As information on the 2018 school rugby season gradually filters through, it’s evident that a number of school fixtures are once again off the menu.
| # | MISSING MATCH | BACKGROUND |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Queen’s vs Dale | One of the oldest rivalries in SA is off the books for now due to unhappiness raised by Queen’s. With it being centred around problems at Dale’s facility, perhaps Queen’s should still agree to playing Dale at the Rec in Queenstown. This matter could still be resolved. |
| 2 | Waterkloof vs Garsfontein | A big drama unfolded in 2017 when Klofies opted not to play Garsies for reasons given but not necessarily backed up with concrete evidence. The sadder part is that Kloof has now restructured their whole rugby fixture list in 2018 and are no longer part of the Virsekerbeker. |
| 3 | Affies vs Monument | The battle of the Witbulle is a no-go. Affies have severed ties with several Noordvaal schools but possibly the one that is missed most is the Monnas game, as both schools have proven to be consistently strong over a longer period of time. |
| 4 | Grey College vs Paarl Gim | Grey College has interschools derbies against all the other SA powerhouse schools except Gimmies. Gim who have local derbies against the other two WP elite schools, has added Affies to their annual fixture list in recent years. so it’s really unfortunate that Grey and Gim can’t firm up plans to ensure they meet every season. |
| 5a | Hilton vs Glenwood | The reasons for Hilton not wanting to play Glenwood became a little murky in 2017, as the private school upped their own recruitment drive to the extent that they were labelled by some as poachers. The unfortunate issue is that with the increased investment in their rugby Hilton are becoming a force to be reckoned with and therefore a potentially great and longstanding rivalry is being missed out on. |
| 5b | Michaelhouse vs Glenwood | Michaelhouse promised to play Glenwood in 2018 after leaving them off their congested 2017 fixture list but didn’t follow through on it and didn’t seem to provide an on-record explanation for their actions either, leading some to assume they had the same rugby academy vs normal school concerns as Hilton expressed a few years back while those closer to Glenwood assumed the decision was purely down to the one-sided nature of their A-team games against House in recent times. |
| 6 | Drostdy vs most WPPL schools | There was a time not so long ago when Boland big guns Drostdy was counted amongst the Western Province Premier League schools. Nowadays their interaction with WP school is close to zero. |
| 7 | HTS Middelburg vs Middelburg | Sadly in Hoërskool Middelburg’s 100th birthday year the big derby is off. This was an annual FNB Classic Clash and a highlight on the Middelburg town calendar. The new Virsekerbeker structure may have played a big part here. |
| 8 | Maritzburg College vs Grey College | Historically Maritzburg College have been KZN’s best rugby school and everyone was pleased when they renewed ties with Grey a few years back. However the relationship appears to have been shortlived. Fixture congestion was the official reason given by College who remain one of SA’s most popular schools to play against, due to their allround approach both on and off the field of play. |
| 9 | Dale vs Kingswood | Dale seem to be unhappy about advances made towards their promising players by the Grahamstown private. Also worth noting is that Dale regards it’s primary and high school as one, making attempts to recruit their juniors a little more subjective than in other parts of SA. |
| 10 | Affies vs Westville | Westville have been struggling to form relationships with Gauteng boys schools. The Affies match is off and neither KES nor Pretoria Boys High seem interested in continuing ties with Ville. A positive is that Ville are playing in the KES Easter Rugby Fest which means hope floats for a reestablishment of rugby ties. |
I still don’t know how Gim and Affies will sustain this fixture. Long distance traveling, missing school, tired scholars the next week…etc
@oppimoot: Baie groot in die Moot!
Dale vs QC – honestly think this fixture(rugby) must not happen this year(cooling off period), it can resume again next year. Graeme fixture maybe?
Dale vs KC – Unhappiness over KC has been going on for a while now, so no surprises here. I hope the fixture comes back for the sake of EC rugby.
Wyvern – I hope that rumour is not true.
Adults behaving badly.
Dit is nou wel nie superskole nie, maar die jaarlikse Moot derby tussen Oos-Moot en HTS John Vorster is ook ‘n lekker geleentheid.
Gatvol, Scared & Lies, and Impractical!
WRT Dale, i heard a rumour that SAC may also be cutting their fixture with Dale, but are waiting to see how this year’s fixture in KWT plays out….
Oor die ander detbys wat nie plaasvind nie kan mens maar net se dis tragies.Gelukkig sal daai mense wat so kortsigtig is wel hul dag kry.
@Beet.Ek kan jou belowe as Westville vir Garsies nader vir n game gaan hulle ja se.Miskien nog die jaar,kry jou mense om kontak te maak.
Ek dink logestiek van drie kaap games keer op die staduim dat daar n jaarlikse Gimmies Grey game is, sal egter nogal nice wees as dut kan gebeur….