| DATE | SCHOOL | SCHOOL | EVENT | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu.21Mar | Cambridge | 49 | 00 | Port Alfred | Graeme Rugby Day | ||
| Thu.21Mar | Hudson Park | 22 | 21 | Muir | Graeme Rugby Day | ||
| Thu.21Mar | Dale | 16 | 28 | Nico Malan | Graeme Rugby Day | ||
| Thu.21Mar | Queen’s | 19 | 21 | Brandwag | Graeme Rugby Day | ||
| Thu.21Mar | Grey HS | 16 | 10 | Westville | Graeme Rugby Day | ||
| Thu.21Mar | Kingswood | 08 | 20 | Marlow | Graeme Rugby Day | ||
| Thu.21Mar | St Andrew’s | 21 | 12 | Pearson | Graeme Rugby Day | ||
| Thu.21Mar | Graeme | 03 | 08 | Selborne | Graeme Rugby Day |
The annual Graeme Rugby Day held at Graeme College in Grahamstown is the unofficial curtain-raiser to the Eastern Cape school rugby season. With the exception of Daniel Pienaar and Framesby, the list of participating teams includes all the best rugby schools in the province. KwaZulu-Natal Tier 1 school Westville makes a guest appearance at the rugby day. Their match against Grey High of Port Elizabeth could turn out to be the highlight of what promises to be a very entertaining day.
DATE: 21-March-2013
Marais Field A
10h30: PJ Olivier vs Nathaniel Nyaluza
Somerset Field
08h00: Cambridge vs Port Alfred
09h10: Hudson Park vs Muir
10h20: Dale vs Nico Malan
11h30: Queens vs Die Brandwag
12h40: Grey HS vs Westville
13h50: Kingswood vs Marlow
15h00: St Andrews vs Pearson
16h10: Graeme vs Selborne
Cambridge vs Port Alfred Cambridge by 25
Hudson vs Muir Hudson by 8
Dale vs Nico Malan Nico Malan by 10
Queens vs Brandwag Brandwag by 10
Grey vs Westville Grey by 10
Kingswood vs Marlow Marlow by 15
St Andrews vs Pearson St Andrews by 25
Selborne vs Greame Selborne by 20
Are any of the bloggers going to see all the games, can we have posted score updates throughout the day . Good luck to all the teams.
Okay all you Eastern Cape men please put your prediction,s down for Graeme Day on the 21st and i will correlate them and we can see who knows whats going on in there area.
Okay lets start some predictions for the Graeme Day.
Cambridge vs Port Alfred / Cambridge by 15
Hudson Park vs Muir / Hudson by 10
Dale vs Nico Malan / Nico Malan by 5
Queens vs Brandwag / Brandwag by 5
Grey PE vs Westville / Grey by 10
Kingswood vs Marlow / Marlow by 5
St Andrews vs Pearson / St Andrews by 10
Graeme vs Selborne / Selborne by 20
Who is brave enough to predict
@Ludz: I think we should be more worried about losing any more players
@Playa: Think Queens and Dale will be in a similar boat this year.
Just wish JD would go home as well
@Playa: Haha. You know the minute I heard that JD was on the market I informed 2 local KZN schools about it.
No word yet. Chances are Mr van Heerden who coached the 2nds last year will take the reigns.My wishful thought is that we somehow convince John Duncan to lose the farming boots and come to CB Jennings
@Playa: What is the latest news on a new coach at Dale?
@beet: Only one recruit into the Dale team for 2013 that I know of, and he hasnt even been confirmed yet.Otherwise,the team will be made up of the 7 returning players from last year’s team and 8 new faces who played in lower teams last year.I, am not very optimistic about Dale in 2013, especially with the loss of Griffy.Then again, I wasnt too optimistic about last year’s team either so we’ll see.
@beet, I think you are spot on, no clear favourite in EC, don’t forget St Andrews, they should be dangerous on there home turf, Daniel Pienaar will be a very similar side to the one they had this year, they are embarking on the SANIX(Japan) tour, so they should be OK, and they have depth. Framesby have lost some decent players,they could struggle with depth, as there u16’s battled in 2012, but there Flyhalf will always make them a dangerous side. The Graeme College,MC and Kearsney Festivals will make things clearer for 2013.
