DHS: “I’d rather be a Horsefly than go to Glenwood High!”
Glenwood: “Swat the Fly!”
This sums it up. One of the great schoolboy rugby derbies in South Africa. A lot of passion and interest. DHS’s Van Heerden field will no doubt be jam-packed on Saturday to witness this big event and they won’t be let down by the spirit, the singing and the war cry of the boys either.
On the field, there’s a huge ask of DHS. The form book suggests that this one could get ugly unless the hosts bring their A+ game. Fortunately the occasion always tends to bring out the best in the underdogs. DHS is going to depend heavily on that emotional adrenaline. They can make life easier for themselves by being solid in the setpieces and doing the basics well especially first time tackling. With ball in hand DHS do have attacking options that can get them 5-pointers but a lot is going to hinge on securing front foot ball and for this to happen, apart from executing moves off setpieces, the DHS forwards have to be more physical in the contact zones to keep Glenwood occupied and give their backs some space to operate in. DHS’s season has been hindered by broken spells in their fixture list. The cancellation of their Northwood game last weekend has not helped their cause either.
How Glenwood beat Hilton
Glenwood has proven to be the team for all weather and all surfaces. Their brand of expansive rugby is usually attractive to watch as it often involves freeing up space on the outsides with the go-to player usually being the super quick “Sparks” Ncgobo. However against Hilton on a muddy and wet Dixons field last weekend, Glenwood revealed a different side to their game and provided more indications of a team that has matured as the season has gone on. The first half was dominated by Hilton who played a high percentage and strategically superior game during the half. The Glenwood team who had set out to play passing rugby, had run into difficulties on a sticky field on which there was little traction and favoured heavy set players. Slick passing of the slippery ball was also very difficult. In the second half Glenwood adjusted their tactics. They looked to kick the ball over the top and chase it more often, rather than passing it. This gave them better field positions. They brought their players with upperbody strength more into the game and increased the pressure on Hilton, particularly at the rucks which forced Hilton to make more mistakes and even concede penalties. After Glenwood had clawed their way back to 9-9, this deadlock in the match was broken late in the game when first Ngcobo tucked the ball under his arm and carried it up, then in the next phase using the openside the replacement lock de Klerk did the same with driving run. The positive carries and good recycling allowed for a space to open up in midfield and Corne Vermaak showed the strength on his feet required in to those conditions to exploit the hole and run in for the try. A few minutes later Vermaak was at pivot to carry out a clearing kick from a scrum inside the Glenwood half. Unable to make a clean catch and with Hilton applying good pressure, Vermaak had to compromise and managed to beat a couple of tackles well behind the advantage line. This opened up a big gap near where the scrum had formed, which he rushed into and then proceeded to play a soccer type 1-2 with ever-alert right wing Morne Joubert. Joubert collected a pass, raced up the touchline and fed back inside to Vermaak at the opportune moment for the fullback who was at the peak of his form to score. Vermaak’s strength and reading of the game as well as the quality of the passes by both him and Joubert helped make the try look special. 21-9 is how it ended with Vermaak contributing all the points for the home side and Wright doing likewise for Hilton. For Hilton there were good performances by captain Wright, Purdon and Gouws with no.8 Maseko being the pick of the lot.
Glenwood on a dry surface, against any team than cannot bring a sufficient threat up front and is not totally committed to defensive obligations, are more than likely to be lethal. A lot of praise goes the way of their backs for the quick hands and good option taking but it’s almost always assisted by the mobility, vision and good handling of the forwards in open play.
| DHS | GLENWOOD | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | N. Mazibuko | Percy Mngadi |
| 2 | D. Roberts | Kerron van Vuuren |
| 3 | K. Phileratou | Koos Tredoux |
| 4 | D. Mare | Seth van den Heever |
| 5 | M. Drew | Ntokozo Vidima |
| 6 | A. Tsutsha | Waylon Hippolite |
| 7 | D. Kriedeman | Mzwandile Mazibuko (c) |
| 8 | P. Rees | Jaco Coetzee |
| 9 | K. Ngidi | Kyle Gerhard |
| 10 | K. Webster | Curtis Jonas |
| 11 | S. Biyela | Sphamandla Ngcobo |
| 12 | B. Buthelezi | Akhona Nela |
| 13 | N. Thembe | Nkululeko Mcuma |
| 14 | M. Peter | Miguel Martins |
| 15 | L. van Zyl | Morné Joubert |
i can honestly say the quality fo a Fly Half and a Scrum half is how they play behind a scrum that is being dominated, its how to negate a weak scrum and turn the game around , how to win a game with a weak scrum?? we all know you need go forward ball to win, tight 5 , all the old basics, but if you have a weak scrum , how do you change the tactics to ensure a win,
this is a good debate?
