Here are the final rankings for 2015 as presented by BHP. For the last couple of week provisional rankings were used.
The BHP scoring system works as follows:
Win : the full category points of the opponent
Win Bonus: 0.5 points for a win by a score of 30 points or more.
Loss: no points for a loss.
Loss Bonus for losing by less than 6 points: 60% of opponent’s category points
Loss Bonus for losing by less than 11 points: 40% of opponent’s category points
Loss Deduction: a deduction of 0.5 for a loss to a school in a lower category
Draw: 80% of opponent’s category points
FINAL RANKINGS FOR 2015 (compared to 2014)
| 2015 vs 2014 | School | Pts | Cat | 2013 / 14 /15 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01..▲8 | HJS Paarl BH | 4.70 | 5.00 | 8 / 9 / 1 |
| 02..▲37 | Affies | 4.29 | 5.00 | 2 / 39 / 2 |
| 03..►0 | Paarl Gim | 4.24 | 5.00 | 1 / 3 / 3 |
| 04..▼2 | Paul Roos | 4.08 | 5.00 | 23 / 2 / 4 |
| 05..►0 | Monument | 3.87 | 5.00 | 11 / 5 / 5 |
| 06..▼5 | Grey College | 3.84 | 5.00 | 3 / 1 / 6 |
| 07..▲11 | Michaelhouse | 3.81 | 4.50 | – / 18 / 7 |
| 08..▲3 | Selborne | 3.71 | 5.00 | 22 / 11 / 8 |
| 09..▲1 | EG Jansen | 3.62 | 5.00 | 5 / 10 / 9 |
| 10..▼4 | Grey HS | 3.56 | 5.00 | 13 / 6 / 10 |
| 11..▲9 | Oakdale | 3.47 | 5.00 | 10 / 20 / 11 |
| 12..▲2 | Outeniqua | 3.47 | 5.00 | 4 / 14 / 12 |
| 13..▲19 | Boland Landbou | 3.39 | 5.00 | 44 / 32 / 13 |
| 14..▲2 | HTS Middelburg | 3.28 | 5.00 | 18 / 16 / 14 |
| 15..►0 | Nelspruit | 3.22 | 5.00 | 12 / 15 / 15 |
| 16..▲34 | Eldoraigne | 3.20 | 4.50 | – / 50 / 16 |
| 17..▲7 | Bishops | 3.19 | 5.00 | 36 / 24 / 17 |
| 18..▲11 | Diamantveld | 3.04 | 4.00 | 50 / 29 / 18 |
| 19..▲new | Kynoch Noord-Kaap | 3.02 | 4.00 | 14 / – / 19 |
| 20..▼7 | Maritzburg College | 2.94 | 5.00 | 34 / 13 / 20 |
| 21..▲new | Welkom Gim | 2.90 | 3.50 | – / – / 21 |
| 22..▲new | SACS | 2.90 | 4.50 | 27 / – / 22 |
| 23..▼19 | Garsfontein | 2.89 | 5.00 | 6 / 4 / 23 |
| 24..▼12 | Waterkloof | 2.86 | 5.00 | 16 / 12 / 24 |
| 25..▲new | Potch Gim | 2.84 | 4.00 | – / – / 25 |
| 26..▲2 | Stellenberg | 2.80 | 4.00 | 41 / 28 / 26 |
| 27..▼6 | Westville | 2.76 | 5.00 | 9 / 21 / 27 |
| 28..▲5 | Marlow | 2.75 | 4.00 | 26 / 33 / 28 |
| 29..▲new | Marais Viljoen | 2.73 | 3.50 | – / – / 29 |
| 30..▲new | Worcester Gim | 2.66 | 3.50 | – / – / 30 |
| 31..▲16 | AHS Kroonstad | 2.63 | 3.50 | – / 47 / 31 |
| 32..▲new | Rondebosch | 2.63 | 4.50 | 30 / – / 32 |
| 33..▼25 | Glenwood | 2.63 | 5.00 | 20 / 8 / 33 |
| 34..▼8 | KES | 2.56 | 4.00 | – / 26 / 34 |
| 35..▲new | Bellville | 2.53 | 3.50 | 37 / – / 35 |
| 36..▲6 | Helpmekaar | 2.47 | 4.50 | – / 42 / 36 |
| 37..▲new | Oos-Moot | 2.46 | 3.00 | – / – / 37 |
| 38..▼7 | Jeppe | 2.45 | 4.00 | 29 / 31 / 38 |
| 39..▼22 | Louis Botha | 2.43 | 3.50 | 35 / 17 / 39 |
| 40..▲new | Drostdy | 2.43 | 4.50 | 19 / – / 40 |
| 41..▲new | Wonderboom | 2.39 | 3.00 | – / – / 41 |
| 42..▼19 | Brandwag | 2.38 | 4.00 | 31 / 23 / 42 |
| 43..▼18 | Voortrekker (Beth) | 2.36 | 3.00 | 33 / 25 / 43 |
| 44..▼9 | St Andrew’s | 2.32 | 4.00 | – / 35 / 44 |
| 45..▼23 | Kempton Park | 2.32 | 4.50 | 38 / 22 / 45 |
| 46..▼6 | Kearsney | 2.31 | 4.50 | 7 / 40 / 46 |
| 47..▲new | Volkskool Heidelberg | 2.28 | 3.00 | – / – / 47 |
| 48..▼5 | Sentraal | 2.24 | 4.00 | – / 43 / 48 |
| 49..▼12 | Dale | 2.21 | 4.50 | – / 37 / 49 |
| 50..▼1 | Nico Malan | 2.17 | 3.50 | 32 / 49 / 50 |
@BHP: I was checking something else out – and noticed that your ranking system followed the ELO system loosely.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elo_rating_system
@BrotherBear: Thanks for your response. You make some good points, but I’d just like to correct a few misconceptions. The first being how people misunderstand ‘transformation’ and ‘grassroots development’.