@spilly: Eastern Cape is beginning to look like an open race with talk that Grey PE are 1 season out from full potential, Kingswood feeling quietly confident, Dale perhaps bringing in more kids to boost their team and now your news of Selborne looking to improve drastically on 2012’s form. I wonder what Dan Pienaar and Framesby will be like this season?
Looking forward to a great Selborne season 90 % of a very good 2nd team returning,nothing better, then starting a season with full team knowing each other so well. Last years perception of Selborne needs to be forgotten ,lets see what transpires good luck to all the teams for 2013.
@Chart: Ye the Grey PE vs Queens game should be good at your reunion this year i think Grey should be the better balance side i think Queens have quite a young side so should be a close win for Grey although i think never right Queens off learnt that the hard way when i was at Grey Bloem they have the ability of beating good teams with not much. Also i think Grey pressure this year is not in that they should have the better team but 3 losses in a row to Queens might put a bogie on them.
@Ludz, yes and you fully deserved that victory over us,Stander’s kicking was superb on the day. I still remember the conversion he put over in the end to win that game.
Not much is expected of our 1st side this year, so not much expectation on them, we will have to see what happens, if we have injuries in key position’s we could be in trouble.
@Chart: so we playing you guys again at Reunion this year, what a pleasure beating you guys away in 2011, meant everything to us as a matric class
@Queenian: yep, Bolze’s son will be in the 1st XV this year, Simon Bolze, I reckon he might even captain the side. As for Murray Basset, top coach, we’ll miss Duncan, but in Mr B, we’ve got a man just as good
@ Queenian,fortunately we have a Duncan brother who is starting to create a great invironment for our rugby boys. The lads have been training real hard for a very demanding season that lies ahead for them, we obviously can’t wait to host you guys on our reunion again this year, should be a cracker again, I am sure.
@Grasshopper, our Festival is taking a break to honour the Maritzburg College 150th festival, a school that has supported our festival regularly.
Having a Glenwood Prep would make perfect sense for these two schools to play each other annually, I know we were interested in a Derby against PBHS, but it somehow did not materialize, Selborne would also be perfect for Glenwood being closer to KZN, and a similar setup to Grey PE.
@Ludz: Will Bolse son not be playing for Queens 1st team next year. Was Basset the asst coach this year whats he like
@Chart: Agreed Grey PE in 2014 will be super hot i think 2013 will also be okay.
Grey PE are usually good even in there bad years.
@rugbyfan, yes they lost boys in this group, one has come back from Bishops and the other is back from Grey Bloem for 2013, after making the HP U16 squad. They should be a strong group in 2014.
@Chart, we do have a feeder primary school called Glenwood Prep, probably the 2nd strongest primary school rugby team in Durban behind DPHS. I’m sure the headmasters could arrange something. We might have lost our DHS fixture and have lost our Westville fixture so this would be a great replacement. We travel to and from Grey Bloem and Affies every year and have recently added Monnas, so travel to PE would not be that bad, although the Transkei roads are still a nightmare with all the road works and stoppages. Maybe invite us to your festival, it seems to be a very good one attracting some top sides….
@Chart: I Grey PE in 2014 are going to have a blinder there under 16A were very good this year although i hear they have lost one or two of those boys.
@Grasshopper, yes I am a Grey Pe supporter, this Derby would be great, we travel quite a bit though, Cape Town(Paul Roos,Wynberg),Bloem,East London, Queenstown etc, but I think the two schools would be a good contest. We can do the whole Derby as we do with Grey Bloem,Paul Roos, Wynberg ,Selborne, etc…We can put around 24 Rugby teams on the Park, a pity you don’t have a Primary school as this would be a deal clincher, as we take our Primary school to alot of our Derby’s, a very strong Primary school in sports.
@Chart, are you a Grey PE supporter? If so, Grey PE is one of the schools I would love Glenwood to play more regularly down the line as there are only a few schools in the country that can put out 25 plus teams on a Saturday and I’m sure Grey PE can. Glenwood, College and Westville can in KZN. With regards to overall results against Grey PE unfortunately I don’t have that, but do know what happened in the 90’s when I was there remembering the 90’s was Glenwood’s worst decade.
1991 – Glenwood 10 – Grey PE 15 (lost) – one of the best games of rugga in the 90’s for Glenwood, we won the try count 2-1 but lost the game. No matter it was a better game then some we won.