@beet , maybe you could start a side page where techical coaching issues and best practises can be discussed? a bit of pass on knowledge , and insight into waht actually goes on inside the scrums rucks etc , the dark knoweldge ,
i see the N0 6 position for GW has changed, i prefer thepresent encumbent way more , really good player Hippo
@GreenBlooded: i think they are assessing his injury quickly , i dont think coaches are giving him the time he needs to recover? thsi need sto be sorted ,
@ Greenblooded : I agree, the school need to rest, and let him rehabilitate properly. The 2nd team flyhalf J.Dumas is quite good and started the season off at 1st’s should be brought in. If Jonas isn’t left to recover properly, it could turn out to be a career ending injury at this rate.
@School
Impressed by the performances of some of the DHS boys though yesterday. Kyle Philaretou for me was very impressive and outscrummed SA U16 prop Mngadi. He also outplayed him on the day and is unlucky not to be in the final round of KZN trials IMO. Also impressed by the amount of ball that the flankers stole against the big Glenwood pack. They must have stole the ball about 10 times in the rucks. And the #8 in my opinion did well in his first game for the 1st as a starter.
The #9 supplied good ball while the #12 Buthelezi is a good prospect for 2014 in my opinion.
Think the #11 is too small to be playing at this level really…not his fault but he has continuously been manhandled by opposition which isn’t good at all
Hopefully these boys do better next year with 11 starting players back
@Griffon: Man – that is really sad. If the is carrying an injury then he needs to sit out and give it time to rehab. I think he has only played 2 full games this season – always off clutching his legs. What a pity – he’s a great player.
Yeah I agree. The positive though is that webster has learned to make things happen for himself which may help as cravenweek no.10 in a team that may not have the biggest forwards. Him and Teder can learn a lot from each other in this respect.
@ School : Webster for me did what was needed from him, but couldn’t shine as his pack were dominated by the Glenwood pack. Jonas seems to be injury prone, he had to be carried of yesterday. About the 3rd time I’v seen this happen, but he played really well, a few linebacks, got good quick ball, and threatened every time he had the ball. So Jonas was the winner for me. I’d like to see Webster behind a good pack, I think you’ll find he’ll perform a whole lot better
Webster vs Jonas.??
@Queenian: Glenwood beat Selborne by a similar margin so a DHS vs Selborne game would be interesting…
Looks like Glenwood were just to strong
@ Horsefly I’d love your opinions. e-mail me too.
@Gungets Tuft:
Yeah no there’s a problem there with the U15. I think its an internal one and I’d rather e-mail you to tell you on what’s going on instead
@HORSEFLY NO.1: Cool. Good recruiting is good for school rugby, doing it well within the rules must be accepted. The key is to make it sustainable or all of it is flash-in-the-pan and not very helpful in the long run. I hope they keep it up and not lose their karma like your U15 …. who are not shabby by a long chalk, just not what was expected after 2012
@Gungets Tuft:
No no I completely understand mate. As said, I’ll for sure try that out. Seems a good plan to be honest.
Yeah I guess but I’ll admit, that Dale flyhalf has turned out to be a very inspiring buy. Too good!! And with Dale doing so well at GWD U13 fest, wouldn’t be surprised to see a couple of them in next years U14.
You know what, well done to both U14 sides, both played good rugby with minimal. Mistakes and very exciting stuff. GWD had their moments and usually came away with points in those moments but DHS also played good rugby and didn’t make full use of those opportunities. I fully support their decision to not go for poles in the end. Such is rugby I guess…
@Grasshopper:
Crowd was big, bigger than your average game but not like last year, and the war cries were certainly good from both sides. DHS did a sort of 3D illustration which was also good and both sides shouted. Out loud. As Cyndi said, that DHS warr-cry leader has a lot of energy.