Grassroots development is not to say that we must now chuck rugby into ever single community. The 3 Cape provinces for example, have the majority of black people playing rugby as opposed to soccer.The dynamics change as you go north where soccer trumps rugby. The communities where rugby have historically and still currently is the main sport are very easy to find. That is where it needs to have started – and not with one day clinics with a few provincial players posing for SA Rugby Magazine. I agree that there is no point in trying to run rugby programmes in Katlegon/Mbali/Vosloorus/Mangaung etc., but the great disservice is to kids in Gugulehu, Mdantsane, Ginsberg, New Brighton, Khayelitsha, Mitchells Plein, Grassy Park etc. where rugby is the main sport – historically and currently.
The individual sports governing bodies have the responsibility to see development through. Right now, SARU is failing in rugby, and to be fair SAFA is just as appalling in soccer. The sports ministry has the responsibility to provide funding and resources where needed – it is part of their mandate after all. They are also failing.
Transformation is providing a level playing ground. You are right, schools have been the yardstick to development. Right now there isn’t because schools with the resources will be ahead. Focus then needs to be on those schools with little to negative resources. They don’t get a fair chance at under 13 CW level, neither do they at u16 nor u18. Instead, a quota is imposed, but it’s the black kids from advantaged schools that you see in those teams – and that does not solve anything. It instead frustrates every stakeholder in the rugby fraternity.
I distaste quotas, just as much as I distaste the dishonesty that has been displayed by both the government and the sporting bodies where development and transformation is concerned. Both know what needs to be done, and both want shortcuts. To still be having this discussion 21 years into democracy (24 years after the unification of rugby unions in SA) is proof that neither are actually serious about what the spew to the media and write in 200 page documents.
@Cappie: Ek hoor jou… maar die belaglikste van al die rankings is saschoolsports… hulle het geen benul nie!
@Djou: Jong, sover ek kon bepaal het die skool in die Ooste, met ‘n verbintenis met Russiese drinkgoedjies, wel twee o16’s nader getrek. Albei Spelers baie talentvol in eie reg, maar was nie altyd gespeel soos hulle verkies. Dit is dalk beweegrede. Hoop maar hulle drome word bewaarheid en hulle is gelukkig in die nuwe opset.
@BrotherBear: Ek verstaan dat die sterk o.16 span van julle volgende jaar sonder ‘n paar staatmakers gaan wees. Blykbaar is hulle gewerf deur ‘n skool in die ooste van Pretoria.
@Playa: Apologies for late response – have been “out of electronic range” for a while. To answer your question w.r.t. grassroots development I need to set the record on a few issues:
1. I am a firm believer in grassroot development (which is a slow and time consuming process, but entrenches the sport through infrastructure, love for the sport and participation for the right reasons)
2. A personal belief is that ALL children should participate in some kind of sport right through the year (it does not have to be competitive)
3. Sport in general is a recreational activity and extremely few people can make a living out of it.
4. It is crucial to identify what systems, infrastructure and resources w.r.t. different sport codes are in place already and leverage off these so as not to waste time and energy.