1992 – Glenwood 8 – Grey PE 7 (won) – very tight game played in wet conditions.
Since then I am not sure if we have played Grey PE, would be good though. We should compare results against Grey Bloem to gauge how close the teams are over recent years…
@Chart: Agreed they will be better
@rugbyfan, yes the Selborne vs Glenwood game should be a good game, Selborne will be better in 2013, there back up group of u16’s in 2012 were always strong through the age group rugby.
@Ludz: Thats good
@rugbyfan: nothing confirmed yet, but I heard it will be Mr Bassett and possibly Mr Bolze who coached the 16As last year
@Chart: I think the Selborne vs Glenwood game will be good i dont think Selborne are completely out of the woods yet but they will be better than last year.
@Ludz: Who is going to coach Queens this year would be a good idea if they roped Mr Dell in i think he would be good.
@Grasshopper, that’s correct, I thought Grey PE will also be playing Glenwood, but we will now be playing MC, Westville and DHS. I think Selborne will be your toughest game out of those two EC schools, if I go on the u16 and 2nd team results against Grey PE, my only way of judging there strength in 2013. Do you know the stats of Grey PE against Glenwood and when last they played each other?
@Ludz: Hey welcome back bud
Missed out on some interesting blogging here, HAPPY NEW YEAR men. Festive has had me ridiculously busy
@Chart, Glenwood will be playing Selborne at Kearsney and I think Framesby at Pukke, so only 2 EC schools this year…
@HORSEFLY NO.1: Most likely the Western Cape
@rugbyfan:
Yeah thats good. I wonder which province would come up trumps if the top 5 teams in each age group from both provinces. But where are they bringing the kids in from? no hostility??
@HORSEFLY NO.1: You right they lost all 3 games at Skonk and lost a few more in the first term but got better as the year went won there last 7 games including Selborne in East London a team they had not beaten since Under 9 age group.
What i see Queens have tried to do is take there weaker age groups and try and bring in one or two boys to bolster them there under 14,s of 2012 at under 13 level only won 2 out of 13 games they brought in 2 boys at the begining of 2012 (both ex oldboys sons) and at least won 9 out of 14. The 5 they lost i think the biggest losing margin was 9 point so they have taken a really pathetic age group and made them okay. There under 13,s this year only lost 3 games the whole year in the whole age group A/B/C teams i think the under 13 age group played a total of 32 games and only lost 3 games.
thought the Queens U16 team was pretty average after being beaten easily by the KZN schools at Skonk???
@rugbyfan: Selborne are properly dominated by Grey Bloem!
@Queenian: @Playa: Sorry the Selborne one is not quite right as those results are up to the end of 2007 so i think since then Grey vs Selborne Played 5 won 4 drew 1
@Queenian: @Playa: Seen you people are showning results
Grey Bloem vs Queens
Played 67 won 37 lost 21 drew 9
Average score Grey 20 Queens 17 (Must admit that is extremly close)Queens holds the most wins against Grey Bloem of any school and the closest loss ratio
Grey Bloem vs Dale
Played 13 won 9 lost 3 drew 1
Grey Bloem vs Selborne
Played 28 won 21 lost 4 drew 3
As far as the stats show since 1934 Grey Bloem has lost 59 games
@Queenian: Yep. Since 1999, Dale’s only won in 1999 and 2011.
@Playa: Ye bit if you look at the 1st/2nd/3d and A teams i think the win ratio is only 59%
@Playa: @Playa: Ye i think Grey PE has had the better of Queens/Dale in the last 15 years i think Dale have only beaten them 2 times in that period and Queens 5 or 6 times if Grey PE beat Queens this year they will be ahead.
@Queenian: Geeez! 89% win ratio against Dale!!!WOW!
@Playa: Sorry, Grey PE and Dale have played 91 games against each other.
@Queenian: That looks almost identical to the Dale-Selborne one, where Dale is ahead by about 30 games.The Dale-Queens one has shrinked in the last 20 years. When I got to Dale, Queens was ahead by about 15 games I think,after 2012 this is what it looks like now:Played 168 Queens won 78 Dale won 75 with 16 drawn. Points: Dale 1678 – Queens 1596.Dale’s golden 1990s helped breach the gap.
Dale vs St Andrews
Played 66 games. Dale won 37 and St Andrews 27 and 3 games were drawn. Points: Dale 662 – St Andrews 589.