But there was a sense of inevitability which did kill the vibe a bit
@HORSEFLY NO.1: I meant my comments in the best possible way, I must confess to “projecting” a bit. I guess that I am older by a generation than many of you okes and am speaking from experience, I took (and still do a lot of the time) some time to cool off and start being objective.
Good luck to DHS, I am not a fan of the widespread shopping for talent, I think closer to home is easier to build into a solid team, but I am on record as wanting a resurgent DHS and Northwood. The attitude of those boys to a loss is not a good sign of their maturity, a key ingredient in sport. Clinical execution of skills beats emotion 99 times out of 100. Today might just have been one of those days.
So what was the atmosphere like? Big crowd? Good war cries?
@Gungets Tuft:
I’ll admit, how they acted after this match was not good representation of DHS. They didn’t even want to shake hands which is very bad sportsmanship, coach needs to talk to them about that!!
But ok, I’ll keep that first point in mind…will only post scores and comment later now.
Between hockey and rugby we played 18 games – Glenwood won them all (some games were shortened due achieving the 50 point margin).
Wow the DHS war cry leader has loads of energy and manages to control the boys well.
So what were all the results today, did DHS win any of the rugby and hockey games?
Chill boys… :-)
@HORSEFLY NO.1: Can I make a few suggestions and observations.
1. I suggest that you take an hour or so to breathe and chill before you post after matches. You make a lot more sense and sound a lot more balanced after a while to reflect.
2. Don’t take such a personal stake in teams. You seem to have emotionally invested in the U14, just as you did last year. It colours your expectations and your judgement.
3. Please tell me that you are not that close to the team that you are giving them unrealistic views of themselves and their responsibilities. They shouldn’t be lead to believe that they are anything more than the U14 side doing the best they can. If they are being told they are standard bearers, or the renaissance hope, then they are being done a disservice. From the sound of it they act badly after matches because people make them out as better than they are, and then make all sorts of excuses for not living up to someone else’s dreams. For a better description. Of what I mean , google vicarious.
Or tell me to shut up and move along, I am happy to do that. Perhaps I only feel wise after my 3rd 12 volt Windhoek (at home, just in case you feared for your life on the road between PMB and Durban)
Wouldn’t be too worried about the U14A leaving…only thing to worry me is the dip in form once teams get to U15. Its really worrying
@Griffon:
16A wasn’t bad but GWD showed their quality today. They were just too good for the Flies. Great game by them!!
@grassy
That comment on 14A was mainly directed to Greenblooded who claimed that GWD U14A would make easy-ish work of DHS because of their supreme forwards.
It was an interesting day at DHS, there were lots of good games. My best was the 14A game though. Overall Glenwood were superb, their 16A and 2nds are just class acts. The DHS 14A flyhalf is quality and I hope that DHS can keep those players and not lose them to the “big schools”.Jaco was amazing for the 1st side.
@HORSEFLY NO.1: nope you said they were by far the better team, twice in fact. Anyway, good to see DHS competitive at A team level, bids well for closer derby games in future. Do you know when last DHS beat Glenwood, 2006? Glenwood too have about 12 in the 1st team squad back next year so look forward to hosting the flys next year.
The 16A game was a close affair for the first 10/15 minutes, after that Glenwood started running away with it. But I must commend the DHS side on their never say die attitude. They were up to the occasion, but played against a better team. Staples played well, along with the outside centre. Ntuli also played well, Febana wasn’t to bad today
Simmo played well even though he struggled at times
@Grasshopper:
Firstly, by far better, I meant that they are much better than any of the Glenwood okes ever expected them to be and caused huge troubles.
And firstly, they are the dream team as told by some GWD boys who felt so, secondly, you then call the DHS side dream teams??!!
Please man, that was a light-hearted jokke because of the obvious size difference! Jeez!then you talk about me taking things too seriously. Chill pill needs to be taken here yoh!
@Grasshopper:
Defenitely wasn’t bad. But think your centre combo is out of this world plus your #11. Jaco was good, but went untouched in one or two of his tries through soft defending. DHS could of been better to be honest. The DHS flankers have to be mentioned for the amount of ball the stole in the rucks, must have had about 10 steals. But its fine, 11/15 players are back next year . DHS #3 had a good game against the GWD SA U16 prop and they are good mates from primary school too.
