The international under-18 Sevens tournament featuring South Africa, Botswana, Germany, Zimbabwe and hosts Namibia will be played on Windhoek Gymnasium’s artificial pitch on 08-09 March 2019. From 08-09 February 2019, a training squad of 22 SA hopefuls will be put through their paces in the Cape before a final touring team of 13 picked to represent South Africa at the international event.
FINAL TEAM
| POS | # | NAME | SCHOOL | REGION |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 1 | Christiaan Smit | Ben Vorster | Limpopo |
| Forward | 2 | Tiaan Pretorius | Paul Roos | WP |
| Forward | 3 | Siviwe Zondani | Grey HS | EP |
| Forward | 4 | Janco Cloete | Grey College | Free State |
| Forward | 5 | Renzo Du Plessis | Ben Vorster | Limpopo |
| Back | 6 | Hlumelo Klaas | Grey HS | EP |
| Back | 7 | Latica Nela | Hilton | KZN |
| Back | 8 | Nico Steyn | Glenwood | KZN |
| Back | 9 | Sacha Mngomezulu | Bishops | WP |
| Utility | 10 | Hanco Van Wyk | Monument | Lions |
| Back | 11 | Danvon Blood | Rondebosch | WP |
| Back | 12 | Curwin Gertse | Paarl Gim | WP |
| Back | 13 | Javier Farmer | HJS Paarl BH | WP |
TRAINING SQUAD
| # | NAME | SCHOOL | REGION |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sihlalo Benge | Queen’s | Border |
| 2 | Hlumelo Klaas | Grey HS | EP |
| 3 | Siviwe Zondani | Grey HS | EP |
| 4 | Ian Small-Smith | Grey College | Free State |
| 5 | Jacobus Cloete | Grey College | Free State |
| 6 | Paschal Ekeji | Grey College | Free State |
| 7 | Sonwabo Sokoyi | Grey College | Free State |
| 8 | Keke Morabe | Welkom Gim | Griffons |
| 9 | Nico Steyn | Glenwood | KZN |
| 10 | Latica Nela | Hilton | KZN |
| 11 | Connor de Bruyn | Kearsney | KZN |
| 12 | Christiaan Bezuidenhout | Helpmekaar | Lions |
| 13 | Henco van Wyk | Monument | Lions |
| 14 | Walter Visser | Ermelo | Pumas |
| 15 | Sacha Mngomezulu | Bishops | WP |
| 16 | Xavier Farmer | HJS Paarl BH | WP |
| 17 | Ethan James | Paarl Gim | WP |
| 18 | Curwin Gertse | Paarl Gim | WP |
| 19 | Tiaan Pretorius | Paul Roos | WP |
| 20 | Kade Wolhuter | Paul Roos | WP |
| 21 | Dalvon Blood | Rondebosch | WP |
| 22 | Duran Koevort | SACS | WP |
@Norieman: Hy was van Gr1 tot matriek saam met my dogter op skool, en van o9 af was dit duidelik dat hy ‘n baie talentvolle sportman is. Persoonlik dink ek hy het in sy matriekjaar te groot probeer word – hy het spoed verloor en was nie meer so effektief as voor dit nie (Gr11 SA Skole gemaak, maar nie in Gr12 nie).
Na skool het hy by die Bulls gaan speel en was deel van hulle o19 span en die volgende jaar in hulle o21 span. In 2016 is hy Kings toe (ek het verneem hy het ‘n paar brûe verbrand by die Bulls) en het twee wedstryde vir hulle gespeel in die Curriebeker kwalifiserende ronde, maar is beseer in die tweede wedstryd.
Ek het nie enige verdere inligting oor hom nie.
“Zondani came through the U16/U17 high performance camp highly rated, while Klaas was captain of the EP U17 7’s team that came second at the nationals.
I don’t think there is anything untoward with the selection of that squad.”
@tzavosky
Ja hy. Was n groot seun. Wonder wat van hom geword het hy was mos Bulle toe.
@Norieman: Jy spel dit Matjikinyane, of Ji(n)x!