So to answer your questions:
1. One must test the priorities given the sport and recreation needs of; a. the children that will be developed, b. these children’s parents, c. schools where the kids go to class every day, d. sport clubs who require resources.
Would other sports not require much less resources and energy in areas where rugby is not the first choice, to ensure kids get the necessary development and exposure to SPORT (grassroot areas)? Rugby has been traditionally entrenched through school structures and these have been extremely successful. The club system at junior level is active, but not set up at all for accelerated grassroot development. I really do not know who has the capability or track record to develop rugby a grassroot level. Existing school systems concentrate on their own performance, which require a tremendous amount of time from teachers as it is. With all due respect, “rural” school systems cannot even provide adequate education to their scholars. I doubt if they will be able to develop rugby at grassroot levels. So whatever resources (people, money, facilities) that are available must be prioritised for education and sports that will require the least amount of effort in those areas. School rugby has such a full program that rugby at clubs sometimes do more damage than good (only if you play too much rugby). But, clubs are probably the best avenue for grassroot development. Question now is how fast can this happen?
2. On who must focus on these other sports; I believe that you would have a much bigger effect over a much wider audience if multiple sports are targeted. One must do a needs and resources assessment to find out what can be done in which areas. Sports that obviously do not lend itself to mass grassroot development are; a. golf, b. tennis, c. swimming, due to the initial capital layout and limited venues.
3. The “better fit” mentioned in this context applies to country performance at national level and not to grassroot development necessarily. a. Rugby is already performing reasonably well in the international arena and well established structures exist nationally to feed this success. b. Soccer is performing dismally poor in the international arena, but probably has a huge impact on millions of children’s lives from a recreational perspective. Should government not rather apply resources to soccer from grassroots level all the way to national level and ensure some kind of excellence is put in place.
If nepotism or favouritism exists within certain rugby structures and prevents “whoever” to progress these must be addressed. But NOT through quotas. The specific sub-thread started through comments w.r.t. political intervention, court cases and quotas. I think it is a rather sad state of events that political powers are dropping so many balls on so many fronts where previously disadvantaged people are further disadvantaged and then these political powers have the audacity to further drive their agendas through artificial systems, e.g. quotas.
To summarise: we should focus energy and resources on what will really make a difference in the country and stop destroying and creating divisions (through political intervention).
@Woltrui: Wollie. Weet darem nie of die Weskaap spanne bevoordeel word nie. Weet nie die statistiek van die ander skole nie ,maar twyfel sterk of daar n klomp o/19 manne in hul spanne is. Vir die rekord .Boishaai het slegs een o/19 speler gehad die hele seisoen t.w. die kaptein, Andreas van Wyk. Ook heelwat o/17 spelers, insluitend die SA Skole manne, Salmaan Moerat, Manuel Rass en Khanja Nkusane.
@Cappie: Toemaar, Rugby 15 (oftewel Nelio) dra ook maar Blou en Goud brille
@Rugbyman: sal graag wil weet hoe rugby 365 by hulle finale rankings uitkom. Hulle rook seker dik sigare en drink wiskey on the rocks terwyl hulle om ‘n tafel sit en chat oor wie hulle waar gaan plaas. Hulle weet seker ook nie eers daar is ‘n skool soos Michaelhouse nie. Weet hulle dat Grey teen Affies en Monnas gespeel het? Ek kan nie dink dat hulle enigsins sommetjies maak om by hulle ranking uit te kom nie. Ek is net bly om te sien dat hulle Paarl Boys darem bo het….
@Rugbyman: nice to see some rankings that includes PRGs overseas games as well
Worthwile looking at two other sites’ rankings as well:
http://www.rugby15.co.za/school-rankings/
and
http://www.rugby365.com/sa-schools/top-20/68415-schools-top-20-september-1
@Grasshopper: I have always found the saschoolsports website rankings laughable… they come up with the strangest rankings and dont have all the results… for instance they have st. Benedicts rated as no13 in the country this year and brackenfell as no18… With great respect to these two schools I dont think they are in the top 20 this year…
@Woltrui: Ons het hierdie jaar net een o/19 gehad… wel nege o/17s in die starting line-up gehad…
In my opinie word sommige van die Noordvaal spanne benadeel deur die feit dat die Tuks reeks as O/18 ingedeel word terwyl Wes Kaap deur en tyd as O/19’s speel. Die samestelling van n span verskil baie tussen O/19 en O/18. Neem byvoordbeeld HTS wie 14de op die lys is. As O/18 span het hulle n “gemiddelde” seisoen in die Tuks reeks beleef. As O/19 span het hulle gekook. HTS het op Wilderklawer Bv die hoog aangeskrewe Oakdale, wie 11de op bg lys is, redelik gemaklik gewen. As ek reg onthou het hulle Oakdale deurentyd onder druk geplaas en so hul welverdiende oorwinning behaal. As HTS deurentyd, soos die WK spanne as O/19’s gespeel het was hulle na alle waarskynlikheid n top 8 span. Ditto Garsies en van die ander Noordvaal skole. Natuurlik egter baie moeilik om die verskil in die ranglyste in te werk.