@HORSEFLY NO.1: gosh you can’t take defeat, claiming the under 14 side was far better, I mean come on boet if they were far better they should have won by miles at home. Then you call the Glenwood team a ‘dream’ team when the DHS last two sides were the dream teams and lastly you make an indirect accusation about the Glenwood boys ‘eating’ something different to be so big, we know what that implies. Jeez boet, really bitter! It’s just school sport not life or death…..
@Rhino: 46-14, not bad. DHS seemed competitive for about 20mins then the flood gates opened. Heard Coetzee scored a hattrick! This was away on a derby day without our best back Vermaak….
@Rhino:
Think 46-14.
what was the dhs – GW 1st score?
@GreenBlooded:
Look, didn’t say anything about the ref in my last 2 posts. Just made the point that DHS is obviously the better side and played the better rugby there. That was obvious and any Tom,Dick and Harry wouldve picked it up. Clearly wasn’t the match YOU thought it’d be!!!!!!!!
As for those scores, think 4ths, 2nds, 16B,15C and 14C all caught above 50 points. The 14B lost 20-odd, 15B lost 14-12. 3rd something like 20 odd
@ Pedantic and Star
Thanks for the results… good day for Westville although i actually was thinking we would beat Port Natal by more but its good enough… :-)
Westville 1st 43 Port Natal 14. Does anyone know how the Port Natal U16A season has been so far? Someone mentioned that they had been unbeaten( including a win over DHS).
Looks like a great win for College – I’ll be watching it later on the PVR.
@HORSEFLY NO.1: Sounding like a tuck record here – but I’ll say it again: there is no comments column on the scoreboard. DHS lost – Glenwood won. All excuses about the ref (I notice you never had a problem with him while you were ahead) and all the conjecture about which team was actually better does not change that.
How were the scores in the B and C team age group games?
@Pedantic:
Glenwood to be honest look much better coached than DHS U15A. They play with good structure and seem to a bit fitter than DHS. Some butchered chances there by School too.
As for U14A yeah I guess, but the boys were rightly disappointed, but didn’t act appropiately afterwards.
But as long as they know that they are better than the Glenwood ‘Dream Team’. The Glenwood forwards certainly didn’t dominate as much as thought and DHS got a lot of ball. Also an off day with the boot for DHS. The GWD #8 I think will be caught up with and lose his dominance. He and the DHS #8 had a good game. The DHS oke was quite solid on defence while the GWD one was good on attack
Average performance in the end by the 1st side.
Played pretty well in the beginning containing Glenwood well but in the end Glenwood quality prevailed. Good performances by GWD #7 #8 #12 and #13.
DHS flankers stole the ball a whole lot but nothing materialised. Glenwood has to give us whatever they have to make these boys grow taller and bigger
@Rhino:
Westville U14A 90(odd) vs Voortrekker 0
Westville U15A 61 vs Voortrekker 3
Westville U16A 22 vs Port Natal 0
Westville 2nd XV 48 vs Voortrekker 1st XV 11
Well done College. any westville scores anyone?
@GreenBlooded: @GreenBlooded: I think Horsie has a point here … if you look at my predictions yesterday I mentioned that DHS U15 have the players to win it, but something wrong in the dynamic in the team.
If one considers this team was all the rage last season, it must be very concerning for the powers that be at School.
1st Game, College 30, KES 8. Final score.
1sts – half time, 20-3
2nd – 22-3
6th – 17-7
5th – 28-0
4th – 62-0
3rd – 7-20
Glenwood 16A by far the better side…leading 29-10 now
U14A – 14-17
U15A – 24-3
U16A – 14-12
@HORSEFLY NO.1: Yaaaawwwwwwwnnnn. Boring boet. Well done GW U14
@ Horsy : Either your boys arnt conditioned well, or they arnt up to the occasion. They got physically dominated. I think 4 boys got injured including 2 getting strecthed off. But its part of the game. Ill discipline let down both sides, wasn’t as entertaining as most thought it would be. 13-0 to Glenwood
Something missing In this DHS U15A side, don’t know what. Have skill but NO heart. Plus must be about 3 boys out already
Glenwood 15A clearly the better side…also making less mistakes
@o Horsefly : The ref 1 harsh decision, but the boys had a chance to go for poles at the last movement but chose to run. Things like these happen, DHS were the better side, but rugby’s a cruel game. So to put a lot of blame on the ref is unfait. I think he controlled the game well. DHS 15A are way off par. Glenwood dominating in all areas so far. 10-0 to Glenwood
@Grasshopper:
Look, what’s happened has happened. But it does become a problem if reffing decisions decide these games. This is the same person who gave GWD U14A a win last year. Go figure.