Dale vs Grey PE:
Played 90 games. Dale won 37 and Grey has won
43 with 10 games being drawn. Points scored for Dale 911 and against 1031.
@Playa: Here is another interesting stat which shows Queens have always had alot of depth in there rugby this the win ratio of teams not including 1st/2nd/3rd and Under 16A/15A/14A against there traditional rivals this is taken from some 4732 games played between 1933 and 2010
Selborne 61%
Dale 89%
Grey Bloem 42%
St Andrews 85%
Grey PE 51%
Grens 91%
@Playa: Here is another interesting one
Queens vs ST Andrews
Played 73 Won 33 Lost 31 Drew 9
@Playa: Well i have it not sure if this includes 2011/2012
Queens vs Selborne
Played 165 Won 88 Lost 66 Draw 11
@Playa: I will get that for you i have it on my laptop at home but as far as i remember Queens are ahead by quite a few not like the Dale/Queens were Queens is ahead by only 3 i think.
@rugbyfan: Let me rephrase my question.What are the rugby stats between Selborne and Queens, i.e. how many has Queens won,lost,and drawn against Selborne since they started playing each other?
@Playa: As far as i know Selborne is around the 700 mark and Queens about 590 big change from 30 yrs ago were Selborne was about 660 and Queens 710 the big difference is Queens boarders 1983 was 401 and 2012 was 173
@rugbyfan: Very easy to tell that you have a soft spot for the schools.
Do you perhaps know what the head to head count is between Selborne and Queens?
@Playa: Ye it is a sad loss although i stay optimistick as the big push at Queens in the last year or so to retain kids and raise money seems to be going well i hear they have raised nearly 4 mil in 18 months so maybe history will repeat itself.
My history is very mixed my Grandfather went to Dale my father and eldest brother to Queens and me and my younger brother to Grey so i have a soft spot for all these schools.
@rugbyfan: Interesting stats there.I wish I had been around to witness some of those battles.My father grew in the Queenstown township in the 50’s and 60’s,he always used to tell me how their highlight was catching the Grey Bloem-Queens 1st team games from the fences at the Rec.And teased me saying Dale used to get frequent hidings there as warm up games for the GCB games.
Yeah,I hear so.Sad loss to schoolboy rugby and rugby as a whole in fact.
@Playa: Watched him play against Grey PE and he is something else
@Playa: I hear Duncan is going farming or something
@rugbyfan: And for point 3 2 games nobody knows what the result was
@Queenian: Hey sorry bud i did find out but due to me been band from 365 i forget about it.
Well i did find this out:
1. Why Queens have 2 games on there record for 1971 and Grey only 1. Here is the answer i got from the Grey stats guru Queens beat Grey 17-16 in Bloem but Grey recorded this against there Cherries team as there were 14 players out playing for Free State schools that day and then Grey were asked to play as a curtain raiser to the Currie Cup final that year so they invited Queens to play and yes Queens won that game 12-10 i think much to our disgust against most likely one of the best Grey Teams of all time Captained by Thuens Stofberg i think.
2.
Your second question was why both schools claim to have won the 1936 game 6-3 well here is the answer, they actually played twice in Bloem at a rugby tournament were Queens won the first 6-3 and Grey the second 6-3.
3.
According to the Grey stats Guru Grey and Queens played 9 more matches than either school show on there official records which Queens won 3 Grey 2 and 2 draws
Sorry about taking so long.
Eish,that was meant to be a reply to Queenian.
@Playa: It will be tough for both schools to pick themselves up as they have lost really inspirational coaches.Tough people to replace,and the respective replacements have some big shoes to fill.Hopefully Dale can lure John Duncan to take the reigns at the Graveyard :smile:
Rugbyfan: I asked you a few months ago on Rugby365 about some discrepencies between rugby records between Grey College and Queens did you ever find out why.
@Queenian: Sorry, it’s the fullback that’s staying and one wing,not both.Luke’s furthering in cricket.I havent seen him on the cricket field,but I’m told he’s a better cricketer than a rugby player.I still cant believe that.He played for Zim under 19 this year,and I believe he has been roped into the national side.Probably the right choice as I dont think he will grow any bigger.
@rugbyfan: I watched that Smith kid.He’s a marvel.Queens will do well to keep him.