Een punt wat soos n paal bo water staan is die feit dat Paarl Bois High Konging kraai in 2015.
@MyKroon: RG Snyman (slot), Pierre Schoeman (stut) en Ivan van Zyl (skrummie) was weer almal saam in die 2012 span by Affies. Pierre was kaptein in 2012, in Ivan in 2013. RG en Ivan was in graad 11 in 2012 en Pierre in matriek.
http://www.saschoolsports.co.za/rugby/national/rugby-the-combined-rugby-rankings-for-2015.html
Net n interesante feit.
Wedstryd tussen blou bulle en cheetas vanaand.
Dries Swanepoel en Serfontein van blou bulle en 6 flank en reserwe haker vir vrystaat was alvier in dieselfde 1ste span vir Grey in 2011.
Liking the combined age group rankings, Glenwood No3 in the country :-)
So proud of Grey Kollege. With all the drama and injuries and still manage to end in the top 10 is one huge achievement. Not many other schools will achieve this during a bad year!
@BrotherBear: Maybe I am being dof, but I don’t get your last post…
Please expand on what you mean by:
“Is grassroots development for rugby really a priority?There is a lot of rugby talent out there that do not get good opportunities as it is. Should we not rather focus grassroots resourses and energy on…”
and
“These are all performing at below average on a national level and may be a better “fit” in many aspects”….
My questions:
1. A priority for who?
2. Who must focus on these other sports?
3. What do you mean by “a better fit”? One or two of these ‘many aspects’ would help to make me understand.
So, to expand a it more. Is grassroots development for rugby really a priority? There is a lot of rugby talent out there that do not get good opportunities as it is. Should we not rather focus grassroots resourses and energy on:
1. Education
2. Soccer
3. Basketball
4. Athletics
5. Hockey
6. Etc.
These are all performing at below average on a national level and may be a better “fit” in many aspects. The present sport political agendas are really dubious and have the intent to destroy rather than build and expand.
@meadows: I support your statement 100%, but also expand on the argument for where energy and focus (resources) are tealy required.. Too many people believe that’s quotas are a necessary requirement. Just like the people of Germany believed that the Nazi party had their best interests at heart. May sound like fighting talk, but all out there must take time and think about it.
A South African population representative side should look like this: 12 black players, one coloured, one white and one Indian/Asian. As long as they are the best available in each position… bring it on! But if we look at the Boks winning ratio before isolation and now … somethings wrong! Daai ding is nie reg man!!
@BrotherBear: I have no idea how you gained the impression from that post that I was advocating quotas as an effective means to transform. I thought that I was quite clearly supporting a grass root intervention as the only way of getting meaningful change if it is so politically important.
@McCulleys Workshop: That was the point. If government were serious about transforming rugby, rather than a knee jerk maintenance of a facade and playing the race card, it needs to happen at grass roots level, and be channeled through structures that can can deliver such as schools with a rugby ethos.
@BrotherBear: I don’t get your point, I think the article is well written and shows that the union/s are doing very little about transformation at grass roots. I don’t see blame being levelled at schools or coaches and selectors, but if the Government wants transformation, they need to do something about it at grass roots.
@meadows: For interest sake; the Grant Khomo teams (U16) have a 50% QUOTA imposed. SO, as a small stone in the bush; Why does any sport need to transform through quotas? Think about it, before you get on the righteous horse. Is it not an artificial way of creating a possible future that “someone” believes would be a reality if apartheid had not been? Should someone not start complaining that sprinters and long distance track winners on the national and international athletics circuit should be more representative of the world population? I mean really; are there no super fast white (chinese, indian) men and women out there? Does success really depend on how many people of a specific skin colour is represented in any team? Listened to a talk by Prof. Jonothan Jansen (UOVS) recently and I was astounded at the gross ineptitude of the South African education system. NOW THAT is an area where tremendous effort and work is required. The interesting thing is that we are one of the BIGGEST spenders in the world on education, with the WORST results. That is where our focus and efforts should be.
