzwayo was denied only inches from the line, but Vorster, so often Hilton’s go-to man near the try line, again delivered, crashing over for his second of the day.
Nela added two more to extend the Hilton lead beyond a converted try.
The visitors’ forwards applied the final squeeze, mauling with purpose, and Khuzwayo was this time rewarded with a try of his own. The conversion was off target, but the job was done.
Overall, Hilton performed strongly in the open age group, losing only one of the six matches, but Northwood won all four u16 games. The Durban school held a slight edge at u15 level and u14 level.
Hilton won the 1st XV and u14A games, the u15A match was drawn, and the u16 honours went Northwood’s way.
RUGBY
1st: Northwood 22-35 Hilton
2nd: Northwood 22-24 Hilton
3rd: Northwood 19-29 Hilton
4th: Northwood 33-20 Hilton
5th: Northwood 12-15 Hilton
6th: Northwood 12-19 Hilton
16A: Northwood 24-20 Hilton
16B: Northwood 31-7 Hilton
16C: Northwood 47-5 Hilton
16D: Northwood 51-0 Hilton
15A: Northwood 12-12 Hilton
15B: Northwood 26-19 Hilton
15C: Northwood 24-10 Hilton
15D: Northwood 0-12 Hilton
14A: Northwood 14-33 Hilton
14B: Northwood 33-17 Hilton
14C: Northwood 54-0 Hilton
HOCKEY
In a meeting of two strong sides, the Hilton College 1st XI found the finishing that had, at times, been missing from their game this season to score an admirable 5-3 win over Northwood in Durban, with five different goal scorers making it onto the score sheet.
The visitors grabbed another two open age group wins, but Northwood won four of the six u16 matches. Hilton picked up to victories and two draws in the u14 age group.
Overall, there was little to separate the schools, with the record reading five wins, five losses, and five draws, no matter which way it was read.
RESULTS
1st: Northwood 3-5 Hilton
2nd: Northwood 1-1 Hilton
3rd: Northwood 0-1 Hilton
4th: Northwood 1-1 Hilton
5th: Northwood 0-5 Hilton
16A: Northwood 2-2 Hilton
16B: Northwood 4-0 Hilton
16C: Northwood 3-1 Hilton
16D: Northwood 1-0 Hilton
16E: Northwood 6-0 Hilton
16F: Northwood 0-4 Hilton
14A: Northwood 2-2 Hilton
14B: Northwood 0-7 Hilton
14C: Northwood 2-2 Hilton
14D: Northwood 2-0 Hilton
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