Queenian must say this last year i saw two kids at Queens that really stood out for me the one being the Under 16A lock Fortuin and the Under 13A centre Smith. I hope Queens can keep these two boys as they will have a big influence on Queens rugby over the next 5 years or so.
@Queenian: Ye he was really good
@Playa: Thanks
@Playa: The Fly Half i think his name was Luke or somewere is he going to further his rugby anywere was one of the best running fly halfs i have ever seen at schoolboy level
@Playa: Player i watched Dale play Grey PE this year surely the one wing is not coming back he looked a bit old to me.
@Playa: Ye i Think Dale and Queens both have lost there coaches hopefully they get good replacements.
@Queenian: Flyhalf was in matric,unfortunately.
Lock, Prop, Hooker,Flanker, Center and both Wings coming back next year
@rugbyfan: Confirmed.The Dale stars of 2012 will be gone, and so is the coach :sad:
I agree, I think each school will get a home victory against the others.
Dale needs a win against Grey PE desperately.Only 1 win in the last 12 years.
St Andrews are always a sleeping giant.They may just unleash next year,I hear.
@Playa: What Dale boys are back next year i see Rugbyfan says none of the stars are back which i think is not correct was the flyhalf not in Grade 11
Kingswood stopped playing Queens in about 1989 i think and that is when the Marlow game was brought back which had stopped in 1974 as far as i can remember. The Queens vs Graeme fixture stopped in 1978 when a Greame old boy attacked a Queens boy in the tuck shop at the rec which then resulted in an ernormus brawl.
@kcman: I have been reliably informed that the last time Kingswood beat Dale at the Graveyard was in 1983.The score was 0-7. It would be freaky if the next victory happened on the 30th annivesary of that in 2013.
Border Rugby 2013
Selborne should be a bit better next year than they were this year there 2nd team had a good run only lost 1 game against Grey Bloem and drew 1 against Queens should have some decent players coming through from Under 16,s who did well although they got man handled by Queens Under 16 in EL which took me by surprise.
Dale have i see 7 back from this year but i think the main play makers are gone (Playa can comment here) There 2nds and 3rds came off badly against Selborne and Queens and there under 16 A were average, but i think they should be okay and you never know maybe a Zim or 2 are in the pipeline.
Queens will have a young team there 2nd,s and 3rd,s were quite good and a few very good players coming through from Under 16 should make them okay but i dont think they will be great.
So my prediction on the Border is they all win one game against each other.
Grep PE will have a decent team and do quite well although i think 2014 will be there year expect hard fought games against Selborne/Dale/Queens and dont be surprised Queens pull a number on them in PE this year i think the standings between these two school stands at 59 Played 26 wins each and 7 draws.
Also keep a look out for Danial Pienaar and St Andrews this year.
Marlow should have a good team there under 16 last year were big and fast.
@Playa: I cant recall us winning at Dale for quite awhile but this year could be the year. I know Kingswood beat this side in U/15 but that is a nearly 3 yrs ago.
@QC86: Not when I was at school, no stagger, I do recall it was just A sides and 1ST to 4TH though.
@beet: Yeah, agreed.The only way such an initiative can be done justice is if some proper mula is dumped into it.I reckon the big unions/franchises could play a part here.Fund the thing,and have weekly exposure to the best schoolboy players in the country…as opposed to just relying on a few festivals and Craven Week.Scheduling could be a problem though with Super XV, Currie Cup (Under 19-21 & Men), as well as tests.
@Playa: Ja I somehow don’t believe that a small budget TV production can do the occasion proper justice. Heard that the atmosphere in Gtown is really special in the lead up and on the day.
@beet: That would be awesome!!!!!! :smile:
Im yet to attend a K-Day and should that be on tv,it would be my first “experience”.I still need to make it a point I head off to GTown for the real thing one of these years though.
@kcman: @Playa: @QC86: It’s going to be interesting to see what kind of TV schedule Megapro’s Premier Interschools has lined up for 2013. I’ve heard talk of K-day being televised so that might mean that the likes of Dale vs Queens and Grey PE vs Selborne are also on the cards.
@kcman: were the games staggered,i cant remember must check my scrap book
@kcman: Should be interesting.KC almost spoilt the party for Dale at City Lords this year, as they tend to do on Dale’s good years.I’m sure the boys will want to make it 3 in a row…it’s been a while
@QC86: I definitely did play Queens in my entire High School at rugby. I am not sure why the fixture would have been stopped.