It does not mean that any type of discrimination or lack of support must be tolerated at all. Opportunities need to be created for natural development and growth, but maybe a bit of prioritisation of needs is required. The whole country is being cooked alive (frog in water) and very few people are taking any action to speak up against useless programs (quotas) and actually climbing in and helping their fellow South Africans.
I’ve extracted from comments made on the issue of transformation in SA rugby, the court application, and an article written by Kaya Malotana – all from the UK’s Guardian newspaper.
I thought that the commentator had an interesting insight into the perceived slow pace of transformation from a SBR perspective that is directly related to the list of schools in the rankings.
“The court case is nothing more than political posturing by a non-entity of a party that has contributed not a thing to the political landscape in South Africa to date. It is also ill considered and stupid in that the imposition of a formal quota on the basis of racial demographics would be contravention of the Olympic Charter’s non-discrimination principle. There is no such thing as “positive” discrimination.
In my opinion the single biggest reason for the apparent lack of transformation of the national team is the absence of any meaningful grass roots development programme. The government have shown no interest in development, preferring to window dress from the top down by imposing unofficial quotas on junior representative teams at, for example, the U18 inter provincial Craven Week tournament that serves as the primary conduit to the professional game. There has been no serious attempt to develop rugby academies in disadvantaged areas. Quotas at the Craven Week level create the façade of transformation which is then exposed by the high attrition rate, regardless of race, as young players attempt to negotiate the steps up to the professional game through the U19, U21 and Vodacom Cup franchise structures.
The reality is that rugby players, regardless of race, in South Africa continue to be overwhelmingly produced by the same high schools that have done so for the last century and have a long standing rugby culture and tradition.
As the demographics of some of those schools, such as Queens College, change more black Springboks will be produced. A glance at the list of recent black Springboks supports this. Siya Kolisi (Grey High), Scarra Ntubeni (King Edward), Brian Habana (King Edward), Beast Mtawarira (Peterhouse Zim), Nizaam Carr (Bishops), Rudi Paige (Bastion), Sibusiso Sithole (Queens) and so on.
While I am sure that there are some people involved in rugby in South Africa today that still harbour prejudices, I find it difficult to believe that any professional coach whose job depends on success on the field would exclude a better player on the basis of racial bias, particularly in the context of political grandstanding on “transformation”.
If government were serious about real transformation in rugby they would invest in first class facilities, coaching and adequate nutrition at “rugby” schools such as Queens in the Eastern Cape, an area of the country where young black boys throw a rugby ball around rather than kick a soccer ball.
The squad for the World Cup, notwithstanding racial demographics, have been produced by the same old, primarily Afrikaans first language, schools.
With the exception of Selborne College and EG Jansen 8 of the current top 10 schools have at least one representative in the squad. Grey College (5), Paarl Gim (3) and Paul Roos (2) have more. There are only 6 players in the WC squad of 31 that attended English first language schools including Tendai Mtawarira who was at Peterhouse in Zim. All of the English schools represented – Bishops, Grey High, King Edward, Michaelhouse and Maritzburg College – also have strong rugby traditions.”
You can add Bosch loss to SACS as one they want to forget
@Kattes-Strofes: @Herakles: Ook n goeie opsie om aansoek te doen vir die Tony Stoop fees…dit bied ‘n goeie geleentheid om die trappe na bo te klim en dit gee vir binnelandse skole te geleentheid om teen Kaapse skole mee te ding en dus nuwe/ander rugbystyle aan te leer en dan (dit wat vir hul werk) toe te pas in hul eie ligas.
@kosie: You are doing Affies a great injury. They had a single poor year (by their standards) last year, hence their temporary drop to 39, now normal service is restored.
@Herakles: Ek gaan nou maar liewer eers in my moedertaal gooi.
Baie geluk met jou skool se seisoen. Ek neem aan dit is Welkom Gim? Om slegs 3 wedstryde uit 19 te verloor is n uitstekende prestasie.
Synde ek ook n leerling was van n sogenaamde klein skooltjie [wat nie eers meer bestaan nie] kan ek die frustrasies verstaan van ondersteuners wat voel dat hulle nie regverdige behandeling kry nie.
Die tye van die dag bepaal egter dat n skool op n volhoubare basis moet kan presteer indien jy wil genooi word na toernooie soos bv. Wildeklawer.
