A brief history of rugby at Maritzburg College
Founded in 1863 , College played its first rugby match in 1870 , against Hermannsburg . Playing under Winchester rules , College won by two goals to nil . Rugby quickly became the game of choice at College and , apart from a short period of time in the 1880s and 1890s , when soccer enjoyed a considerable following , has remained the most popular winter sport at College .
In the 1920s and 1930s College rugby took a downturn , in terms of both popularity and results . This was soon rectified after the Second World War , when , under the guidance of the legendary Skonk Nicholson , College re-established itself as the premier rugby school in Natal . Today the school fields up to 30 teams and participates in the foremost rugby festivals in the country . Five overseas tours have been undertaken , most recently to New Zealand in 2007 .
The following College Old Boys have played international rugby :
For South Africa : EH Shum ( 1912-13 ) Wally Clarkson ( 1921-24 ) Bill Payn ( 1924 ) BE Vanderplank ( 1924 ) Philip Nel ( 1928-37 ) George van Reenen ( 1937 ) Keith Oxlee ( 1960-65 ) Ormond Taylor ( 1962 ) Andy van der Walt ( 1969-71 ) Joel Stransky ( 1993-96 ) Jeremy Thomson ( 1996 ) Pieter Dixon ( 2000 ) Butch James ( 2001-08 ) Peter Grant ( 2008 ) Jessie Kriel ( 2015 )
For Germany : Marcel Coetzee ( 2016 )
Maritzburg College vs DHS
College and DHS met on the rugby field for the first time in 1910 and over the years two schools very similar in character and size battled it out on the sports field . College won the first encounter by 5 points to nil . The first double-header was played in 1913 , and this continued for the most part until 2005 . The rivalry between the two schools is well documented , and there have been a number of epic encounters over time . The mind-set existed that it was nigh impossible to win on the double , no matter how convincing a home victory might be . This sentiment was held by every team in all the age groups . The longest winning streak for DHS was between 1937 and 1941 , when the " Horseflys " won eight games on the trot . The longest winning period for College was from 1981 to 1989 when College won 15 games in a row . College last lost to DHS in 2008 by 7-29 .
Both schools recently celebrated their 150th anniversaries . In 2013 College won 38-11 on Goldstone ' s and last year in a very close encounter in Durban , College held on to win 26-19 against a very good DHS side .
The late Skonk Nicholson , as all know , had a close affiliation with both schools . This year , for the seventh time , the 1st XVs do battle for the Skonk Nicholson Cup , a trophy kindly and generously donated by DHS .
Summary of results : Played : 188 College won : 118 DHS won : 57 Drawn : 13
For England : Hubert Freakes ( 1938-39 ) Geoff Appleford ( 2002 )
For Zimbabwe : Brenton Catterall ( 1991 ) For United States : Juan Grobler ( 1997-01 ) Chad Erskine ( 2005-07 )
For Italy : Wim Visser ( 1999-2002 )
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