Talking Point: Red Cards in schoolboy rugby
I watched two school rugby matches over the weekend in which the sort of tip-tackles that would have earned an instant red in the pros, were punished with just yellow cards. Thankfully neither player on the receiving end was injured in the process and was able to play on without any setbacks. In the first game it happened on 30-minutes and I was grateful that the referee did not brandish a red card, as it might have ruined what turned out to be a great matchup.
So the question I ask is, should schoolboy rugby adopt the Super Rugby method of making the red card a dismissal of the offending player with the right to replace him after 20 minutes (maybe 15 in schoolboy rugby)?
Talking Point: Making a noise while a kick is being taken
So I tried to be impartial towards this one because in truth it makes little sense why supporters should feel the need to assist the opposition in any way. When a kick is being taken, that would be an ideal opportunity to raise the volume in an effort to put the kicker off. In schoolboy rugby lineouts, which to be honest have been of a poor standard in general during 2023, are nearly as important as kicks at goal. Yet how often has anyone ever afforded the opposition hooker the luxury of keeping tjoepstil in an effort to help him find his jumper with a successfully with an accurate throw-in.
It really boils down to this, the etiquette we all grew up.
Anyways the reason I brought this up was that on Saturday I attended a match and both sets of schoolboys supporters decided to sing their warcries while the other teams kicker was taking a shot at goal. This was obviously in KZN but a friend told me a similar thing happened during the match he watched in the Western Cape. Although he did try to claim it was unintentional, in my case it came across as being very deliberate.
So what’s your feeling – overdue change or something the headmasters of the respective schools should stamp out immediately and why?
Talking Point: Assistant coaches in the in-goal area
This one is becoming a pet hate of mine. Coaches belong in technical areas. Medics and the S&C guys can patrol the touchlines, no problem. None of the latter should be engaging the ref or ARs to influence decisions, otherwise they should rather go and sit in the technical area as well.
But what’s taken off big time is the assistant coach who feels the in-goal area his territory to operate and scream out instructions unabated. No man, these guys must respect the integrity of the game. At no point should an assistant coach be anywhere except in the demarcated or agreed on technical area while a match is in progress. No ways should these loudmouths be standing in the in-goal area especially while play is on the go.
Or what do you think?
@Kaya 85: hehehehehehe
@Smallies: Smalshanks redemption
@Jakkals: Agreed, I think smart coaches will do this more often, maybe not in every fixture.
@beet: Funny part is I was not even part of the game but was busy breaking up a fight between two inmates ,the card was because I was within the OFFICIAL playing area and did not pay attention to the referee or his wistle ,afterwards they tried to have me in front of a dissiplinenary hearing chaired by a bunch of inmates ,I told them to fuckoff and closed all inmates sporting activities for two weeks….
@Jakkals: Jy kan mos jou bench van onder af op so speel. Sal verseker dat selfs van die manne wat heel onder tot by F/G speel en dikwels nie games het nie, betrokke bly. Ons sidestep niks by Boland nie, jy weet mos, dis oor of deur. Jonty steeds by die BLOB betrokke ja
@Smallies:
I can well imagine you getting a red card while playing soccer but the only part of the play that I visualise you succeeding at, is a shoulder-to-shoulder body check where your opponent comes off second best by a considerable way 
@Kantman: weereens squad management…..stuur hulle af vir n start en vol game 2e span toe as hulle game time kort en jy hulle nie kan waag in 1e span. Maar as die 2e span spelers saam die 2d span oefen en vol game daar speel is hulle minder werd vir die eerstes. Van die skole hier in kzn het nou al hulle 1e en 2e spanne saam in een groot squad en bestuur die hele groep se game time saam. Hulle oefen saam en is almal op dieselfde bladsy. Hulle funsksioneer nie apart nie. Anyway almal gerigtig op hulle opinie en altwee opsies het maar pros en cons
@Jakkals: In praktyk dalk 15-20 minute vir 2-4 spelers, oor die jaar steeds minder van dieselfde kontak as eerstepan spelers.
@Ploegskaar: so dan moet die 3e span spelers n game en n half speel elke week? In n squad sisteem is daar ook rotation waar die spelers wat gewoonlik bench wedstryde kry om te start….jy manage jou squad en maak seker almal kry gametime….kan dit beplan en meer strategies doen in plaas van cookie cutter almal halftyd af en dan weer 10min…side step julle tackle bags daar in die boland? Jonty nog daar by julle?
@Ploegskaar: Geen probleem daarmee nie. Stem saam jy wil diepte bou. Dink ook nie dit hoef polisieer te word nie, die ouers behoort ‘n afrigter eerlik te hou. Help ook in daai gevalle waar jy 50/50 spelers het en nie regtig kan besluit nie.
