23 March 2026
St Charles College visited Durban on Saturday for the first of two winter derby weekends against Clifton College in 2026.
In the clash of the 1st XVs, matters were tight in the first half, with Saints edging it 12-7. Clifton, though, had their chances, but they failed to take them.
“It was a game of two halves, as it was last year against St Charles. We were in it at halftime, and then the wheels fell off in the second half,” Clifton 1st XV coach, Jose Dos Santos, said.
“In the first half, we had three clear try-scoring opportunities, which we didn’t capitalise on. If you don’t take those opportunities, you’re not going to build scoreboard pressure. That really hurt.
“They scored almost immediately after halftime, and that knocked the wind out of the boys’ sails.” St Charles went on to outscore Clifton 26-0 in the second half to claim a comfortable 38-7 victory.
A big reason for the visitors’ win was the performance of their back three. Dos Santos described their counterattacking as “sublime”.
The Clifton coach said it would have been good to take the momentum of another win into the St Stithians Easter Festival, but Clifton missed four injured players on the weekend, as did St Charles. The return of those players for the festival in Johannesburg should provide the side with a good boost.
They’re likely to face a similar type of test as they faced against Saints from their two opponents – the Mzwandile Mali XV and St John’s College (Harare). They like to let the ball do the work and play a running game. “Both are going to be really tough,” Dos Santos said. “Chatting to a couple of my Zim mates, St John’s has a quality team again this year, with a lot of pace in the backline.
“They compare this year’s team to the St John’s team that beat Michaelhouse [25-23] two years ago at the Saints Easter Festival.
“It’s going to be a big challenge,” Dos Santos said, but he expects to have a full squad at his disposal in Johannesburg.
Results
1st: Clifton 7-38 St Charles
2nd: Clifton 0-50 St Charles
3rd: Clifton 10-12 St Charles 5th
16A: Clifton 0-21 St Charles
15A: Clifton 0-7 St Charles
15B: Clifton 17-10 St Charles u15C
14A: Clifton 0-44 St Charles
14B: Clifton DHS Invitational
HOCKEY
Clifton College’s strong start to the 2026 season continued with another victory – their fourth to go with one draw – beating St Charles 3-1 at the Riverside Astro on Saturday. Early on, though, Saints held the edge.
“St Charles came out guns blazing. They were definitely better than us. We weren’t at our best, but we still got the result. We’re quite chuffed. We grinded out a nice win,” Clifton coach Calvin Price commented.
“[Goalkeeper] Georg [Wolhuter] was really good in the goal box. He took a lot of control of the game. Dan Holiday was dangerous up front. He is our leading goal scorer. He’s putting the ball in the back of the net when we need him.”
St Charles enjoyed good control of possession, but didn’t finish as well as the home side.
After an encouraging start to the season, the challenges come thick and fast for Clifton, who will next be in action in the Belgotex Sport Coastal Cup at the Riverside Sports Club from Friday, 27 March.
“We’re looking forward to it,” Price said. “Our theme this year is consistency. We haven’t been very good going in to festivals [in the past]. My goal is for us to be consistent this weekend.
“We’ve got some really big matches: Paarl Boys’ High to start us off on Friday. Then, Bishops on Saturday, followed by Menlo Park and Parel Vallei. Not easy fixtures, but I’m hoping, given the start to the season we have had, that we are moving in the right direction.
Touching on the success that his side has enjoyed this season, Price said: “Clifton is known for counterattacking, and we are going to continue in that way by using different methods to counterattack. All the teams do their video analysis, so they’ll see that. We’ve got to adapt in the best way possible.”
The Clifton coach said the return of captain Ryde Brisset, who missed last season after undergoing shoulder surgery, has been a huge boost for the Clifton 1st XV, and the spine of the team has been solid. The players have also functioned well as a team, he added.
“It’s an exciting time for this Clifton team going into the Coastal Cup and the Saints Festival the next weekend.”
Results
1st: Clifton 3-1 St Charles
2nd: Clifton 0-3 St Charles
3rd: Clifton 0-7 St Charles
4th: Clifton 0-1 St Charles
16A: Clifton 4-1 St Charles
16B: Clifton 1-2 St Charles
16C: Clifton 0-6 St Charles
16D: Clifton 0-5 St Charles
14A: Clifton 2-0 St Charles
14B: Clifton 2-0 St Charles
14C: Clifton 1-4 St Charles
14D: Clifton 0-3 St Charles
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