As ek enigsins kan raadgee, wil ek voorstel dat kleiner skole,wat graag wil meeding teen die groot honde, moet knaend aansoek doen vir deelname aan die verskillende Paastoernooie. Die meeste van hierdie toernooie word aangebied deur skole wat nie rerig tel onder die top manne nie[rugby gewys], en soek dus ook opposisie vir hulself,en ander deelnemende skole wat nie so n hoe profiel geniet nie. Daarbenewens reel hulle gewoonlik een ‘maklike’ wedstryd vir die groot honde ,en dit is dan wanneer die kleintjies hard kan byt, en naam maak.
Die skool se sport organiseerder moet net met mening sy aansoek motiveer en bemark.[persoonlike kontak help gewoonlik baie].
Sterkte met 2016.
@Vyfster: Thanks! Yes, especially the ones against Sentraal and Potch Gim should have been one (the one against Sentraal was without four or five of the players who later became Craven Week players). Welkom Gim could easily have gone the other way between two teams very much on par, but that’s rugby!
@Herakles: Er, where does that come from? You seem to be a bit touchy…. Everyone who regularly follows school rugby around the country, will have a pretty good idea which school I had in mind… one several hundreds of kilometres away from Welkom. Your last sentence is even more ridiculous! Would I congratulate a team and refer to them as champions and then question their dedication, pride, loyalty and hard work? That was a comment on what Diamantveld achieved this year and how they did it (and if you look at their results, I’m sure you will agree). The reference to schools importing players was an afterthought, and had nothing to do with Gimnasium. I don’t know where the players in your team come from, how long they’ve been there, how old they are, or anything else about them. I didn’t even pay any attention to Gimnasium until they qualified for the final with Diamantveld. So calm down, please.
@Kattes-Strofes: The team I support won 16 of their 19 matches as well as one of the major school rugby trophies in South Africa. Where they play their rugby the real season starts once the league gets on its way. The games before that is regarded as pre-season matches.
The obvious problem with the current system is that the medium schools don’t have enough teams to be involved in huge sport days against the macro schools. If you once in 10 years have that special team that might win against some of the macro schools, your team will nonetheless not get the chance to compete, thus earning the big points that could push them up the rankings.
That is why I think some recognition should be given to the winners of trophies. Long after the rankings of a team faded from memory the name of the league winners still appear on the trophy.
It would however be interesting to know how many of the schools ranked on the blog actually participate in one of the leagues.
@Kbypa: I assume that the innuendo is that Welkom Gimnasium is the school that imported their players. I do not know who might have brought you under that impression but nine of the players that ran onto the field on Saterday were already regular members – as under seventeens – of a young first team of Welkom Gimnasium in 2014. Do you furthermore imply that the first team of Welkom Gimnasium won the Shimla league without dedication, pride, loyalty and hard work from their players and coaching staff?
Well done Boishaai & Sean Erasmus on an outstanding season! Looking forward to 2016 now
Al was hierdie jaar vir ons ietwat teleurstellend na laasjaar se high is dit goed om te sien ranking wise is die Rhino’s redelik consistant.. 3 jaar in n ry nommer 14 of 15. Al stem ek saam n Beeld troffee stamp rankings all the way!! Well done Gerhard, Chris, Kobus en nog vele meer vir goeie strukture en harde werk. Al het die junior spanne ietwat ge-under perform hierdie jaar .. 2016 kan net beter gaan!! Geniet die breek en sterkte vir jul met die 7’s (al klaar stem dik gemaak by Merensky), jul beplanning en kondisionering vir volgende jaar. Go Rhino’s!!
@Kbypa; yeah, well done to Diamandveld, very good season…any team that can draw with GCB and Selborne must be very good!
I think your narrow losses agaainst Potch and Welkom Gim (and Sentraal), prevented you from finishing in top 10…..shows you how narrow the margins can be!
Interesting…..Wynberg fell from nr 7 and menlo from 19 to outside top 50…..not their best year resultwise. In contrast Garsies fell from 4 to 23, but this year will be remembered forever as their real breaktrough year.
Welkom Gim deserve pat on back for excellent season, except a big slipup against Queens, interesting how many teams have that 1 game they’ll rather forget (Stellenberg and SACS vs Wynberg, BL vs Paarl gim, Marlow/Oakdale, Helpies vs Michaelhouse, Bishops/Rondebosch, KES/Monnas etc, etc) ….pity Welkom didn’t play a few more top class teams….I’m certain they would have been ranked lower then.
Affies and Noord-Kaap must be commended for coming back this year, after an indifferent 2014…..likewise Eldoraigne for showing steady improvement, and cementing their growing reputation.
