Rankings 101:
Some Bloggers still don’t understand the concept of earning points per match according to the category ranked school you play and that the ranking is thus formula driven and not “adjusted” by BHP as seen fit. It is as simple as this: If you played and won high category schools you will have higher average points per game.
The idea that BHP has “given in to pressure” about Affies is absolute nonsense and absurd. Affies earned it by playing and beating Category 4 and 5 schools well and thus earning a slightly higher average game-point. Paarl Gim will most probably overtake them again if they win Interschools as Boishaai have a 5 point scalp!
The schools categories have been based on average rankings over the last 3 years and yes it is debatable, but at least it is based on something and not a thumbsuck. Most of the schools will give you a median of 3 category points for a win, some of the better ones will give you 4 to 4,5 points and the Top 10 will give you 5 points for a win. % Bonus points for losing with less than 7 etc and winning by more than 30 is also applicable and thus it calculates your average points gained per match.
One more thing..All other Schools not listed in the list will only earn you 1 category point
Schools and Categories
| School | CP | School | CP | School | CP | School | CP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AHS (Affies) | 5 | Alberton | 3 | Landboudal | 3 | Andrew Rabie | 2 |
| Glenwood | 5 | Bellville | 3 | Lord Wandsworth | 3 | Augsberg | 2 |
| Grey College | 5 | Ben Vorster | 3 | Marlow | 3 | Charlie Hofmeyer | 2 |
| Grey PE | 5 | Brackenfell | 3 | Menlopark | 3 | De Kuilen | 2 |
| HJS Paarl | 5 | Centurion | 3 | Michaelhouse | 3 | Despatch | 2 |
| Monument | 5 | Daniel Pienaar | 3 | Middelburg | 3 | DF Malan | 2 |
| Outeniqua | 5 | De Vos Malan | 3 | Millfield | 3 | Die Anker | 2 |
| Paarl Gim | 5 | DHS | 3 | Milnerton | 3 | Dinamika | 2 |
| Paul Roos | 5 | Diamantveld | 3 | Montana | 3 | Dr Malan | 2 |
| Waterkloof | 5 | Die Brandwag | 3 | Nico Malan | 3 | Gill | 2 |
| Boland Landbou | 4.5 | Duineveld | 3 | Oudtshoorn | 3 | Hermanus | 2 |
| EG Jansen | 4.5 | Durbanville | 3 | Overkruin | 3 | HTS Bellville | 2 |
| Garsfontein | 4.5 | Eldoraigne | 3 | Patriot | 3 | HTS John Vorster | 2 |
| HTS Drostdy | 4.5 | Ermelo | 3 | Pietersburg | 3 | JG Meiring | 2 |
| Bishops | 4 | Fichardpark | 3 | Piketberg | 3 | Kingswood | 2 |
| Dale College | 4 | George Campbell | 3 | Port Natal | 3 | Langenhoven Gim | 2 |
| Florida | 4 | Gerrit Maritz | 3 | Potchefstroom Gimnasium | 3 | Lichtenburg | 2 |
| Framesby | 4 | Goudveld | 3 | Potchefstroom Volkskool | 3 | Linden | 2 |
| HTS Middelburg | 4 | Graeme College | 3 | Punt | 3 | Marais Viljoen | 2 |
| Jeppe | 4 | Grens | 3 | Randburg | 3 | Merensky | 2 |
| Kearsney | 4 | Harmony | 3 | Rob Ferreira | 3 | Muir College | 2 |
| KES | 4 | Heidelberg Volkskool | 3 | Rustenburg | 3 | Northwood | 2 |
| Maritzburg College | 4 | Helpmekaar | 3 | SACS | 3 | Parktown Boys | 2 |
| Nelspruit | 4 | Hentie Cilliers | 3 | San Isidro | 3 | Pearson | 2 |
| Noord-Kaap | 4 | Hilton | 3 | Sarel Cilliers | 3 | Pionier | 2 |
| Oakdale | 4 | HTS Louis Botha | 3 | Sentraal | 3 | PJ Olivier | 2 |
| Pretoria Boys High | 4 | Hugenote (Well) | 3 | Sharks Invitational | 3 | Potch Boys High | 2 |
| Queens College | 4 | Jacobsdal | 3 | Stellenberg | 3 | Rangers/Silvertree | 2 |
| Rondebosch | 4 | Jeugland | 3 | Strand | 3 | St Albans | 2 |
| Selborne | 4 | Jim Fouche | 3 | Swartland | 3 | St Benedicts | 2 |
| St Andrews | 4 | Kempton Park | 3 | TBC | 3 | St Charles | 2 |
| Tygerberg | 4 | Klein Nederburg | 3 | Transvalia | 3 | St Johns | 2 |
| Westville BHS | 4 | Klerksdorp | 3 | Trinityhouse | 3 | St Johns (Harare) | 2 |
| Wynberg BHS | 4 | Kroonstad (Blouskool) | 3 | Tuine | 3 | St Stithians | 2 |
| Tuine | 3 | Vryheid HS | 2 | ||||
| Union High | 3 | ||||||
| Upington | 3 | ||||||
| Voortrekker (Bethlehem) | 3 | ||||||
| Welkom Gim | 3 | ||||||
| Wesvalia | 3 | ||||||
| Windhoek High | 3 | ||||||
| Worcester Gim | 3 |
Why is Hudson Park not on the above list they are better and have beaten a lot of the Cat 3 and 2 schools in the border area they are definelty this year the school after Selborne and Queens even I would say this year above Dale. I see De Vos Malan and Grens are Cat 3 school which is a joke at best the are 1,s.
