15 March 2026
RUGBY
Unbeaten in 2025, but not in 2026! Westville Boys’ High suffered their first defeat under coach Zander Erasmus, going down 35-39 to Hilton College in a cracking contest on Gilfillan Field on Saturday.
After Westville took the early lead with a penalty, Hilton’s pack imposed themselves on the visitors’ defence, with a series of controlled pick and goes bringing them their opening try.
The hosts opened up a 15-3 lead before Westville flyhalf Jade-Will Koopman showed his class with a devastating counterattacking try. After fielding a ball on his 22, he spotted space to his right, chipped over the advancing defensive line, snatched the ball out of the air off the bounce between the Westville 10m line and halfway and hit the afterburners to sprint clear of the cover defence and go over in the right-hand corner.
Hilton responded with more slow poison from their pack, leading to another try from close range, and Benoit Rey slotted the conversion to put his team 22-8 ahead.
Westville, though, was far from out of the contest. Two converted tries, both the product of good hands and their speed out wide, helped the Griffins take a 25-22 lead. They appeared to have the momentum, but Hilton levelled at 25-25 with a penalty in the 50th minute.
Then, a superb drive off a lineout three minutes later put Hilton ahead again, and John Grubb converted from the sideline to make the advantage 32-25. Westville hit back, though, with a try in the left-hand corner. Hilton kept them from scoring near the uprights, however, and a missed conversion kick left the home side two points clear.
With just over a minute to play, inside centre Ruan Mulder elicited a massive roar from the home supporters when he tore through the Westville defensive line from close range to crash over for a try. A simple conversion gave Hilton a nine-point lead.
To their credit, Westville kept fighting to the final whistle, and a quick tap brought the visitors one last try, but it was too little too late, and Hilton held out for a thrilling victory.
Overall, it was very much Westville’s day. They scored 15 wins to Hilton’s three, including in the u16A, u15A, and u14A matches, but the 1st XV result removed some gloss from the visitors’ results and put some shine on Hilton’s efforts.
Results
1st: Hilton 39-35 Westville
2nd: Hilton 18-21 Westville
3rd: Hilton 10-17 Westville
4th: Hilton 15-10 Westville
5th: Hilton 5-55 Westville
6th: Hilton 23-28 Westville
7th: Hilton 12-17 Westville
16A: Hilton 19-29 Westville
16B: Hilton 12-36 Westville
16C: Hilton 0-33 Westville
16D: Hilton 17-34 Westville
15A: Hilton 7-14 Westville
15B: Hilton 21-52 Westville
15C: Hilton 0-42 Westville
15D: Hilton 0-48 Westville
14A: Hilton 14-17 Westville
14B: Hilton 12-7 Westville
14C: Hilton 12-42 Westville
15E: Maritzburg College 0-34 Westville
15F: Maritzburg College 20-62 Westville
14E: Maritzburg College 17-17 Westville
14F: Maritzburg College 19-29 Westville
HOCKEY
In a tight 1st XI match, Hilton College claimed a 2-1 win over Westville on Saturday, and they won three of the four open age-group games, with the 2nd XIs sharing a draw.
The u16A sides also drew, but the other five u16 matches went the visitors’ way. It was 1-1 in the u14A match, with Westville cruising to wins in the other two u14 contests.
Results
1st: Hilton 2-1 Westville
2nd: Hilton 1-1 Westville
3rd: Hilton 2-0 Westville
4th: Hilton 2-1 Westville
16A: Hilton 1-1 Westville
16B: Hilton 1-4 Westville
16C: Hilton 0-2 Westville
16D: Hilton 0-8 Westville
16E: Hilton 0-3 Westville
16F: Hilton 0-12 Westville
14A: Hilton 1-1 Westville
14B: Hilton 0-7 Westville
14C: Hilton 0-11 Westville
14D: DHS 6-0 Westville
TENNIS
Westville’s tennis prowess was on show at the KZN Mini 2 Tournament, where the school’s players excelled.
In the men’s singles, Sean Wilson finished as the runner-up, while Daniel Naidoo placed third.
The u16 competition ended in a 1-2-3 finish for Westville, with Nicholas Ulyett taking the title, Cameron Koch ending as the runner-up, and Eli Bedderson taking third place. Koch and Bedderson also joined forces to capture the doubles title.
Results
Men’s singles
Sean Wilson 2nd
Daniel Naidoo 3rd
Dirk Adam 10th
Men’s Gold Section
Mitchell Taylor 6th
Boys’ u16 Singles
Nicholas Ullyett 1st
Cameron Koch 2nd
Eli Bedderson 3rd
Kaelan Benadie 7th
Yash Pillay 10th
Connor Blom 12th
Junseok Yun 13th
Zanokuhle Mpande 15th
Reece Blom 16th
Boys’ u16 Singles Gold Section
Eli Jack 13th
Boys’ Doubles u16
Bedderson/Koch 1st
Boys’ Singles u14
Rio Young 7th
Carter Hugo 11th
Boys’ Singles u14 Gold Section
Max Westermeyer 3rd
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