19 May 2026
Clifton College made the long trek up to Pretoria to face off against St Alban’s College on Saturday, with the schools duelling in hockey, rugby, tennis, and chess matches.
HOCKEY
Coach Calvin Price‘s impressive Clifton 1st XI, which recently had four players included in the KZN Coastal u18A team and another three in the KZN Coastal u18B side, recorded a 2-0 victory over the home side.
That victory was expected. When the teams met at the Hibbert Shield in Gqeberha in April, Clifton fired on all cylinders, tearing through St Alban’s and winning 8-0, in one of their best performances of the season against a solid side.
The match served as useful preparation for the coming weekend’s showdown with St David’s Marist Inanda in Durban. The sides meet on Clifton’s Old Boys’ Weekend at the Riverside Sports Club.
St David’s is a quality outfit. On the past weekend, they contested the Aitken Cup, taking on 15 other leading sides in Johannesburg’s premier hockey tournament. They made it all the way to the semi-finals before bowing out after a narrow 1-2 loss to St Stithians.
Earlier this season, Clifton beat St Stithians 1-0 in Johannesburg, but went down 2-3 to Saints at the Hibbert Shield. Based on those results against a common opponent, a tight battle awaits on Saturday.
While the Clifton 1st XI won, St Alban’s was victorious in the other three open age group games. They also won the u16A and u14A matches, both by narrow 3-2 margins. In the match of the day, the u14D teams drew 4-4.
Results
1st: St Alban’s 0-2 Clifton
2nd: St Alban’s 5-0 Clifton
3rd: St Alban’s 2-1 Clifton
4th: St Alban’s 2-0 Clifton
16A: St Alban’s 3-2 Clifton
16B: St Alban’s 0-2 Clifton
16C: St Alban’s 0-3 Clifton
16D: St Alban’s 1-2 Clifton
14A: St Alban’s 3-2 Clifton
14B: St Alban’s 0-4 Clifton
14C: St Alban’s 3-1 Clifton
14D: St Alban’s 4-4 Clifton
RUGBY
On Moshate Field, the Clifton 1st XV gave a good account of itself in a hard-fought 8-24 defeat.
They will rue missed opportunities after making 12 incursions into the St Alban’s 22. It was, nonetheless, a good, competitive showing from coach Jose Dos Santos’s boys ahead of their clash with St David’s on Saturday in Durban.
Earlier this season, St David’s edged out St Alban’s 25-24, so Clifton will hope that playing at home, and with the considerable support of their Old Boys to boost them, it will be enough to get over the line against a good team.
In Pretoria, the results, overall, favoured St Alban’s, but the u15A match ended in a stalemate, level at 17-17.
Results
1st: St Alban’s 24-8 Clifton
2nd/3rd: St Alban’s 50-0 Clifton
16A: St Alban’s 32-7 Clifton
15A: St Alban’s 17-17 Clifton
15B: St Alban’s 38-0 Clifton
14A: St Alban’s 50-12 Clifton
14B: St Alban’s 36-0-Clifton
TENNIS
The 1st and 2nd tennis teams shared identical results, with St Alban’s victorious by only 15 games in both ties. It was, perhaps, a result that could have been reversed at a more familiar coastal altitude.
Results
1st: St Alban’s 83-68 Clifton
2nd: St Alban’s 83-68 Clifton
CHESS
Clifton bossed the chess match, almost doubling up St Alban’s to score a comfortable victory by six points.
Result
St Alban’s 7-13 Clifton
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