@Playa: I have no idea why it would have stopped, I played for 5 hard years against Queens. Got murdered on the Rec in 1984 against probably the finest Queens side ever. Gonna be a good game on the Jennings this year. We got a reasonable side.
@beet: Good point re costs.My over-eager mind thought right past that detail.Could be a problem.
Im not sure hey.It’s not impossible to find a way around it,Im just not sure if either party is willing to put in the effort.Also, it may just kill the whole schoolboy rugby vibe synonymous with playing on a school field.But I agree,there needs to be a solution around it.Schoolboy rugby is the loser here.
@Playa: What about neutral venue games against Framesby + DP. A stadium like Border or Boet Erasmus offers a opportunity for a more controlled environment. Spectators away from the field. Not idea but costs of all school teams traveling long distances to W/Cape or KZN are crazy high with the petrol price at current levels
@QC86: Not yet.Landing at EL airport at 7pm Friday night. :grin:
@Playa: you home yet,biltong is drying
@beet: hahahaha! I think they ceremoniously got rid of the rugby-post matrics indaba some time back.I remember in 1998,they had no less than 3 Old Dalians who had matriculated in ’97 in their side.
@kcman: When last did Kingswood and Queens play in a fixture and why was it stopped?
I think this should be a lesson for Dale.We need to scrap the Stirling/Port Rex/Grens fixtures and play more quality opposition.Just a pity Framesby and Dan Pienaar cannot be revisited.
@kcman: cant remember playing rugby against you guys tho,what was the story?
@QC86: I was definitely involved in that same game.
@kcman: is nice,i can remember some massive battles against Kingswood,can remember playing cricket against Merrick Pringle,never saw the first couple of balls and then was very happy to be run out
@QC86: It is sad but I am very glad that Queens and Kingswood are playing each other again after quite a long break.
@kcman: sad that our small town schools are falling by the way side,in 1986 our first team lost to Winterberg
they had some good players
@beet: Beet you are stirring re: Post Matrics, I don’t think there are any. HAHAHA. We are playing Marlow at the Graeme day but Queens and Framesby have replaced the Pearson and Winterberg fixtures.
@beet: Sorry Framesby not Marlow
@Playa: I’m not sure. Might be? Kingswood also seem excited about playing Marlow next year. Also heard that quite a few post-matrics are expected to be on their way to Kingswood. I think the number was as high as 15 at one stage. Not all rugga players tho.
@beet: He must be careful not to underestimate the snobs at City Lords.
Did Queens just add the Kingswood fixture or is there one that they scrapped to accomodate it?
@Playa: The last I heard Ludz was not so optimistic about Queens finishing tops in Border next year. He did however forecast a massive victory on the City Lords, Kingswood’s main field.
@beet: Hahahahaha!
@spilly: Dale has 7 returning from this year’s 1sts.The 2nds and 3rds were averaged at best,but there is a good crop of Under 16s coming up.It will be interesting in the Border next year.
@beet: first class chap just needs to get some help with the finer details and new laws,and the sad part is that there are two or three okes that teach at selborne that are very clued up and very keen to contribute
@QC86:
Ten Man Rugby Taylor! 
@beet: yes beet,and some pretty good sides moving up the age groups,some old masters in charge that just wont move with the times,last time i spoke to the master in charge of rugby our u16 team was still going to the Grey PE festival next year
and all us bloggers have known its been called off 6 months ago
@spilly: Yeah I think if there is a team I’d like to see added to Wildeklawer, it is Selborne. They have been producing good 1st teams and are fairly consistent. More exposure could see Selborne joining the ranking topping “elite” in few years time.
Selborne 2nds only lost 1 game in 2012 and 12 players are returning,together with 4 from firsts, so look for a marked improvement any idea on Dale and Queens prospects. Good luck to all.
@rugbyfan: Dale beating Grey in 2013 would be the highlight of my year
Queens and Dale will have young teams this year and i think will have the same issues as last year were they will be a bit light up front but have some exciting backs. Selborne can only be better than last year and Grey PE should be okay but i think 2014 should be there year. Would be funny if Grey PE lose against Queens again this year 2013 will put them on the back burner for sure.
