Northwood 1st XV outlasts Westville, hockey Knights beat Clifton

Northwood reversed a 29-35 loss at Westville Boys’ High on 11 April by beating the Griffins 19-14 on Saturday at the Sharks Schools Rugby Day, hosted at Hilton College. The Knights forced Westville to play their game, keeping it tight and physical, with a fiercely committed defence setting coach Jacques Deen‘s boys up for victory.

“Defence comes first, and from that comes attack. It’s a straight transition,” he shared his philosophy on the game.

Westville possesses serious strike power and some wonderfully elusive runners out wide, but Northwood’s defensive effort consistently denied them front-foot ball and meaningful momentum for most of the contest. It was organised, aggressive, and relentless.

Looking back on the contest, Deen felt the Knights had created enough opportunities to put the result beyond doubt.

“We played well. We had more moments. I think we had nine entries into the 22, and we scored only twice. We had more opportunities.

“The scoreboard could have been different, but we are happy with the 19-14 win, to be honest.

“It’s nice coming back from losing the first one to them, and then showing we’re capable of pulling it off.”

In a tightly contested opening half, it took 20 minutes for the deadlock to be broken. Northwood struck through Janco Visagie, who powered over from close range. Sondelani Sheleni added the conversion for a 7-0 lead.

Westville responded by dominating possession and territory, but Northwood’s defence remained stubbornly resistant. Eventually, though, the pressure told. Left wing Lisa Sijadu was released down the touchline to score in the corner, and Jade-Will Koopman produced an excellent touchline conversion to level matters at 7-7 at the break.

The contest turned early in the second half.

First, Tristan Parkinson thundered onto a hard, direct line that split the Westville defence apart, with Sheleni converting to make it a seven-point play.

Moments later, from the restart, the Knights launched an attack from deep. Moving the ball swiftly from left to right, they found wing Anesu Kuzonyei in space, and the powerful speedster brushed off two defenders before racing away to complete a stunning long-range try.

At 19-7, Northwood had breathing room, but Westville refused to go quietly.

Right-wing Avumile Lisa finally began finding cracks in the Knights’ defensive wall, and he produced the moment of the match. Collecting the ball just outside his own 22, he stepped and weaved his way through a maze of defenders, leaving six players grasping at thin air before linking with Sijadu, who dotted down for his second try. Koopman converted to reduce the deficit to five points.

The closing stages were tense. Westville camped inside the Northwood 22 and hammered away at the line, but the Knights’ defence, magnificent throughout, held firm under immense pressure to secure a deserved 19-14 victory.

Confidence, Deen said afterwards, is steadily growing inside the Northwood camp.

“From beating DHS, and then going to Wildeklawer and doing well, losing by five points to Garsfontein and two points to Paarl Boys’ High, our confidence is there.

“We have the belief, and now, in the last three or four games, we’ve shown where we’re supposed to be. It’s just about execution now.”

Next Saturday, on Old Boys’ Day, the Knights face another formidable challenge against Maritzburg College. It promises to be a cracking contest.

Interestingly, Northwood swept Westville in the open age groups, but Westville returned the favour at u16, u15, and u14 level.