@vyfster hahaha ek hoor jou. Ek onthou in 2013 toe Xinie Malope (nie n idee hoe om dit te spel nie) van BV in die span was het hulle by Youth Olympics in Sydney die olimpiese goud gewen. Jys heeltemal reg
@Smallies: moonlik is jy reg, maar jy kan nie se hulle is nie raakgesien nie….Grey Bloem alleen het 4 spelers uit die finale 22 se kamp gehad….hoekom net 1 finale span gehad het, sal ek nie weet nie, ek was nie daar nie….julle manne wat die oefenkamp bygewoon het moet maar vertel
@Norieman: Miskien verbeel ek my, maar as ek reg onthou was die 7’s span van laas jaar was nogal hoog aangeprys.
Met SA skole spelers soos Dawid Kellerman van Paarl Gim, Muzi Muniakye van Jeppe, asook Diego Appollis van Garsies, Braude van Grey Bloem, Horne van Boishaai het hul nogal sterk gelyk.
Toe gaan maak hul skandes teen Japan en Frankryk
Duidelik is die problem die afwesigheid van BV spelers laasjaar, dit is nou gekorrigeer en die span sal nou guaranteed “worldbeaters wees “ , mark my words
Tegnies was daar ‘n BV speler in die span, Ofentse Maubane….na al die jare by BV het hy “geskuif” Curro Heuwelkruin toe saam met die 1 afrigter ….lol…dit is soos om Samson se hare af te sny
Alle grappies op ‘n stokkie , span is nou gekies , geluk aan almal…gee hul regverdige kans, as hul nie perform nie, sal Schoeman moet terugstaan
“
Well done to all the players selected. Still I have to agree with Smallies here.
Grey Bloem and Booishaai played in all the finals. And ultimately in the Champion of Champions tournament they also played in the final with Grey winning by a few points.
The results there were
Grey
Booishaai
Noordheuwel
Helpmekaar
The rest.
Booishaai 1 player
Grey 1 player
Noordheuwel not even 1 player in the LIONS 7’s team.
Helpmekaar 1 player invited to Camp. Christiaan Bezuidenhout, whom just for some info was the top try scorer in the Virsekerbeker last year, also the top try scorer in the Provincial 7’s tournament with 11 tries (4 against the Cheetahs). He was also in the training team for the Common wealth as well as junior Olympics. On all 3 ocasions he didnt make the team.
The Cheetahs won the Provincial 7’s tournament, Lions beatthem in a pool game by 40 points.
Lions lost to WP by 2 in the 5th/6th place play off.
Lions have 1 player. Wp have 5 ??
Somewhere the maths dont add up. Maybe Marius Schoeman should try and watch the boys play in tournaments and not just show up for a few hours and then leave again, no wonder Japan beat us at the junior Olympics.TWICE.
@Vyfster: aan die einde van elke hsbc sevens toernooi word n dream team gekies. Die bulk van die span word gewoonlik uit die finaliste gekies,ek verstaan jou argument rondom plattelandse skole baie beter as wat jy dink, maar dit verander nie aan die feit dat die twee skole sevens rugby oorheers het die jaar nie, dit verander ook niks aan die feit dat die twee skole tussen hulle ten minste 6 spelers in die span moes he….
@tzavosky: thanx, goed om te weet
@Tuckshop: well said, sir!
I don’t understand the criticism……are only GCB and Boishaai allowed to have players in a national team?
Is it because Menlo has none in the team?
Smallies and skopgraaf seems to imply that.
I can vouch for the 2 BV players, Renzo is u17 , was part of the u16 high performance squad last year…..Christiaan Smith is a brilliant player, deserves their places.
There was a 22 man training camp, 13 were selected……all from “traditional “ rugby schools except BV.
Grey PE has 2, Boishaai, Gim,PRG, GCB, Monnas; GW, Hilton, R/Bosch and Bishops each 1 .
I am sure all are fine players, many other equally fine players didn’t make the team, but you can only choose 13.
