15 March 2026
Northwood got on top of Glenwood early in their King Price Derby clash on Reece-Edwards Field on Saturday and were able to build momentum. Once they got going, the Green Machine struggled to stop the home side, whose forwards gave their backs good ball, and they made it count.
The Knights were strong at lineout time – a feature of Jacques Deen-coached outfits – and that gave them quality ball with which to attack Glenwood.
Ludi van der Walt, an experienced campaigner, pulled the strings superbly from scrumhalf to keep the visitors on the back foot.
It took the Knights almost 10 minutes to break the deadlock, which they did with good lineout ball from a five-metre lineout, resulting in Trevor van Volenstee providing a sharp finish. Then, they slowly turned the screws. Van Volenstee, at fullback, was a consistent threat throughout the game, always looking for opportunities to join the backline and create an overlap.
Only magnificent defence prevented Anesu Kuzonyei from going over in the right-hand corner in the 32nd minutes, with Jakub Bednar and Eugenio Oersen combining to prevent what appeared to be a certain try by forcing the right wing over the sideline on the corner flag.
Van der Walt, though, soon added to Northwood’s tally, twice sniping around the fringes to good effect, with the second occasion leading to a try, with flyhalf Sondelani Sheleni adding the easy extras.
Right on the stroke of halftime, Northwood hit Glenwood with a sucker punch, with a beautifully weighed grubber behind the defence from Van Volenstee sitting up invitingly for Kuzonyei, who had worked his way over from the right wing out to the left, and he gratefully grabbed the opportunity, rounding off with a dive for the crowd beneath the uprights.
Sheleni converted to make it 21-0 at the break.
Hooker Zak Vrey went over from close range early in the second half to ensure that the momentum remained with the Knights.
After a successful conversion, Glenwood trailed 0-28, but, with typical grit, they stayed in the fight, and the scoreboard remained unchanged for over 20 minutes. Eventually, the Green Machine was rewarded when flank Josh Edwards dotted down after his fellow forwards had laid siege to the Northwood try line. Josh Kopp knocked over the conversion to make it a seven-point play.
Only five minutes remained in the contest, but they belonged firmly to Northwood, who finished with a flourish. With scrumhalf Ludi van der Walt leading the charge, the Knights made ground deep into Glenwood’s 22 and lock Nala Shabangu crossed for a try, making it 33-7.
Glenwood kept going at Northwood until the final whistle. Unfortunately for the visitors, though, an attempt to launch one last attack cost them when Van der Walt intercepted an attempted inside pass on the halfway line and raced away down the left-hand touchline to score in the corner. Sheleni rubbed salt in the wound with a superb conversion from out wide, and it ended 40-7 in favour of the Knights.
The overall results favoured Northwood, with Glenwood winning only the 6th XV match. The u16A, u15A, and u14A contests were all tight, with Northwood winning those by 10, eight, and three points, respectively.
Results
1st: Northwood 40-7 Glenwood
2nd: Northwood 31-7 Glenwood
3rd: Northwood 10-5 Glenwood
4th: Northwood 40-0 Glenwood
5th: Northwood 50-0 Glenwood
6th: Northwood 15-20 Glenwood
16A: Northwood 36-26 Glenwood
16B: Northwood 10-5 Glenwood
16C: Northwood 22-0 Glenwood
16D: Northwood 33-5 Glenwood
15A: Northwood 22-14 Glenwood
15B: Northwood 15-5 Glenwood
15C: Northwood 19-17 Glenwood
15D: Northwood 5-5 Glenwood
14A: Northwood 22-19 Glenwood
14B: Northwood 35-17 Glenwood
14C: Northwood 15-14 Glenwood
14D: Northwood 47-0 Glenwood
HOCKEY
The Knights bagged a 4-1 win over Glenwood in the showdown between the 1st XIs. Overall, Northwood also ruled, with Glenwood’s u14A team breaking up the Durban North school’s run of victories.
The open age group games reflected, though, that Glenwood has made strides in recent years following some very tough seasons that included some big losses, about three or so years ago.
Results
1st: Northwood 4-1 Glenwood
2nd: Northwood 4-1 Glenwood
3rd: Northwood 2-1 Glenwood
4th: Northwood 1-0 Glenwood
16A: Northwood 6-2 Glenwood
16B: Northwood 5-0 Glenwood
16C: Northwood 9-0 Glenwood
16D: Northwood 10-0 Glenwood
14A: Northwood 0-1 Glenwood
14B: Northwood 5-1 Glenwood
14C: Northwood 8-0 Glenwood
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