Moeiliker om te doen as jy verloor …
@Kantman: Yes, but maybe pull those Seccies halftime and give them minimum 10min in 1st game. When injuries you need those guys game fit and familiar with the game plan. Depth wins seasons
@Jakkals: Pull them half time. If these guys don’t build match fitness they won’t be of much use, promise. Sidestepping cones and tackling bags does not build game stamina
@kantako: Some schools do practice the minimum 60min/player equivalent policy at the Easter Festivals. Parents are not going pay R5k for young Prontus to carry bottles & bags only. Lot’s of tricky strategy and juggling required to get it done, but some do. Great for building squad depth and maintaining gees btw
For me the squad system is a NO at schoolboy level. Every player should get a full match on Saturday. Play fewer tournaments and use the full squad at tournaments, like @beet said they all paid for the trip. If a player is injured, bring in the B team player.
Never the let the win become more important than participation and the players.
@kantako: Reeds die jaar by Noord-Suid gebeur. Stellies se no 8 was ‘n paar keer af om te gaan rus,blykbaar mag jy 12 keer veranderinge aanbring.
@beet: squad system is the way to go as subs are now impact players and not only injury cover. Most of the bench is now utilized in most matches. It’s also dangerous I feel if a player plays the entire 2nd team game and then cools down on the bench only to be called into action again once cold, tight and sore from the previous game. In a squad system the subs warm-up with the team and go for regular short bursts of action to stay warm and are ready when called upon to play. These subs that played a full 2nd team game will also be very fatigued if called upon to play due to an early injury….which makes them more susceptible for injury
@OUD ANKER: darem nie …
@beet: coaches will never play in squad systems (resting players) or rolling subs at these festivals. They will always try and keep the best 15 on as these tournaments have become to important for rankings, marketing, television, recruitment, sponosrhips etc
@Smallies: Sou ‘n rooi kaart beteken jy moes daai aand in die selle slaap?
@beet: an inmate referee at our prison sportsground tried to give me a red card once during a soccer match between two prisoners sides….
@Kaya 85: I actually saw the ref giving an assistant from one of the North schools a yellow card at Noord-Suid. Its on the video footage.
At the recent KES fest during one of the games, the assistant coach was standing on the touchline near a scrum and when his team was penalised he made an injudicious loud comment aimed at the referee. The ref, to his credit, and in earshot of all of us sitting nearby, explained in no uncertain terms that he would red card that coach if he commented again. The crowd thought this was so funny and most agreed.
@Smallies: Yeah at festivals schools do use squad systems and in recent years rolling subs as well.
The former came about more as a result of offering reserves a chance to play as they paid the cost to go to the festival but now it is gradually being seen as the opportunity to test depth and as part of player management.
@beet: for the simple reason that workload on players can be managed and controlled if you use a squad system ,especially at festivals like Noord Suid ,Wildeklawer and the easter festivals….
@Smallies: Smallies you have to elaborate on why you believe it makes sense.
@skelmbos: Nice comment. Very good food for thought.
Player welfare in terms of number of matches played is a hot topic right now. It might be interesting to hear how people feel SARU should address this to make it fair and manageable.
@skelmbos: en die is presies die rede waarom die squad stelsel waaroor so baie bloggers hier gal braak soveel sin maak….
I agree 100% with no coaches in the in-goal area, but that happens when there are no technical area next to the field. I have seen it a lot at the Easter festivals. It also happens a lot at school’s b, c and d fields where the spectators are next to the field and no place for coaches.
@skelmbos: You talk about player safety. If TMO’s are allowed at schoolboy games, the amount of cards for head-to-head clashes will double. I have seen 6 on Saturday at one game. The ref did nothing, maybe because he couldn’t.
This game also had 8 yellow cards of which 6 was for tip tackles. Some of it maybe a bit harsh.
Another talking point is player workload management?
The size and speed of most of the boys make the intensity and physical exertion of the games close to that of a professional game (played by fully-grown professional athletes whose only job when not playing, is training and conditioning which includes rest and recovery).
The biggest upset of the weekend is perhaps not an upset at all, given that Boishaai had to play 6 games in 15 days? On average they therefore had only 2.5 days rest between games over this period.
I don’t know if Oakdale had some game-changers out at Noord-Suid, but if not most people would have lost money if they had to bet on this result if they looked at the following results leading up to this game:
Garsfontein 59 – 7 Oakdale
Affies 19 – 26 Boishaai
Garsfontein 45 – 38 Affies
One extra game in the legs could also have been the deciding factor in both the Jeppe vs Monnas and KES vs Pta BH games (both Jeppe and KES only played 1 game at Noord-Suid). This may make the DHS win over Westville much more remarkable…
On the official Springboks Youtube channel there is a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the planning that goes into ensuring that players workload is managed for both their own welfare and to make sure they are in prime match-fit condition going in to the World Cup later this year.
As already indicated I believe more should be done to ensure player safety at schoolboy level than at professional level. An automatic professional red card should most definitely also be an automatic schoolboy red card. If you lose your school a game because of your red card, you may be more careful next time? What is still missing from schoolboy rugby is a ban from playing for a further number of matches, depending on the severity/ intention of the dangerous play that lead to a red card and a siting officer for incidents that were not picked up by the match officials.