All in all probably a fair reflection of the overall season, I still think even with the adjustments to the categories…it is still slightly skewed towards some schools….but overall not a bad reflection of the whole season…congrats to all the teams!
@Herakles: Just a few thoughts on your comments.
The comparison to the major gholf tournaments does not hold weight in my oppinion. At these tournaments, all the top golfers around the world takes part, which obviously is not the case in the Beeld trophy,with only some schools in that area playing.This is not to say that I do not appreciate the effort and accomplishment of the winners, but rather look at it from a national point of view. Ican see that it take something special to come out trumps, but still cannot justify extra ranking points.
I have previously mentioned that one can compare this competition to the FA CUP in England , where the small clubs get a chance to play against the big boys[ and sometimes win]. However, you can ask any footballer in that country. The biggest prize still remain the Premier Cup, which are fought for over the whole season, where every match counts.
And finally. When do your matches officially start? I see you mention warm up matches. I take it you mean the festivals held over Easter in April and the Wildeklawer festival towards the end of April.
The way I understand warm-up matches, is when 2 sides meet to sort out their teams, with a lot of changes during the match, sometimes extra water breaks and sometimes no kicking for posts. These matches have never been considered official matches, and therefore does not form part of the ranking systems .
However!All the schools that have attented these festivals knew well in advance of their schedule and did their preperation accordingly. I wonder if this comment would have been forthcoming had the schools that you support have won their fixtures.
Make no mistake! The Winelands schools had a very good season this year. But!! In the past we have come unstuck in these early tournaments, and I am sure will do so in the near future. However, I have never heard that one of them has called these matches ‘warm-up’ matches.
Anyway. You are entitled to your oppinion, and I respect that.
And once again, well done Garsies!! You had a fantastic finish to the season.
Great season for Diamantveld. Would’ve been nice to add the Shimla title, but it was not to be. Congratulations to Welkom-Gimnasium. It could have gone either way, but both teams were champions on the day. This was one of the best Diamantveld teams in years. Shows what can be done when there is dedication, pride, loyalty and simply hard work.; In contrast to a team built by importing players.
Beet is it possible that you can list the schools that occupied the number 1 spot since you started your website according to BHP final rankings every year please?
@kosie: Maybe, for some schools, not others – Garsies lost 19 places and Waterkloof 12
@Cappie: You are right – great come back. At one point not even in the top 50.
But if I have to choose between a top 10 and the Beeld trophy, I will choose the Beeld trophy every time. Last year Garsies was in the top 10, but lost out on the Beeld trophy by 1 point – and it was like death.
Top 10 rankings come and go and are lost in space – within 10 years nobody will remember the top 10 (except Boishaai), but you will always remember 2015 as the year of being the best in Northvaal (Affies did not play).
@Cappie: Boishaai is the undisputed no1. Congrats! You guys deserve it, well done.
I notice that the 2 biggest ranking improvements compared to last year are both from Pretoria! Affies taking the lead with a giant leap of 37 places closely followed by Eldoraigne with 34. Is there a slight shift towards the north?
@Playa: I completely agree with your thought process. Sacs definitely had the wood over Bishops when they met this season, but based on results I think Bishops are good value for their potions. They were close to the big guns and therefore earned points while the other southern suburbs schools where blown away. Also, when they were on top of the opposition they tended to win by 30 points to get the bonus, while sacs ground out wins.
However, with Bishops loss to Bosch I think Sacs could have jumped them on the log had they got past their traditional rivals, but Wynberg were just good on the day as can happen in a derby game. @Beet out of interest, where did Berg finish? I’m not saying they deserved a top 50 spot, but just curious how far off they were?
@CapeMan: Hahahaha! That also boggled my mind a bit. I had to look at the results. You guys lost to pretty much the same teams – with two difference – they doubled Wynberg – you lost to The Berg – then more crucially is that you did the double over Bishops…
I guess winning and losing margins come to play, and Bishops had closer losses than SACS…but then came the 50 pointer Bishops suffered against Rondebosch – their only loss of more than 10 points
Toe to toe, SACS were the better team this year, but rankings in any form don’t always reflect that. Swansea City were better than Man U this past weekend, and they may well beat them again in the return game – they will be better than them, but if they want to make the top 4 they have to be as consistent against the other 18 teams in the EPL.
Great season for SACS, remain proud of your boys! They were certainly my favourite team of the Southern Suburbs this year. I enjoyed watching them.
I do not know who would remember, but in the beginning of the season I have predicted the top 5 to be the top 5 as they are now. There were those who said that I am making a mistake of not having Grey in my top 5. Well, I almost did make the mistake, because Grey came in in 6th place.