@beet: Yup – I think Glenwood will have learnt a heap from the failed hype of this season and will do a lot better with a more humble approach. Let’s see.
College would do well to have a good look at Koekemoer from this years U16A as a backline playmaker. He has the added advantage of seldom missing a goal kick.
@Chart: I think if College can find a solution at lock and find a good centre partner for Coetzee, it will go a long way to ensuring a successful season for them. They seem to have frontrow, backrow, halfbacks, a really good centre and decent back 3 but lineout options look scarce right now. Goldstones, MCs home is never an easy ground to win at.
Westville are not the best travellers. Early season in G/town might not see them at their best. They have every possie covered, they need backline players to play to their full potential, make the tackles that matter and their kicker to find the target more often.
Glenwood are the enigma. Very few are rating them. I think this pressure off is going to suit them. They have a fantastic backline in the making. So for them it will be about forwards competing and winning ball. They also need some big ball-carriers to step up.
So going into the season I’d say toughest to easiest should be WBHS-MC-Gwd-DHS but with that Gwd backline, if they hit their straps, they could be the most dangerous team to face.
@Beet,seeing that Grey Pe will be playing 4 KZN schools, Westville,MC,DHS and I have heard Glenwood at WK,who will be the toughest fixture to play against, my guess will be MC on their 150th,do you agree?
@beet: beet,baywatch is going to that investec rugby academy clinic in December,to be held in durban, is it any good
@beet: The only crying will be done by the Natalians. I was so hoping for a Dale-MC fixture at the MC Festival.Break the 3-3 head-to-head deadlock.I guess QC will have to do the disciplining on our behalf.
And I agree, Cape Schools Week should rather be turned into an Under 17 affair.Just to level things up a bit due to Craven Week commitments.
@beet: i told you,the last time QC was allowed to play against MC was when Joel Stransky played flyhalf for them,scared daylights out of MC and that was the last
@Chart: That is a hectic schedule. Made harder by the fact that MC will not be able to accommodate Grey at the school either. Hopefully the boys get suitable lodgings nearby.
@QC86: I should think of including Outeniqua, Oakdale and Oudtshoorn under the EC listings now, shouldn’t I.
I looked again. You are right. Precious few KZN-EC games next year. :???:
@beet: can we have the Kwaggas on our side,
@beet, yes the UK tour will be at the end of the season, the travelling will always be tough for Grey PE, travelling first to MC Fest, then home to Paul Roos, then to CPT for Wynberg, then back to MC for the Wildeklawer.
@beet: i dont know how you will do that,all our games in kzn are against the vaalies,makes you think
Cape Schools Week is an EC school suicide mission of note. Each participating W/Cape school makes a 0.1% contribution towards Craven Week/Academy coz of the depth there, so they are unaffected by trials, player absentees etc.
CSW should rather be an u17 festival.
@QC86: @Playa: Our new motto is “we will turn your so-called byes into cries!” :smile:
@Playa: @QC86: Right that’s it. I’m keeping an unofficial tally EC Schools vs KZN Schools – The Battle of the Benguela!!! :grin:
@Chart: Geez. An overseas tour as well! Is it at the start or end of the season?
Grey are a team I always expect to be in or near the SA Top 10, so it will be interesting to see how they fair against in what is starting to resemble a Grey Bloem type season fixture list.
@QC86:
@beet: those natal schools games are the same as a bye,so no problem there,western cape games will be hard
@QC86: Here’s to hoping Nico Malan have a bad team in 2013!@beet: That is a hectic schedule! :shock:
@beet, Grey PE will be competitive this year, there big year will be 2014, but yes I think they play 16 of the top 20 schools this year, including the Cape Schools.Depth could be there only problem, not to forget hey will be touring the UK as well.
@QC86: What about Grey PE. They aren’t exactly pacing themselves either. Westville, M/College, Affies, 2 Wildeklawer games, Paul Roos, Wynberg all before the end of April 2013
@Playa: Dale better take it eazy,they have some massive games in Natal :shock:
@QC86: Hahahaha!Selborne tends to respond to a bad season by giving 2 or 3 brilliant seasons.
Nico Malan has been a bit of a voodoo team for Dale in the last couple of years.
Brandwag vs Queens should be a bruising affair.It would also be interesting to see the Westville-Grey match up
Selborne might win a game next year, with this draw,only kidding, Selborne should be a lot better than this year