Personally, I believe any action including noise and sledging by one team’s supporters to try to negatively influence the play of the opposition is unsportsmanlike and should be penalised on the field. If your team’s players are not jeering, booing, whistling and sledging why should their supporters be allowed to do so for them?
At schoolboy level I think coaching should happen on the practice field, but your captain and team should be responsible for on-field decision-making. The coaching staff can then give strategic input at halftime. World rugby has clamped down on the scourge of feigned injuries to get messages from physios and water-carriers onto the field for good reason. (The end-state of this trend would have been to have the players play with ear-pieces and microphones!)
In terms of player development the end-result will then more likely be thinking players, playing heads-up rugby that reacts instinctively to the match-situations they are presented with?
@OUD ANKER: toe ek by Kovsies was as jy die rev gexhirp het het hy n strafskop teen jou span toegeken op die middelkolletjie
@Smallies: In some koshuis rugby the ref is also fair game!
@Asterix: in koshuis rugby everone exept the rev is fair game ….
S&C and team medical staff are now also mic’d up and roam all four lines of the field and also go onto the field to give ‘treatment’ directly to players.
I once got very pissed when the opposition did this but the guy also started chatting to the ref
…that’s where I also got on the field and told the ref that this was an unfair advantage.
@beet: Beet, I spoke to a kicker and asked if he notices the crowd and he said for him it was much more difficult when everyone was not making any noise, he said he was almost waiting for someone to suddenly make a noise. I prefer the silence at shools where there is still some respect showing. a Friend’s son was playing “koshuis” rugby earlier this month at a university, when he was throwing in at the line-outs the senior students next to the field would scream and some even pulled the laces on his boots, all in good fun off course. I think hookers are generally less intimidated then Kickers
@beet: yes but now it’s so bloody funny hearing the chirps from the boys,some of them are hilarious…
Personally I don’t think the issue is hearing a lineout call. Today’s hooker has to be good technically. Accuracy and timing are vital.
Many years ago Kearsney had a player named Jordan Meaker. His accuracy was incredible. Always on the money. Even the following year when he played for the Sharks u19s. Since lineout work has been an area of the game where Kearsney has struggled much, years later I asked how Meaker had got it right and was told that he spent as much time practicing his throw-ins as the place kicker would spending in place-kicking practice.
Imagine a SBR world where everyone respected the pre-throw-in ritual of a hooker and kept quiet, only to cheer or aaaah depending on the success of the throw.
Massive pressure. Would it improve the lineout play?
Kantako is definitely right. Lineouts are vital to success.
@Smallies: Ek stem, lynstaan tekens word nie meer uitgeroep nie, so ek het geen probleem as ‘n haker gemock en verskree word as hy 1m van die opposisie ondersteuners die bal moet ingooi nie, dis deel van die atmosfeer, maar dan waardeer ek wel dat ‘n skopper gerespekteer word as hy aanlê pale toe, dit vir my is weer die gentleman deel van ons game van ruggas. Kudos daar vir die Affie skare verlede Saterdag. Mens kon ‘n speld hoor val toe beide Affie en Garsie skoppers aangelê het pale toe. Wat betref hoofafrigters/hulpafrigters agter die pale, waarom nie? Solank hulle die ander span spelers en wedstryd beamptes respekteer het ek geen probleem daarmee nie.
@Mate: 🤣
Ek dink die lynstaan kwessie is deesdae irellevant want lynstaan tekens word nie meer gegee na die vorming van n lynstaan nie ,as die laaties in stap weet almal klaar presies wat die tekens is ….dit kan wel baie baie unsettling vir n hakker wees as hy persoonlik gemock word terwyl hy daar staan en reguit moet gooi🤣🤣🤣
If I was a coach I would have been the water boy, like Rassie
The coach should be as close to the game as possible
If I was the Monnas waterboy I would have had a rottang with me as well
@beet as far as assistant coaches : any coaching staff should be in the technical area. Only MEDICALLY QUALIFIED doctors and Physiotherapist are allowed to roam the field. No S&C coach is allowed to roam the field. I see too many (even Affies) having an assistant coach or S&C coach roam the field. But I guess like anything else. Play the ref 🤷🏼♂️🤷🏼♂️
Silence for kickers : more points, much more points are scored from Line Out mauls than kicks at goal at schoolboy level. So you are right the line out is even more important then the kick. But my own opinion is that rugby is entertainment and having the crowd chant and sing adds to the great atmosphere. Besides at training no one shuts up when the hookers or kickers practice, so they should be able to get used to noise and block it out. At the Superbowl im sure the noise is electric in the stadium during a quarter back throw or a field goal, I might be wrong.
Anyway it is trends seen on TV. If crowds next to the LIV golf course start screaming mid shot and golfers still hit good shots everyone else will follow, if people sing and shout during Wimbledon everyone else will follow. If Twickenham crowd goes mad while Marcus Smith kicks a goal, he will still miss.
Just crossing my mind now. Ive never during a 7s tournament seen crowd go quite and sit down when a kicker attempts a conversion ??