But its cool, our boys were better and everyone there knows this. That’s what matters.
@Westers:
That and the referees decision at the end of the game. But DHS was easily the better side and they’ll do well to know that. I can honestly say that they are the besy side in kzn.
DHS U15A losing 5-0 at HT. Both sides havee had butchered chances
@HORSEFLY NO.1: Sounds like a great performance – I have seen this GW team in action a few times and they are impressive.
At 23-22 the result doesn’t really matter with U14’s – don’t matter what the ref did – the fact that DHS scored more points against the GW U14’s than all other KZN teams put together shows their strength, well done to both teams!
@HORSEFLY NO.1: I am sure you have pics of the terrible decision. Sorry to have to say this but it is a recurring theme, DHS win and they are a superior team, they lose and it is always the ref. It is getting hard to take you seriously.
@Griffon: that’s how they are bred in the ec
@HORSEFLY NO.1: once again moaning about the ref, can’t you just be humble in defeat. The teams are obviously very closely matched….
@HORSEFLY NO.1: Reading Griffons post, seems like DHS missed kicks decided the game.
DHS 14A lost 22-23 to Glenwood. Referee decides game
I have to eat my words, quite a tight game. DHS behind. Game over 23-22 to Glenwood. But DHS were the better side. But that’s rugby. Kicker missed 5 kicks, but everbody has an offday. Talented DHS side
22-18 to School. DHS flyhalf would be the man of the match for me. This kid is something else, playing well above his size and has got quite the rugby for a 14 year old
19-18 to DHS. Last few minutes are going to be tight. Must say the Glenwood 8 is a very large boy. Probably been the standout in the Glenwood team
Sorry meant 12-10 to School.
DHS U14A leads 12-10 at HT
12-10 to Glenwood. Gonna be an interesting game now
Half time score. 12-5 to School.
DHS 14 A playing well so far. Definantly the better team so far. Glenwood been playing in their own half. Score’s 7-5 to DHS. School kicker missed 2 kicks
College 14A lose 17-14 to KES.
DHS 14A playing in 20mins!!!
Personally i think DHS will get drilled today………. sorry horsefly but cant see otherwise.
@NW_Knight: Except against College then. On that given day all the players on the list above started against College. Only that one time then …??
@Gungets: The bottom 2. But if you cared to read properly, I said “on any given day”. At no time has there been more than 5 starting.
Good luck to the Glenwood Boys today! I’ll be following the results on twitter. Play hard, fair and for yourselves and the school! Go Green! Swat the fly!
@Gungets Tuft: Some of those remind me of an old gag involving a Polish dude going for a medical exam.
The doctor holds up an eye chart with the letters W R E Y X D F G L X Y Z T and asks him “Can you read that?”
Polish guys responds “Read it?? I frikken know the guy!!!”
@beet: Suppose you are right. Lets just do the generic numbers then. I wonder if it would be worth going down to 3rds – it might give us some sort of trend as to where the kids go. Karrent for the life of me know where we would find the info, but it would be fun to know.
Its a nice topic because it deals with the level of professionalism at schools. Getting the numbers would be interesting and worth publishing but I’m not keen on the idea of listing individual players and statues. Its too close to a name & shame type exercise if positives about the players contributions to SBR in KZN are not included as well. Balance needed to make it work.
@NW_Knight: Only 5 come in since Gr8 – yeah???
Where have you been hiding them?
