Rolling maul powers College to win over St Charles

Even after St Charles reduced the deficit to 5-14, College remained composed. Their response was immediate and emphatic, with Boshoff again the beneficiary of a powerful rolling maul on the half-hour mark. Then, just before the break, it was more of the same. The pack went to work, the maul marched forward, and Boshoff completed his hat-trick to send College into halftime with a commanding 28-5 lead.

If there were hopes of a Saints comeback, they were quickly extinguished after the restart.

Boshoff added his fourth in the 44th minute, once again from close range, as College’s forwards continued to dictate terms. Caleb Scheepers then finished off a sharp counterattack to stretch the lead further, underlining the hosts’ ability to strike from both structure and broken play.

St Charles kept probing, to their credit, but they found little reward against a disciplined and well-organised defence.

Scheepers had the final say five minutes from time, taking advantage of a quick tap and an overlap to cruise over in the corner, rounding off a seven-try display.

It was, in the end, a performance that reflected Maritzburg College’s identity: direct, physical, and efficient. It was also another tidy kicking performance from scrumhalf, Dom du Toit, who slotted five of seven conversion attempts, to help extend the gap between the sides.

The best match of the day was, arguably, the clash of the u16A sides. The teams tallied 53 points in total, but only five separated them at the end, with College claiming a hard-fought 29-24 victory.

The u15A match was a tight contest, too, with College triumphing 17-7.