Die 2 vossie spelers moes nogal uitgestaan het om gekies te word….dit is bitter seldsaam dat daar eers gekyk word na klein plattelandse skole of stadskole wat nie deel van die elite is nie
Jaar na jaar word die SA skole span tog van dieselfde paar skole gekies….
Ek verbeel my 2 jaar terug her Boishaai 7 of 8 voorspelers in die SA skole spanne gehad
Hulle was baie sterk, maar ek sou eerder se dit was “an insult” teen al die honderde rugby spelende skole in die land…..statisties is dit onmoontlik dat 1 skool AL die beste voorspelers in die land het
Erens in minder geroemde skole is daar paar spelers misgekyk, wat oor paar jaar vir die Bokke sal speel…..dit gebeur tog elke jaar dat ‘n Franco Mosterdt na vore tree
Nietemin, geluk weereens aan al die spelers, have fun in Namibia
@Vyfster: OK, sorry, I was reliably informed that Christiaan Smit is still u18, my mistake.
Well done to the players who made the SA team. My heart goes out to all those boys who worked towards this same goal, were good enough and would have done the country proud but were not picked.
I can vouch for the two Natalians. They are both fine players. There are others on the same level as these two but very few are better.
I caution anyone about being overcritical about the selections without first knowing all the players on offer.
The logic in arguments presented above suggests that in spite of his individual brilliance Reiko Ioane should not play for the All Blacks because the Blues have been a poor team for a number of seasons. The suggestion is his test position must to go to someone like Ben Lam of the Hurricanes or George Bridge of the Crusaders who are both part of top achieving teams. Life is not quite that straight forward.
@Skopgraaf243: ek wonder of saru al besef het dat toernooie soos wildeklawer en Binnekort Noord suid besig is om die craven week se status oor te neem, maar nou ja ons weet mos dat saru nie juis die breinkrag het om sulke dinge te besef nie
@Smallies: ek stem die spanne het GEEN status.
Geen wonder daar is spelers wat somme cravenweek al minag vir kontrak in Frankryk. Ek like dit want vir een is dit nie nog dooie vis wat saam die equity bullshit gaan nie.
Al ons top spelers moet waai, vir sulke geleenthede, dis baie goed vir hulle studies ook! Goeie hupstoot in die lewe.
Dit raak n joke selfs vir die gene wat wel spanne maak, sal altyd wonder: maar is ek goed genoeg wees!
GEEN MERIETE NIE
@Vyfster: Just one snag here, as far as I know Christiaan Smit is u/19 this year, but I could be wrong.
Speel die BB unie glad nie 7’s nie?
Boishaai en Grey het in elke groot toernooi se final gespeel en elkeen het SLEGS EEN speler in die span, dis n belediging vir daardie skole se spelers en afrigters, saru gaan erns n moerse bubble hap met skole spelers wat nie meer gaan val vir die kak wat saru opdis nie
Ja nee saru slaan die een ook weer vir n ses… Kan ma net lag vir hulle onbeholpe bestuur steyl
@beet: Thanx, appreciated… Well done to the Vossie boys!
Must be the first time ever that BV has double the representation than little schools like Paul Roos, Grey Bloem, Paarl Gim, Glenwood, Monnas, Boishaai etc…lol.
good luck to the team and congrats to all those chosen
@Vyfster: Hi Vyfster.
Thank you for the heads up. I was able to obtain the names of the 13 players making up the SA team.
Well done to the Ben Vorster boys.
I re-examined the official original training camp list. The Limpopo province players were not listed. I’m not sure if that was be error or if something changed along the way.
@beet: this list is confusing me, maybe you can clarify for me.
According to media up north and BV”s own webpage, 2 players from Ben Vorster , Renso Du Plessis and and Christiaan Smith was chosen as part of the 22 man training squad to have a training camp to determine the 14 final members that is part of the SA u/18 sevens team to compete in tournament in Namibia.
It was followed up by pictures of the said players at the training camp in Stellenbosch.
Yet there names doesn’t appear here.
didn’t thought to much of it, reckoned there was maybe more than 1 group of 22 that participated in traing camp.