Can you tell me which of the following have been there since day 1
Chidoma
Nkwamba
Motloung
Mikalcius
Kazembe
Taujanskas
Sobahle
Makhanye
Teams that dominated U14 level with their size often don’t do as well in U16 whilst those teams that did well in U14 with no size and sublime skill usually emerge as the best side at U16. That’s what I hope for DHS next year
Of the DHS side 13/15 have been there from gr.11 with Leroux and Peter arriving in grade 9
@NW_Knight: I’ve heard that there is a passport control officer at the end of the tunnel when they run on?
And add a few columns, 3 of them, see if we can note what teams they played in for the U14, U15 and U16. That would be very interesting. I think that .. Pedantic .. (I think) might have a point about the great U14 sides often running headlong into the size wall. At U14 level 6-months growth can be a lot, at U15 less, by the time they hit opens, all gone.
@Greenblooded: Think you’re confused. 11 of 15 tomorrow were there in Gr8. On any other day 10 of 15. That’s a lot more than GW. Balance, that’s the key
@GreenBlooded: 7 of then didn’t even crack Grade 11 at Northwood I am told. I am still stunned at how talented the boys are, came from non-rugby playing countries and slotted right into the first side. Can you just imagine how good they would be if they had played for more than 3 months!!??!!
Back to the Home Grown table – come on Beet – publish a table of the current 1st Fifteen squads and lets see how far we get filling it in. Inverse points, 6 for Gr8, 4 for Gr9, 2 for Gr10, 1 for (starting in January!!) Gr 11, zipnadanowt for grade 12. In fact, if recruited in Gr12, even if from northern Kamchatka, -2.
@Grasshopper: How many of the Northwood first team were at Northwood in Gr 8? Are you kidding me?? I’d be keen to know how many of them lived in South Africa!!
What is the question, how many Under14a’s from four years ago are in the 1st or how many grade 8s from four years ago are in the 1st, very different? I would say at least 60% were in grade 8, far higher than say Northwood….
Seems DHS chess beat Glenwood today…first blood School!!
@NW_Knight
Including 14A and 15A??
GW to win everything by a country mile. @Tjoppa: At least 5% of GW first team was there in GR8, so don’t pick on them.
@HORSEFLY NO.1: Yes – I understand that. What I am saying is that I hope DHS are also investing in coaching and not only players. What would attract an average player to a school (rugby wise – obviously there are more important academic consdierations) would be how much attention the average player gets. For this you need good equipment and more importantly – dedicated coaches down to G team level that are are up to date and passionate about what they do. I can say this with a level of expereince – having been involved in junior club rugby and having been part of the process of building a club up to compete with premier division clubs with budgets I can only dream of. I can say without a shadow of doubt that it was the dedicated and passionate coaches and the investment in their training which was the overwhleming secret to the success story.
@beet: Oh sorry .. forgot to post the actual point – I have heard from parents that the DHS U16 coach is having a massively positive effect on the team. Great to see!
@Pedantic:
Agree with your predictions. Also not too sure what’s wrong with 15A, not to be disrespectful but they are MUCH better than the Glenwood side and that showed even when they lost last year. Supporters couldn’t comprehend how a much more physically superior Glenwood side was getting dominated by those small dhs boys. But as I said, thiis is the one they’ve been looking forward to so hopefully they play to their full potential.
14A, guess my boys will have to prove you wrong, which will make victory much more sweeter!!
Yeah, Greenblooded, let’s not be one-eyed now. When glenwood started out their rugby budget was BIIG(around the early 200’s). That’s why they weren’t too good in other sports then. They also didn’t have as much depth as now but through showing a very big interest in rugby and improved results they started attracting rugby boys. Then, a few years ago, the budget was adjusted to fit other sports hence Glenwood doing so well elsewhere too…you could also say its why they don’t come top10 in rugby anymore.
One does not simply get good depth. Its built over many years
DHS u16A 11 – 3 Westville u16A suggests either a huge upset or DHS doing something right under new coach Nass there. Westville has the most u16A trialists left in this age-group.
@Griffon: Yeah … I guess scoring two tries, setting up another and dominating physically is a kinda average trial
@GreenBlooded: Agreed on the depth issue, but it has to start somewhere – it’s going to take some time to build DHS up.
