The Great Midlands Derby
In that beautiful part of Kwa-Zulu Natal, the Midlands, are two of South Africa’s great schools, Hilton and Michaelhouse.
They are beautifully situated schools, Hilton as you head up and out of Pietermaritzburg and Michaelhouse at Balgowan, further up towards the Drakensberg. This time Michaelhouse will descend from their lofty height to Hilton, one of the most beautiful schools in the world.
And they take rugby matches between each other seriously – turning them into wonderful, seemingly relaxed, social occasions but under that elegant exterior there burns competitive passion.
The match on Saturday ends their rugby seasons. It also ends referee Craig Joubert’s great career as he intends it to be his last match.
Season so Far
This season Hilton have had excellent results, winning all 12 of their matches. They hover close to the schools ranked in the Top 20, absent only because they have not played Top 20 opponents.
Michaelhouse have played 11 matches, winning two and losing the rest.
They played earlier in the season, up at Balgowan, and Hilton won there 22-5.
Results Against Common opponents
DHS: Hilton won 38-14; Michaelhouse lost 27-14
St John’s: Hilton won 15-12; Michaelhouse lost 43-10
Maritzburg College: Hilton won 29-18; Michaelhouse lost 27-23
Kearsney: Hilton won 38-34 & 24-19; Michaelhouse lost 27-17
Westville: Hilton won 36-7; Michaelhouse lost 31-20
St Charles: Hilton won 26-19; Michaelhouse won 26-17
Teams
Hilton: 15 Roger Ellis, 14 Robert McGaw, 13 Siya Xulu, 12 Grant Cousins, 11 Robert Mattison, 10 Ruan Wilmans, 9 Gareth Schreuder, 8 Lorenzo Palacio Apez, 7 Patrick Mcveigh, 6 Mark Armstrong, 5 Thomas Hamlin, 4 Nicolaas Taljaard, 3 Henty Beukes, 2 Dylan Thomas, 1 Brendan Naudé
Michaelhouse: 15 Michael Brownlee, 14 Phil Thomas, 13 Fraser Jones, 12 Thami Zakwe, 11 Liam England, 10 Luc Pousson, 9 Andrew Daly, 8 James Kiln, 7 James Moodie, 6 Christian Opperman, 5 Torin Mecklenborg, 4 Dan Dillon, 3 Brandon Jewell, 2 Mpho Mthethwa, 1 Andrew Holt
Date: Saturday, 16 June 2018
1st XV kick-off: 15.00
Venue: Gilfillan Field, Hilton College
Expected weather conditions: Partly cloudy with a high of 18°C and a low of 5°C
Referee: Craig Joubert
