There’s something about playing on Old Orchards. Often, it brings out the best in St Charles College.
On Saturday, Saints, celebrating 150 years in 2025, delivered a memorable performance in front of a proud home crowd, sweeping aside St David’s Marist Inanda 34-6 in a King Price Derby Series clash.
Craig Dwyer‘s young but well-drilled charges produced a performance to savour. Their win was built on hard running, clever attacking plays, and an unyielding defence.
From the opening whistle, it was evident the hosts were up for the challenge. St David’s, to their credit, had the first opportunity to trouble the scorers when Luca Cabion lined up a long-range penalty from 46 metres out. His strike had the distance but was wide of the mark.
That miss was punished almost immediately. A lineout on the St David’s 22 was taken cleanly by St Charles’ imposing number eight Raphael Ajibade, and the hosts launched an assault down the flyhalf channel. After a few phases, Ajibade re-entered the play, blasting through two tackles and running over a third would-be stopper to crash over in the fifth minute. Fullback André Bosman added the extras for a 7-0 lead.
A second try followed less than 10 minutes later, again from a lineout, this time just five metres out.
With misdirection that showed smart coaching and slick execution, Ajibade first drew attention to the front, while lock Josh Harris acted as a decoy at the back. Hooker Dresden Coetzee instead found Ajibade at the front with a short throw, and the number eight popped a neat inside ball to scrumhalf Agape Nyawo, who darted over untouched. The sweetly executed move pushed Saints out to a 12-0 lead after 14 minutes.
That scoreline held until the break, with both sides trading punches between the 22s without further additions to the scoreboard. But the second half belonged firmly to St Charles.
Cabion finally got St David’s on the board with a penalty early in the half, but that only poked the bear. St Charles responded almost immediately.
Ajibade, once again, burst through the line, and although he was brought down short, Nyawo was perfectly positioned to take the offload and bag his brace. Bosman’s conversion attempt went left, but at 17-3, the momentum was with the home side.
Another Cabion penalty made it 17-6, but any hopes of a comeback were dashed right from the restart. A knock-on gave St Charles possession deep in the red zone, and after strong carries by tighthead Braydon Joese and some clever interplay between Nyawo and Mathew Ludick, the wing was in under the sticks. Bosman made no mistake this time: 24-6.
To their credit, St David’s mounted a period of pressure, camping in the St Charles 22. But the white wall held firm, repelling wave after wave of attack.
Then came the moment of the match. A turnover on the hour allowed Nyawo to scoop up a loose ball and release Ludick, who conjured a stunning solo try. He froze the defensive line with an inside then outside shimmy. Then, a sumptuous dummy, rendered the defenders flat-footed and he sprinted around to go over in the left-hand corner.
Fittingly, it was the talismanic Ajibade who had the final word. Off the back of a scrum near the halfway line, he surged down the blindside, brushed off two defenders, and leapt over the last with a hurdler’s grace before diving in to complete a performance that combined power, poise, and flair.
Bosman was off target with the conversion, but it mattered little. The 34-6 scoreline underlined St Charles’ dominance.
RESULTS
1st: St Charles 34-6 St David’s
2nd: St Charles 36-27 St David’s
3rd: St Charles 29-7 St David’s
4th: St Charles 42-29 St David’s
5th: St Charles 29-48 KZN Development 2nd
16A: St Charles 30-25 St David’s
16B: St Charles 7-13 St David’s
16C: St Charles 31-34 St David’s
15A: St Charles 31-22 St David’s
15B: St Charles 0-56 St David’s
14A: St Charles 53-0 St David’s
14B: St Charles 36-35 St David’s
14C: St Charles 12-27 St David’s
HOCKEY
On the Astro, St David’s claimed the 1st XI honours, scoring a comfortable 3-0 win. St Charles, though, won the other three open age group matches. They also won four of the u16 matches, including the A-side game, drew one, and lost one.
St David’s pulled back some ground in the u14 age group, where they recorded three wins. There was one draw, too, but St Charles picked up a tight win in the u14A match.
RESULTS
1st: St Charles 0-3 St David’s
2nd: St Charles 2-1 St David’s
3rd: St Charles 2-1 St David’s
4th: St Charles 1-0 St David’s
16A: St Charles 1-0 St David’s
16B: St Charles 2-2 St David’s
16C: St Charles 2-1 St David’s
16D: St Charles 1-0 St David’s
16E: St Charles 3-2 St David’s u15C
16F: St Charles 0-3 St David’s u15D
14A: St Charles 2-0 St David’s
14B: St Charles 3-3 St David’s
14C: St Charles 1-2 St David’s
14D: St Charles 0-1 St David’s
14E: St Charles 2-4 St David’s
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