GLENWOOD High School’s dominance over DHS prevailed on Saturday when they beat their rivals in a typical see-saw derby day encounter in Durban.
The Green Machine shrugged off an unacceptably high number of errors and an unrecognisable performance from the form that beat DHS in their last fixture a month ago.
There was little to divide the sides in the first half, with the wind playing a factor. DHS went into the interval leading 0-5, courtesy of some brilliant play by flyhalf Shakir La Douche to touch down in the far corner.
Glenwood produced a blistering second half with Ethan Smit crossing the whitewash after splitting the leaky DHS defence just outside their 22m. Jordan Hendrikse failed to add the extras and the score was level at 5-5.
DHS quickly found themselves in Glenwood’s red zone, but the Green Machine held their nerves keeping DHS from scoring and eventually bundled them into touch. Glenwood’s Cade Esterhuizen won the line out for Glenwood and popped it back to Nico Steyn who managed to find the smallest of gaps carving through the DHS defence. The offload to Sikholise Nanto was pinpoint as he finished off a marvellous try in the right corner. The conversion was wide of the target and the score 12-5 for Glenwood.
It took merely six minutes for Glenwood to score their third try. With play shifting wide, Joe Jonas stepped out of one tackle, offloaded to Ethan Biljoen, who finished like a winger, diving over in the corner in front of the Glenwood Boys. Jordan Hendrikse failed to convert and the score 17-5.
DHS refused to give up and patiently made their way back into Glenwood’s 22. From a scrum 5m out, the ball was played to the right winger who came in from the angle to score under the poles. The try was converted and with 4 minutes left to play, the score 17-12. The spectators were in for a serious end to this game.
The Men in Green bullied their way into the DHS 22m from the kick-off. A little déjà vu for Ethan Smit as he burst through the defence to score in the same corner as his first try. Jordan Hendrikse converted and with that the final whistle blew. Glenwood victorious with 24-12.
Glenwood now turn their focus to probably their toughest fixture for the season, travelling to Bloemfontein to lock horns with powerhouse Grey College.
Do you want to receive news alerts on this and many other stories relevant to the Durban area via WhatsApp? Send us a WhatsApp message (not an sms) with your name and surname to 060 532 5535.
You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
PLEASE NOTE: If you have signed up for our news alerts you need to save the Berea Mail WhatsApp number as a contact to your phone, otherwise you will not receive our alerts