Glenwood prepare for Grey

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 23:29

On Saturday, Glenwood, the top team in KwaZulu Natal host one of the top two teams in the country this year, Grey College of Bloemfontein. We spoke to Glenwood coach Sean Erasmus and captain Shaun Malton in the lead-up to the big game.

Shaun Malton is a born a bred Durbanite who hails from the Bluff. He has been at Glenwood since Grade 8, having followed his brother there. Shaun started out at prop at Glenwood and played in the Under-14B and Under-15B teams before moving to hooker in Under-16. The change obviously suited him as he made the KwaZulu Natal Under-16 Grant Khomo team that same year.

This year he has captained the Glenwood 1st XV to victory at the SANIX World Youth Championship in Japan and also skippered the KwaZulu Natal Craven Week team. Shaun was selected for the SA Schools team that will pay the curtain raiser to the Springbok/Australia test in Durban on 23 August. Shaun will be heading to the Sharks Academy next year and is hoping to take his rugby career as far as possible.

Shaun is a natural leader and is also a school prefect. It was evident when chatting to him that he places great emphasis on self-belief and is obviously a good motivator. He knows Saturday is going to be tough but he will be doing his best to ensure that his players believe in themselves and their ability. He is sure that if they do that they can pull off another historic win against Grey, like the 2006 Glenwood 1st XV did.

A mobile hooker who, like his team, possesses a good all-round game, Shaun models his style of play on the current New Zealand crop, Keven Mealamu and Andrew Hore. At 1.77 metres and 90kg he is mobile enough to get around the park while not shirking his responsibilities up front. Having played prop he is more than equal to the task at scrum time.

Shaun credits the success of this year’s Glenwood team to various factors. The team has played a lot together over the years and this year in particular they have played a lot of big games. The experience they gained in Japan was immense and they have learnt to deal with handling pressure. That will stand them in good stead on Saturday when 20 000 people are expected to turn up for the game.

In addition Glenwood run arguably the most professional schoolboy set up in the country. The players are treated like full time professional and train from seven o'clock every morning. The 1st XV have very good coaches, with specialists for the forwards, backs and conditioning.

The Glenwood team has only lost one game this year and that was their very first game of the season against Paarl Boys' High. They drew with Michaelhouse, a result that can partly be ascribed to tiredness after the Japan trip but since coming back from the June holidays they have been in top form. Over the last three weeks they have beaten Maritzburg College, Affies and Kearsney (62-0).

On Saturday they play the final game of their season and with half the team being in matric they are obviously very motivated to end on a high. Shaun says they are expecting a very physical game but that they have trained hard and are ready for whatever Grey can throw at them.

Coach Sean Erasmus is hoping to field a full strength team for Saturday’s match. Some of the players are struggling with flu but it didn't stop them from taking part in the practice on Tuesday. He is confident though that the hard work has been done and that now it will come down to what happens on the day. Glenwood have done their homework on Grey College and are obviously aware of the threat posed by Grey’s two SA Schools stars, Franna du Toit at flyhalf and François Venter at inside centre.

Although coach Erasmus has a few different strategies in place to try out on Grey he is acutely aware that the game will be won up front. His boy’s are ready for Saturday and appear to be peaking at the right time. With the Sharks playing away and with no other schoolboy rugby in the region Glenwood are expecting a huge crowd.

Coach Sean Erasmus is happy that his boy’s will be up for the game and will withstand the pressure while captain Shaun Malton is focused on making sure his player believe in themselves and their ability. The pair have achieved much together this year. Let’s hope they can get over the final hurdle together on Saturday!