Thoughts on this Blog from Schoolboy Rugby SA:
Michaelhouse are brimming with confidence after an astonishing big home win of 36-10 against Glenwood.
Self-belief will be key as they attempt to do what no House team has done since 2016 – which is to beat Hilton in the great Midlands derby!
Easier said than done!
After lagging behind in KZN for a good part of the 2010’s, Hilton picked up the pace big time and reinvented themselves as a force to be reckoned with both in and outside the provincial borders.
The resurgence peaked last season with an outstanding team to fly the flag high in Hilton’s 150th birthday day. Before that 2022 season, the Covid years prevented the Midlands private from establishing their dominance in the province and producing similar season end stats. Teams build around talented key players, depth and sound tactics were the order of the day.
Michaelhouse are at home on Meadows for this big match and the many of the pundits are making them favourites. They have the manpower and with the attention to details and careful planning of James Fleming at the coaching helm, they have the strategic know-how to keep the scoreboard ticking. That’s exactly how it went down against Glenwood – a plan well executed. Contrary to expectations, a very precise House led 36-0 after 40-minutes. In the back of their minds fo their supporters and those of their greatest opponents will be the last 30-minutes when Glenwood stemmed the tide and when to read into that.
Hilton under former Currie Cup winning coach Brad Macleod-Henderson, define the word “structure”. Hilton are well-drilled. They are disciplined. They will kick for 70-minutes if they believe that will give them the upper-hand or they will do what did in a dominant first half display against St Charles on the way to a 39-10 win last weekend, where they exploited wider spaces. They enjoy physicality and they have been supreme in the operation of their suffocating defensive systems where there is huge emphasis on organisation and linespeed.
The key forward match is at no.8. Here House’s SA u18 representative Dwayne Mlaba, a big strong runner who will potentially be very influential on attack particularly if he is afforded space, takes on the very active Akhona Kunene who on his day is the best u18 forward in KZN. When Akhona applies himself, he scores top marks for carries, tackles and even stealing balls. Expect to see him close to the action a lot of the time.
In the backline, look no further than outside centre. Campbell Ridl is a tall classy player. He was player of the tournament at the international Sevens tournament in the UK before Easter, which Michaelhouse won. A talent with pace, good handling and vision. Opposing him is the very effective RD Engelbrecht, a powerfully build unit whose punchy strike runs have seen him often breaking first time tackles and giving Hilton a front-foot dimension they haven’t always possessed in the line in the past.
The halves also present interesting duels. House scrumhalf Josh Aissing has the best pass in KZN, a quick crisp accurate service which affords his composed running flyhalf Murray Baker a bit more time to make good decisions. Baker is generally a good judge when it comes to kick-run-pass. In a season in which KZN has a number of French Top 14 styled halves including Baker, none have been called on more to serve in both roles as cheeky vocal Hilton halfback Luke Watt who has shown good flexibility as both a 9 and 10 with ability. Outside him Chris Horak has been used sparingly, possibly due to fitness concerns, but is probably the leading candidate for the Craven Week role, as he has a feel for the game and exercises good sense with ball-in-hand plus he is a useful place-kicker.
