8 April 2026
Extraordinary!
That one word sums up an exceptional Easter weekend for KZN schools’ hockey and rugby teams. They served notice to the rest of South Africa that the province is loaded with immense individual and team talent.
Missed the action? Catch up with the highlights on YouTube
At the Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival, Durban High School (DHS), Westville Boys’ High, and Kearsney College were unbeaten.
The Horseflies beat Zwartkop 31-14, Rustenburg 38-7, and Helpmekaar 39-27. Westville crushed Framesby 83-0, beat Helpmekaar 33-17, and finished with a 41-3 win over Milnerton High. Kearsney recorded a 43-14 victory over Rustenburg, beat Transvalia 33-13, and ended with a hard-fought 22-19 defeat of Zwartkop.
It should be mentioned, also, that Framesby, after their thrashing at the hands of the Griffins, went on to win their next two matches, which spoke volumes about their heart, but also underlined just how exceptional Westville’s performance was on the opening day in Botha’s Hill.
At the Pretoria Boys’ High 125th Rugby Festival, Michaelhouse sent shock waves rippling throughout the schoolboy rugby community, upsetting Affies 29-27, before beating Jeppe 40-36. Maritzburg College picked up two convincing wins, outplaying Jeppe 35-12 before handily dispatching SACS 24-7.
Hilton College thrashed Nelspruit 65-14 and then scored a 17-12 win over Australia’s Nudgee College, which only two days earlier had beaten Grey College, at the St John’s Easter Rugby Festival. Hilton appeared dialled in, playing with considerable flair and accuracy, and they were good value for their wins. Only exceptional defence from Nudgee kept the Aussies from a bigger defeat.
At the nearby King Edward VII Easter Festival, Northwood whipped Marlow Landbou 47-7 and St Andrew’s College 52-21. It was one-way traffic, with the Knights exhibiting a sharp cutting edge and exciting creativity on the attack.
On the artificial turf, Clifton‘s and Hilton‘s 1st hockey sides excelled at the Saints Sports Festival, while Westville lit up the KES Easter Festival, where Northwood and Maritzburg College also shone.
Coach Calvin Price‘s Clifton beat Zimbabwe’s Falcon College 3-2 on the opening day in Johannesburg. On day two, they edged out St Stithians 1-0 and drew 1-1 with Pretoria Boys High, who went on to match Clifton’s festival record of four wins and one draw. Clifton closed with a 2-1 win over Reddam House Constantia and a 5-4 defeat of Affies.
With four victories by a single goal, the Durban school demonstrated admirable BMT.
Hilton matched Clifton’s record. They would have been disappointed with a 1-1 draw with Menlopark in their opener, after Menlo struggled at the Belgotex Sport Coastal Cup, but they followed that with four wins on the trot, beating St David’s Marist Inanda 3-0, Reddam House Constantia 3-1, St Benedict’s 2-0, and the hosts, St Stithians, 2-1.
The wins by both Clifton and Hilton over Saints might be better than they appear at first glance. Earlier in the season, Saints held Jeppe to a 2-2 draw. Jeppe, subsequently, struggled in the early going at the Nomads Festival, but then found their form and ended Grey High‘s unbeaten start to the season.
St Stithians, meanwhile, was in action in Komani at the same time, contesting the Founders Festival. They suffered a humiliating loss to SACS, being overrun 10-2. Then, Northwood stunned SACS, claiming a 4-2 win. On the last day, though, St Stithians upset the Knights, winning 2-1.
At KES, Westville, after a slow start to the season, showed they’ve found their way. There were signs that better days were to come at the Coastal Cup. In Johannesburg, they put it all together, winning all four of their matches, defeating Parktown 4-0, St John’s College 3-2, Grey College 4-2, and Selborne 1-0.
Northwood continued their impressive campaign, winning three and losing one. They cruised to a 5-0 win over Selborne, repeated that score against Helpmekaar, and downed Grey College 2-1. In a clash between two of the festival’s best sides, they fell to a narrow 1-2 loss against KES.
Maritzburg College won three out of four, too, beating Dale 6-0, Queen’s 3-0, and Parktown 1-0. St Andrew’s College turned the tables on College on the last day, scoring a 2-0 victory.
The KES Easter Festival featured six KZN sides – the others were St Charles, Kearsney College and Glenwood High – and, between them, they played 25 matches, winning 14, drawing four, and losing six. They outscored their opposition by 58 goals to 25.
It has been a fascinating start to both the rugby and hockey seasons, with few teams as yet unscathed. The unbeatens on the rugby front include Paul Roos, Hilton College, and DHS. On the hockey front? None comes to mind!
What is clear, though, is that KZN sport is in fine fettle. At times, those in other provinces have looked down on KZN’s leading teams, especially on the rugby field, but they’ve been forced to sit up and take notice early in the 2026 season.
Assessing the rugby achievements, it should be added that, apart from the outstanding results already produced this season, the Sharks also won the u16 Grant Khomo Week last year, playing an attractive and effective free-flowing game.
It’s shaping up to be a KZN winter season for the ages.
RESULTS
Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival
DHS 31-14 Zwartkop
DHS 38-7 Rustenburg
DHS 39-27 Helpmekaar
Westville 83-0 Framesby
Westville 33-17 Helpmekaar
Westville 41-3 Milnerton
Kearsney 43-14 Rustenburg
Kearsney 33-13 Transvalia
Kearsney 22-19 Zwartkop
Glenwood 5-24 Helpmekaar
Glenwood 14-15 Framesby
Glenwood 14-12 Dr EG Jansen
Saints Easter Rugby Festival
Clifton 21-34 Mzwandile Mali XV
Clifton 18-22 St John’s College (Harare)
St Charles 7-18 Northcliff
St Charles 24-17 Kempton Park
KES Easter Rugby Festival
Northwood 47-7 Marlow Landbou
Northwood 52-21 St Andrew’s College
Pretoria Boys High 125th Rugby Festival
Michaelhouse 29-27 Affies
Michaelhouse 40-36 Jeppe
Maritzburg College 35-12 Jeppe
Maritzburg College 24-7 SACS
St John’s Easter Rugby Festival
Hilton College 65-14 Nelspruit
Hilton College 17-12 Nudgee College
KES Easter Hockey Festival
Westville 4-0 Parktown
Westville 3-2 St John’s
Westville 4-2 Grey College
Westville 1-0 Selborne
Northwood 5-0 Selborne
Northwood 5-0 Helpmekaar
Northwood 2-1 Grey College
Northwood 1-2 KES
Maritzburg College 6-0 Dale
Maritzburg College 3-0 Queen’s
Maritzburg College 1-0 Parktown
Maritzburg College 0-2 St Andrew’s College
Glenwood 7-0 Eldoraigne
Glenwood 1-5 Grey College
Glenwood 0-1 Pearson
Glenwood 3-3 Waterkloof
St Charles 3-0 Dale
St Charles 1-3 Pearson
St Charles 0-0 St John’s
St Charles 0-0 Eldoraigne
Kearsney 4-1 Waterkloof
Kearsney 2-0 Parktown
Kearsney 0-1 St Andrew’s College
Kearsney 2-2 Selborne
St Stithians Easter Hockey Festival
Clifton 3-2 Falcon College
Clifton 1-0 St Stithians
Clifton 1-1 Pretoria Boys High
Clifton 2-1 Reddam House Constantia
Clifton 5-4 Affies
Hilton 1-1 Menlopark
Hilton 3-0 St David’s Marist Inanda
Hilton 3-1 Reddam House Constantia
Hilton 2-0 St Benedict’s
Hilton 2-1 St Stithians
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