Glenwood have had a plan (and a big budget) in place for a long time now – DHS have somehow only recently realised that something was wrong and doing something about it – expecting DHS to have the depth of Glenwood is like putting an U14 prop up against an U16 prop and expecting him to match up – realistically it’s not gonna happen.
@Griffon: Dale High School was a sarcastic reference to the many Eastern Cape Boys (Mainly from Dale Primary) in the DHS U14 A team.
@Tjoppa: Nope – I rely on Hopper for stats. I can’t even remember how many spoons of sugar I put in my coffee this morning.
@GreenBlooded: Do you have any indication of how many u/14’s do end up playing 1st15 at Glenwood.
@Pedantic : Guess my source might have felt differently. @Vleis : Durban High School
@Pedantic: On the U16 – I may have gotten a little carried away – so I’ll revise that down to Glenwood by 30
. Simmo, as good as he is, will battle behind a pack going backwards as will any scrummie.
@Vleis: Hoerskool Glenwood. Dale High School. Bwahahahahahaha.
Seriously – I hope you are correct and the stronger U15 and U14 groups are a sign of a turn-around at Essenwood Road Technical High School.
I have my doubts though – what will be very significant after the sun sets tomorrow evening will be the scores in the U14 B/C and U15 B/C games – this will show the relative depth in the 2 schools. Buying in a hot A team is not the solution – it is about a serious attitude to (and money spent on) coaching structures and effort down to grass roots level. This is what Glenwood has – not a massive cheque book like so many think.
@Vleis: And the last outpost has fallen.
It is strange but indicative of schools who do not have the depth of an Grey/Affies that when they purchase players at u/14 level they perform well for two years but thereafter the other boys catcht up and ja. The reason why the Affies/Grey always have competitive teams is that the depth they have in all age groups. I heard the other day that only 55% of u/14 make it to their first team. Would be interesting to see the percentage in the more average schools.
@Griffon: Strange .. I felt Staples had a very good trial.
Hoerskool Glenwood will be way too strong for Dale High School at 1st team level. Remember that DHS 1sts got hammered by Parktown, who lost by over 100 points to Garsies!!
However, the u14A and u15A results should be close. Indeed, I think that it would be best for this great schoolboy rivalry if the DHS sides win those games to give hope for the future.
@ Horsefly : The battle between the 8’s should be good with Staples having a better pack, but Ntuli seems to play well even with an average pack. Both, I heard had average trial performances and both being tipped for GK
@GreenBlooded: Interesting ….
Those margins illustrate a disrespect for the opens and Under 16’s but a lot of respect for the U14’s and U15’s – good to see DHS building from grass roots up – just hope they can hold on to their stars in years to come.
1sts – GW should win it easily, just too much firepower.
U16 – Personally, I think GW will be lucky to win by more than 10 points – they seem to have lost their dominance from U14 & U15 level. (I’m hoping the rugger gods smile on Simmo tomorrow and show KZN rugby what they’re missing – I bet he will outshine the GW 9 even behind a weaker pack)
U15 – DHS to win a tight one (they have the players to win it easily, but something missing in the dynamic)
U14 – GW to win – that is a seriously powerful GW team but not certain they will maintain their dominance through the next 5 years.
@greenblooded: not blaming any ref for anything,merely stating that the ref. Is a factor in any close game.(remember last year U16 ) is with reference to the BMT shown by that group against GWD on the day.
@GreenBlooded:
Yep. Remember that game very well. That moment when heads dropped is when dear Staples started having an effect on the match and dominating things
@Gungets Tuft:
@School: A bit premature to start blaming the ref – but just remember this: The ref is not responsible for a 30+ point scoreline – you need to look elsewhere.
@School: Matches home to DHS??
No worries then hey, Horse #1 has always been confident that the DHS refs get it right.
Best we can hope for is 30 healthy, exhausted boys after each game, all understanding that it is …. just a game.
@HORSEFLY NO.1: Better team for the first 15 minutes? Heads dropped after one try scored against them? Eish bru.
@School:
Yeah defenitely, the pride,passion and ref are EXACTLY what dictates games!! I also think that U15A weren’t hungry last year as U14s and are keen this year to set things straight.
Games like this aren’t dictated by size or past results. Remember last years u16.#its all about the pride and passion oh and the ref.
