After blogging the NZ Championship results for a few years now, I’ve had my own idea of a similar compo for South Africa for quite a while.
However based on the how SA schoolboy rugby has traditionally been set up in terms of annual derbies, existing cup competitions, the must-watch last game of the season; the length and in some places congestion of a typical season (player welfare); the vast distances between the schools (time and cost factors) plus a few other factors such the overlap with other sports codes’ seasons, I for one very much doubt such a national KO competition would ever come to life.
That said I am keen to see what the Ruggas.com inspired top schools event starting in 2021 has to offer.
The way things are going economically, the possibility of national youth weeks falling away is sadly something that has to be considered now. If it were to happen, it would free up three weeks of June/July school holidays and perhaps present an opportunity for schools to explore new avenues.
Anyways here’s my format which I think has room for improvement but does try to incorporate all the main role players and add weighting to the regions that generally produce more of the top talent. To an extent, it does offer a dream-team from a non-powerhouse, the opportunity to go all the way.
@Djou: Uiteindelik sien iemand n bietjie lig aan die einde van n baie lang tonnel.
@BoishaaiPa: @Strepie: Totally agree.
Leave as is.
What is the point of such a comp.
To spend more money, more games, more logictics for what??
Is it REALLY worth it?
@Djou: I don’t want to be the one doing the logistics on this. Will be a nightmare!..It is a nice idea, but I don’t think it will be able to work practically unless the whole SBR rugby season is changed and a huge sponsor comes on board. Maybe we should keep SBR as is and stop trying to push something that might result in our beloved game going exclusive.
Wow i cant think where the boys will find the time for this, but it would be great if they can do it.
@BoishaaiPa: It will be difficult to get it right. With Boishaai, Paarl Gym and Paul Roos, WP actually can stake a claim for 3 teams. It is possible for WP to have 3 teams in semis and 2 in the final.
I would chuck Grey College into the automatic quarters spot as well and give another Noordvaal School a play-off place instead of WP 3…be it Virseker runner up or some other criteria. Grey has proven themselves enough over the years as the strongest in their area to qualify automatically for quarters.