“It’s bittersweet,” Hilton College 1st XV coach, Brad Macleod-Henderson, said after guiding his side to a battling 31-27 victory over Kearsney College on Gilfillan Field on Saturday in his last match in charge at home. He steps down at the end of the season.
Macleod-Henderson first coached the Hilton 1st XV in 2012, then took time out to take charge of the Sharks.
He returned to his alma mater in 2016 and, from there, produced teams that performed consistently well. Now, all that remains for the former Hilton College rugby captain is one more match against Michaelhouse on Meadows, next Saturday.
He’s a highly respected and beloved man in the Hilton community, and, following the win, he was emotional as the entire school serenaded him.
On a grey, gloomy and cold day, Kearsney struck the first blow, with Dan Miskey landing a long-range penalty, but Hilton quickly injected some heat into the contest when their decision to take a quick tap instead of an easy kick at goal brought them the opening try of the contest.
Ross Steyn, wearing the no. 8 jersey usually worn by Sharks’ Craven Week eighthman, Zander Muller, got the home side moving before their big tighthead, Mholi Khuzwayo, ploughed through two tackles and crashed down next to the uprights. John Grubb slotted the extras to make it 7-3 in the seventh minute.
Steyn, an unsung hero, is usually employed at flank. He has enjoyed an excellent season, which has brought Hilton 10 wins from 11 matches.
“Ross carries like a beast. He put us on the front foot quite a few times. It meant we ended up getting the result we were looking for,” Macleod-Henderson, a former eighthman, said.
He also praised Steyn’s fellow loose forwards: “Callen Kenmuir is also an absolute dog. Rob Jervis is a workhorse, so we are very blessed.”
Kearsney College’s inspirational captain, Nhlanhla Ndlovu, also a no. 8, is usually good for at least a few splash plays each game, and his try-scoring record is outstanding. Hilton, though, did a good job of closing him down.
It wasn’t a case of the home side just focusing on Ndlovu, though, Macleod-Henderson said: “It’s not just him. Fifteen [Lwazi Mbebe] is a pretty dangerous player, 12 [Keanu Williamson] carries hard, 11 [Lwandile Mkhize] is a blitz, so we had quite a few talented players to contend with. Obviously, you have to worry about the whole team, and 10 [Dan Miskey] is another good player. We did just enough to get over the line.”
Hilton, as they are so good at doing, played the game in favourable areas in the early part of the contest, keeping Kearsney pinned in their 22.
Again, another quick tap by Steyn brought a try-scoring reward. He drew in defenders with a powerful run before a flat, long pass from scrumhalf Benoit Rey sent hooker Kyle-Reese Clements over the line. Another successful conversion from Grubb gave Hilton an 11-point lead.
Kearsney hit back after 15 minutes when their vice-captain, inside centre Keanu Williamson, ran an incisive line onto a flat pass from Luke Faure, which enabled him to squeeze past three defenders as they tried to close the gap. Then, he skipped out of a fourth tackle, beat the last man with a deft sidestep off his left foot, and went over behind the posts.
With a strong work rate, high rugby IQ, and lead-from-the-front example, Williamson is the glue in the One-Stripe‘s backline, outside of flyhalf Dan Miskey, who knocked over the easy kick to reduce the deficit to four points.
After conceding, the momentum swung Hilton’s way again, and they worked their way into Kearsney’s 22, where they won a penalty. This time, they slowed matters down and gave Grubb the task of kicking at posts. He handled it with aplomb to put the hosts a converted try ahead at halftime.
Just a couple of minutes into the second half, Ruan Mulder ran himself into a gap, fended off a tackler and fed right wing Tom Gurupira, on the outside. Gurupira is a proven finisher, and he raced over again. With Grubb maintaining his clean kicking record, Hilton had opened up a 14-point advantage.
Kearsney, though, is a team that is never out of a game, and they continued taking the fight to Hilton. Dan Miskey landed an easy penalty kick after 10 minutes of the second half. Then Luke Grobbelaar blocked a grubber kick on the halfway line, gathered the ball and hared down the right touchline to score. With Miskey tacking on two points, the game had suddenly tightened up considerably, with Hilton leading 24-20 and 19 minutes to play.
Big Ross Steyn was to the fore again, though, just when Hilton needed some inspiration. He forced his way over just to the left of the uprights, carrying two tacklers on his back, and Grubb converted to make it 31-20.
Kearsney’s left-wing Lwandile Mkhize was in the thick of things as the One-Stripe sought a response. It took them until the second-last minute to manufacture it, with Miskey breaking through Hilton’s blindside defence with a vicious sidestep. He followed that with an arcing run, which took him past the cover defence and in under the posts. He quickly converted his own try with a drop kick, giving Kearsney a late chance to conjure up a win.
Hilton managed the time well, though, winning a turnover penalty. They chose to kick at the posts. The kick missed, but time had run out, and Hilton College celebrated a hard-fought 31-27 victory.
“They’ve got some electric backs. We had to be on our guard defensively. Luckily, for most of the day we defended well enough to sneak in there at the end,” Hilton’s coach, Brad Macleod-Henderson, commented.
Scorers:
Hilton College 31 (17) – Tries: Mohli Khuzwayo, Kyle-Reese Clements. Tom Gurupira, Ross Steyn. Conversions: John Grubb (4). Penalty: John Grubb. Kearsney College 27 (10) – Try: Keanu Williamson, Luke Grobbelaar, Dan Miskey. Conversions: Dan Miskey (3). Penalty: Dan Miskey (2).
Other Results:
u19
II: Hilton 11 Kearsney 10
III: Hilton 14 Kearsney 7
IV: Hilton 29 Kearsney 17
V: Kearsney 17 Hilton 15
VI: Hilton 32 Kearsney 19
u16
A: Hilton 22 Kearsney 14
B: Kearsney 31 Hilton 10
C: Kearsney 19 Hilton 12
u15
A: Hilton 54 Kearsney 26
B: Hilton 19 Kearsney 14
C: Hilton 14 Kearsney 10
u14
A: Kearsney 45 Hilton 26
B: Hilton 61 Kearsney 5
C: Hilton 45 Kearsney 24