Now the news came trough that both Ben Vorster’s players ( Renso and Christiaan) made the final 14 that is the SA u18 team that will compete in Namibia tournament against various countries.
‘can you maybe clarify why there names are not on initial list of 22, did they indeed make the SA team as reported, maybe reveal the whole team chosen?
confusing to me, will like to get clarity
@Hooit: They were a mainstream team containing many high profile players but that is a high number. Perhaps the agency representation at CW is above 50% then.
@Grizzly: Very good question. This is year 1 of a new process, it might take time to settle and for us to find out what the new strategies are.
Maybe smaller market = less money = fewer agents
But who knows, with fewer opportunities available after school it might become even more important to have an agent to help try identify the one and only place available. The days of picking the right opportunity from a variety of offers might be over for even the most sort after players.
@beet: Looking back at the Lions Cravenweek team when my don was in matric (2017) I would say about 18/19 of the 23 players had agents. Could be more. Will assume that this number is smaller in smaller unions
@Beet: What do you think will the influence be with scrapping of /19 CC.Will the agents still target school boys like before?
@ProudSA: many top school rugby players are approached by unions long before their matric year.
SARU only recognises contracts signed after 18th birthday as binding but if both parties reach agreement before 18th birthday that is academic. The union wants the player and the player wants to join the union so useful for the player and parents to know what they are in for. Plus there are student pocket money agreements that unions dish out. Always helpful for parents and kids to have someone who knows how the trade works.
So what does an agent do for a kid who is in Gr10, Gr11. I can understand an agent for a Gr12 boy who is leaving school soon. But for Gr10 or 11, I don’t know.
@beet: Lekker Beet, Alberts was, especially for me, a bitter pill to swallow. It was nearly as difficult as the day when Jaque left for WP…mentor speak
@beet: sometimes agent can be a kak thing also,the lional mapoe saga comes to mind
The thing I mentioned about agents not having influence made me thing of two soccer examples. One was many years ago when controversial businessman Barnard Tapie (one time owner of Adidas) owned the then successful Marseilles football team. Their goalkeeper Pascal Olmeta was reported to have a contract which stipulated that he basically could not be dropped from the starting line-up. He must have had some agent to arrange that deal. He was eventually replaced by Fabian Barthez who went on to be a FIFA WC winner and also had a spell with a horrible English club
A few years ago was also Man City midfielder Yaya Toure who’s manager Guardiola left him out of the team after a dispute with the player’s agent. I can tolerate City only because the Gallagher brothers from that great band Oasis have always supported them.
Closer to home in rugby the Sharks were very fortunate to acquire the likes of AJ Venter, Willem Alberts and suppose also Louis Ludick as well after hotly disputed cases. I wonder if it was the players’ agents who first picked up on the loopholes in their contracts. Anyway I wish I knew Die Ken back then. Those acquisitions would have been so much sweeter.
@ProudSA: My guess would be most of the players on the list above most have agents. I’m really not sure about Craven Week. My guestimate would be between 20% and 25% but perhaps its higher. But whether or not a boy has an agent should not be a factor influencing selection nor should the agent be capable of influencing selection at school age-group or any level above it.
My advice to parents of boys who want to pursue rugby as a possible career after school is get a good agent.
I say this because I find most parents of schoolboys know very little about how the rugby industry operates in the years after school. There is very little information readily available to prepare them for it. Those who have been through the experience will agree its a learning curve of note. The amount they knew 6 months to a year after the matric year in relation to where they started has been described to me numerous times as quite phenomenal difference.
A agent is streetwise because knows the industry, he knows how to negotiate a contract and he knows what should and shouldn’t be in a contract and if he’s good at his job he’s definitely on your son’s side.
@ProudSA: 90%van hulle het agente
What would be interesting to me is, how many of the boys in the group above have an agent. Or perhaps Beet you have some Stats as to how many of the boys who has made Cravenweek, has an agent..No names needed, just the numbers.
No Bulls, interesting…who’s the coaches???