28 July 2026
Affies delivered a powerful second-half performance on Goldstone’s on Saturday, turning a hard-fought seven-point halftime lead into a convincing 40-12 victory over Maritzburg College in a King Price Derby Series clash.
The Pretoria side led only 12-5 after scoring their second try just before the break. In the second half, they found another gear, using their physicality, ball retention, and clinical finishing to outscore the Red, Black, and White by four tries to one.
The Witbulle had dominated possession and territory early on but were repeatedly denied by Maritzburg College’s determined defence, which forced numerous turnovers just metres from their try line. Eventually, the visitors’ pressure paid off when hooker Charl Els finished from off a rolling maul.
College responded five minutes later through Matthew Harris, who crossed in the left-hand corner after a sustained attack. Dom du Toit‘s touchline conversion drifted into the upright, leaving the scores locked at 5-5.
The deadlock remained until the final minute of the first half when Francois de Beer produced a powerful finish, dragging defenders with him to score next to the uprights. Ruben Smith added the conversion.
Speaking afterwards, Affies’ coach Ruan Jacobs admitted his side had been frustrated by their inability to convert early dominance into points.
“We started the way we wanted to, keeping the ball well, but we couldn’t finish, which was maybe a symptom of last playing together as a team on 23 May,” he said. “But the guys rallied in the second half, and I was proud of the reaction that they showed after the break.”
Affies struck an early blow after the restart when captain Martin van Niekerk shrugged off two would-be tacklers to score beneath the posts, with Smith’s conversion stretching the lead to 19-5.
Maritzburg College thought they had found an immediate response when right-wing Lwanzo Vyambwera escaped down the touchline and crossed in the corner after regathering his feet. However, after consulting his assistant, the referee ruled that Vyambwera had failed to release the ball before getting up, awarding a penalty to Affies instead. It appeared to be a curious decision.
It was one of the game’s defining moments, followed shortly afterwards by another: College lock Sean Jansen was shown a yellow card following an off-the-ball altercation. That decision could just as well have gone against Affies.
To their credit, they immediately made their numerical advantage count, kicking to the corner before driving another rolling maul over the line, with Ruben Venter applying the finishing touch. Smith’s conversion pushed the lead out to 26-5 and firmly shifted the momentum in the visitors’ favour.
Further converted tries from Juan Venter and Joshua Gouws put the result beyond doubt before College flank David Colenbrander broke through for a late consolation score, with Du Toit converting.
It was an impressive victory for Affies, who outscored their hosts by six tries to two.
Powerful left wing Dehan Botha earned the King of the Match Award for a series of barnstorming carries, but the platform for victory was laid by a dominant tight five, whose work, especially at scrum time and in the lineouts, gave the Witbulle the control they needed to claim an impressive away win.
Affies has been the school with the greatest rugby depth in South Africa in 2026, and that was on show on Saturday as they made a clean sweep of their matches.
Results
1st: Maritzburg College 12-40 Affies
2nd: Maritzburg College 31-35 Affies
3rd: Maritzburg College 14-36 Affies
4th: Maritzburg College 5-39 Affies
5th: Maritzburg College 0-50 Affies
6th: Maritzburg College 19-43 Affies
7th: Maritzburg College 0-50 Affies
8th: Maritzburg College 5-50 Affies
9th: Maritzburg College 0-50 Affies
10th: Maritzburg College 7-50 Affies
16A: Maritzburg College 28-42 Affies
16B: Maritzburg College 10-31 Affies
16C: Maritzburg College 0-50 Affies
16D: Maritzburg College 7-50 Affies
16E: Maritzburg College 0-50 Affies
16F: Maritzburg College 0-50 Affies
15A: Maritzburg College 13-19 Affies
15B: Maritzburg College 8-21 Affies
15C: Maritzburg College 7-57 Affies
15D: Maritzburg College 3-38 Affies
15E: Maritzburg College 7-41 Affies
14A: Maritzburg College 10-44 Affies
14B: Maritzburg College 8-21 Affies
14C: Maritzburg College 0-50 Affies
14D: Maritzburg College 0-50 Affies
14E: Maritzburg College 0-50 Affies
14F: Maritzburg College 13-50 Affies
HOCKEY
Maritzburg College’s Heath Hackland and Callum Le Court De Billot enjoyed their 50th matches for the Red Army as College scored a memorable 3-2 victory over Affies on Pape’s Astro on Saturday in a thrilling, high-quality contest that went down to the wire.
Matthew Smith had himself a day, opening the scoring with a sweetly-struck tomahawk and scoring the winner, the other side of a rocket-like scoring shot from Sbuyiselwe Mchunu, which was sandwiched between Smith’s two goals.
If there is one area in which College has fallen short in 2026, it has been in turning numerous goal-scoring chances into goals. On Saturday, though, their finishing was good. Their defence, too, was strong.
“We were aware of their threat at penalty corners, and they had two in the game.” College coach Mark Sanders said afterwards. “So, I thought we did really well. We managed a really good Affies side.”
The visitors enjoyed the better of the early territorial battle, spending much of the opening half inside College’s defensive third. But the hosts’ disciplined defence and covering kept Affies at bay.
“The guys were on point today defensively,” Sanders said. “We spoke a lot about our counter cover. We spoke a lot about how well we have to man-mark and so on. So, the boys did nicely. They stuck to the plan.”
Despite absorbing sustained pressure, it was College who struck first through Smith. Just before the end of the first chukka, Ruard Nienaber replied for Affies.
College regained the advantage in the second chukka through Mchunu’s powerful shot, which he got away despite the attention of two players.
“It was nice to see we scored field goals, which has not been the luxury this season,” Sanders reflected.
Affies, though, hit back almost immediately. A swift counterattack sliced through the College defence, leaving Nienaber with a straightforward finish to make it 2-2 and set up an absorbing second half.
The decisive moment in the second stanza belonged to Smith, who slotted a penalty stroke.
Trailing by a goal, Affies bravely pulled their goalkeeper with five minutes to play. Just before the final whistle, they forced a penalty corner. The push out was off target, however, and Maritzburg College celebrated a hard-fought win.
Overall, Affies won 10 matches, seven of those by one-goal margins. College won five, including the 1st XI, u16A, and u14A games – with the u16A side winning 3-0 and the u14A team 7-1. Only one match finished in a draw.
Results
1st: Maritzburg College 3-2 Affies
2nd: Maritzburg College 3-4 Affies
3rd: Maritzburg College 3-2 Affies
4th: Maritzburg College 3-1 Affies
5th: Maritzburg College 0-2 Affies
16A: Maritzburg College 3-0 Affies
16B: Maritzburg College 2-3 Affies
16C: Maritzburg College 2-3 Affies
16D: Maritzburg College 1-2 Affies
16E: Maritzburg College 0-2 Affies
16F: Maritzburg College 1-1 Affies
16G: Maritzburg College 1-4 Affies
14A: Maritzburg College 7-1 Affies
14B: Maritzburg College 4-1 Affies
14C: Maritzburg College 0-1 Affies
14D: Maritzburg College 0-1 Affies
14E: Maritzburg College 0-1 Affies