Congratulations to Boishaai for being nr 1. No doubt about your position, with a 100% win ratio, in as many as 21 games. Many of their games were very marginal, but always on the positive side for them.
Affies should deserve the nr 2 spot with only 2 loses and one draw (against Paarl Gim in third spot) in 15 games. Affies were unbeaten in their last 11 games.
Paarl Gim, justifiably no 3, with three loses and one draw in 18 games. Little to choose between Gim and Affies, as the ranking score reflects.
Paul Roos, world champs, truly no 4 in South Africa, with three loses in 14 games, and I do not count the pre-season friendly against Rondebosch at Newlands or the oversees encounters.
Monnas, who played 22 games, lost only four and drew one in fifth place.
Interesting to note, is that Grey’s four losses were all against four teams in the top 5, Boishaai, Affies, Paul Roos and Monument. They did not play against Paarl Gim, the other team in the top 5.
Michaelhouse at seven did very well this year. Great to see that they are rewarded like this for not losing, albeit that they did not play any of the top 6 above them. They still managed to beat top ranked schools, and they won all their games.
The top 20 probably deserve their places. Good to see the comeback made by Garsfontein after a dreadful start to the season.
Looking forward to next year, and to see the fixtures planned by the different schools for 2016. Thank you all for your contributions, and it is always appreciative to get some first-hand information from the different role-players of the schools they support, and of course all the chirping and “stront praat” in between.
Nag ou grote!
The final correction should be made in 2016 again, and that historical trend, should continue and stabilize for the following 8-10 years or so.
@beet: Thanks, makes more sense now!
Sorry all. My fault. BHP provides the rankings. I add all the extra bits like movement and scores. I have resorted the order
@kosie: Lyk of nr 2 en 3 ook moet omruil.
No matter what calculations you use, there is no way Bishops can be ranked ahead of us. Any way, congratulations to the boys for having a good season. Hard losses at the end but it just goes to show you can never count out another team in a derby game
Beet, the list is really a mess! No3 has more ranking points than no2. No 6 is listed before no4, and this trend goes on and on. It’s also suppose to be a Top50, but only 47 teams are listed. What gives?
@Herakles: Points for a win are allocated based on the category of the opposition (which is a historical calculation – updated as and when needed during the season depending on form). Emphasis is placed more on the opposition a team faces rather than the stage of a competition. As most schools in the country do not partake in competitions, your suggested emphasis on points being given on the stage of competition would prejudice the many schools that don’t play in such a set up.
This system is not perfect, but I do not think that your suggested solution would enhance it and bring it closer to perfection.
There are teams on this list that were nowhere last year, and are featured well this year – in my view that speaks to rewarding form teams…Wonderboom, Wocester, Oos-Moot, SACS, Potch Gim, Marais Viljoen etc. I’m not sure how familiar you are with the blog, but you can click on the schools’ names on the rankings and it will take you to their results page.
@Beet @BoishaaiPa: Just from an information point of view. Garsies’ last match was not Monnas, but against HTS Middelburg.
The rankings seem to have a sorting problem. All is fine up to no 12 then it goes pearshaped but rectifies itself but goes wonky again after no 20
The final rankings make for interesting reading.
Without a shadow of a doubt Paarl BH’s first XV was the top rugby team in the country this year. They have won all their games as well as the major trophy in their part of the country, the Maties TSC Final.
Irrespective of the mathematical basis used for calculating the rankings, they would have deservedly ended on top.
For the rest the rankings however, it is glaringly obvious that there are some shortcomings. Both the winners of the other two major trophies in the country, the Beeld Macro Final and the Shimla league, in the end placed a lot worse than the teams they defeated in the finals of their respective competitions.
The reason for this – I think – is due to the fact that no additional points is allocated to teams that win the semi-finals or finals of the different competitions. Surely a win obtained in the finals of an important competition is much more significant than a win in a pre-season warm-up match?
In this regard a page can be taken from the way in which rankings are calculated by the OWGR (Official World Golf Ranking). Even if a golfer loses on the third play-off hole in a Major, he gets significantly less points than the winner. The winner is rewarded for grinding out a win and having just done that little more than the guy that came second – or thirtieth for that matter.
Supporters can consequently have a look at the world golf rankings and identify themselves with the contents thereof because the form players are on top.
Unfortunately, in your ranking list, it appears as if a number of form teams are not placed as high as common sense dictate they should be.
Nonetheless, my letter is intended merely as positive criticism towards a great blog I really enjoyed visiting through-out the season.