I haven’t watched GWD u14 but from what I hear they’re class. I reckon this game to gether with the U15’s will be the epitome of Classic clash where the team that wants it more is taking the victory.
@GreenBlooded:
Think the U16A scoreline as I said before will depend on DHS and which side appears. It needs to have the same mentality as against Westville then it will be a good game.
Last year they were the better team for the first 15mins then Glenwood scored a try after which heads sunked deep into the sea
@Gungets Tuft:
I doubt thatll happen again. They have improved since that game but only time will tell how much.
@GreenBlooded:
I don’t know if your forwards will dominate every aspect. Our loosies are VERY good and will probably dominate that.
We also have one of the better scrumhalves I’ve seen at this level in a long time. The way he dicctated the game against Westville was just amazing to see
@Gungets Tuft: I had to do a rethink after Horsie posted his prediction – thought I might have been sniffing foot-powder. But no – I stand by that. Glenwood will take it big time. Speaking of College U16A – massive strides made there this year, those boys have really stepped it up a notch. Next weekend I will make a point of bringing a deck-chair, popcorn and a big bag of biltong to watch that unfold – I think there will be 30 very tired boys walking off after that clash.
@HORSEFLY NO.1: Until Wildeklawer, the Glenwood U14A had not conceded a single point all season – and dished out a few 70+ point hidings to various schools. They drew 15-15 or 12-12 against Kempton Park at Wildeklawer where I saw them for the first time. I also saw the DHS team dismantle College in the midweek game. In my opinion, your backline are probably a bit better in the pace and footwork department but I think they could be exposed defensively by a Glenwood backline on the charge. They are great on attack but I don’t fancy them getting too much possession cos the Glenwood forwards will be dominant in every other aspect.
@GreenBlooded: Will venture only an opinion on the U16A. Unless DHS have stepped up, like up a full flight of stairs, they will look like baby seals. They were nowhere against College, lost something like 6 lineouts against the throw, with the GW size thrown in there, going to be a long (or very short) afternoon for them.
Sorry Horsie – I hope not, but … eeisch
Just a reminder: 11/15 starting DHS players will be back next year. Not an excuse but rather an interesting point!!
Hope the Flies do their very best on Saturday and that the boys represent the school well!!
My prediction for A team games:
1st – Glenwood by 35. Will run away with it in 2nd half after a spirited 1st half by DHS.
16A- Glenwood by 11. Glenwood will win it in the last 10mins after a close game
15A- draw. If not, a very close DHS victory here, this is the one they’ve wanted all year long!!
14A- DHS by 12. Very,very special team.
I don’t mean to sound arrogant – these are my SBR Superbru predictions:
1st Glenwood by 30
2nd Glenwood by 50
3rd/4th/5th Glenwood by and average of 60 or blown short 5 mins before full time.
U16A Glenwood by 50
U16B Glenwood by 70 or blown short at beginning of 4th quarter
U15A Close – 3 points either way or draw.
U15B Glenwood by 40
U15C/D Glenwood by 60 or blown 5 mins short
U14A Glenwood by 15
U14B Glenwood by 40
U14C Glenwood by 60
@ Beet : Glenwood 14A’s by 7/10. 15A game should go down to the last minute. DHS by 3. 16A, the DHS team has come to the occasion at times. Think they will tomorrow, but Glenwood should win by more than 7 points. The battle of the flyhalves will be very interesting tomorrow. Both have played well this season. Webster having to adapt behind an average pack and still playing well.
Any predicts for the junior A-team games. Think u14, u15 and u16 will all be very competitive.
Glenwood by 40
http://www.glenwoodhighschool.co.za/sites/default/files/Fixtures%20vs%20DHS%202013(2).pdf
Here are the fixtures:
16A 13:00
15A 11:00
14A 10:05
1sts 15:10
A team game times if possible ? Thanks
Going to be some big battles at the A team level and the 1sts need to be on the ball expecting the DHS boys to come out firing. Going to miss Vermaaks attacking prowess a lot. Good luck to all and may the game be clean but played hard! Go Green!
Beet – great vibe for tomorrow
great match report Vs Hilton last week & preview of game against the flies tomorrow
Glenwood can’t be complacent tomorrow and think they have just pitch to win the game
School will come out firing and this one may be closer than one may think