@BOG: yes that is what one of their coaches said,i watched them kill Selborne 2nd’s by 70 odd and i hear they put 100 over Grey PE,
@QC86: They certainly are. Many are calling for a match with the firsts. But, I dont think that will happen. There might just be too many red faces if the result does not go according to “predictions” Was it not you who said that the difference between the two sides, lie by the forwards? Im not close to the side, or even Bloem for that matter, so Im not sure what the distribution is between grade 11 and 12s. Hopefully all Gr. 11s !
@Djou: OK OK I will get out of the closet. I am the reason Affies is currently no 1 and is not ashamed of it. I simply send a video of the Boere Barbarians in action in Durbs with a video of some of the Barbarians in front of his house while his lovely wife and children were inside. All I can say with my head held high “It worked”
@BOG: please tell me they all in grade 12 this year
@BOG: flip those cherries are hot this year,
Clearly, the problem lies with the categorisation of the schools, as Djou rightly confirms. On wednesday the Grey Cherries (2nd team) played Sand du Plessis, a school which by the standards above, would be about a 4 or 3 and after 25 minutes, the match was stopped with the score on 58- 6. Would be interesting to see where the Cherries (and some other 2nd teams) would slot in on this list, using these criteria?
@Vleis: 100% correct. Another problem stemming from this is if the categorisation is incorrect, the gap between top schools playing the top ranked and top schools playing “wrongly lower ranked good schools” will grow larger. In addition, a school e.g ranked 20th and losing by 1 point agaist e.g. the top ranked school clearly shows the flaw. I counted at least 22 schools that can and should be so called category 1 teams – if a formula is to be used. The only internationally accepted method to categorise (when all doesn’t play all) is to ask the schools in each region to rank the schools in their region, but they may not rank their own school – from there regional rankings are compiled. Then, the top schools in each region is categorised as top, medium or lower. And then you earn points. Using history distorts everything and will benefit certain regions more – as you noted.
@Djou: It is certainly biased in favour of the Western Cape as there are many weak WC teams being ranked at Cat 3.
I made the comment on BHP giving in to pressure and I am not ashamed to admit it.
I also mentioned the methodological flaws in the way the rankings are done.
Many of them such as confusing a school’s performance over a period with that of a team in one year, the way schools are categorised (which will have a huge impact on the scores), etc. For instance, Kempton Park won the Beeld trophy last year but is not a top category school; in addition a large number of the Tuks/Nupower schools, which in actual fact largely resemble the top 16 in the old Transvaal (barring Affies and Waterkloof) are only ranked in the 4th category from top. Furthermore, schools play in leagues and therefore their fixtures are determined. So, if eg top Gauteng schools play a BHP determined lower ranked category school as a result of the league’s fixtures, they are penalised compared to eg the Cape schools who have 5 participants in the top 10. Waterkloof eg must play lots of lower ranked schools in the league and will therefore lose out to the 5 Cape schools who regularly play each other. The formula therefore allows for the gap to grow. Why also only 10 schools in the top category – was the number formula calculated or thumb suck. Many better ways exist to rank the schools in categories rather than the performance of the past 3 years – this way penalises a good team and will grow the gap between the top 10 and the rest. I am going to stop now because I – and lots of others will get bored.
So, Oakdale behoort lekker te klim op die ranglys as hulle die naweek met Paul Roos afreken
Aaah, I see the problem now. The fatal flaw is the way the schools are categorised. I appreciate that it is a difficult process, but there is absolutely no way that many of the Cat 3 schools (e.g. Picketberg, Milnerton, Jeugland, Strand, Swartland, Trinityhouse, Union High, Port Natal to name just a few) should be above many of the Cat 2 schools (e.g. all the Saints schools). Indeed, there is a strong argument that many should be below said Cat 2 schools – e.g. DHS is Cat 3, but got beaten by 30 points v Parktown this year, which is Cat 2. I accept that this is just a single example, but it illustrates the point. Trinity House may have fluked a win over a weak KES team this year, but I don’t think that they have ever beaten any of the Saints teams.
I’m sure that the logic applies elsewhere, albeit it is probably more accurate in Cat 5 and 4. That said, recent past reputations could also cause anomalies in current year rankings.
Anyhoo, no big deal…at least now I know where some of the anomalies come from in a ‘mathematical’ process. I guess that there is no way of escaping subjectivity in any ranking!
Hartseer om te noem maar drie platelandse skole wie in die verlede hond sterk was, Ermelo, Pietersburg en Rob Ferreira van Witrivier, se rugby het die afgelope 10 jaar so agteruit gegaan dat hulle waarskynlik binnekort na kategorie 2 skole af behoort te skuif.
@Ploegskaar: Bonuspunte is maar n % van die kategoriepunt en is daar om relatiewe sterkte van die skool te beloon. Die 1 punt verloor van Paul Roos teen HJS kan mos nou nie vir PRG nul punte in die sak bring nie…Hulle het teen n baie sterk skool amper gewen…hulle verdien darem n punt of twee!
Mooi duidelik uiteengesit en verduidelik soos altyd. Die bonuspunte vir verloor en groot wen is in my opinie egter ‘n onnodige byvoeging. Die ranglys penaliseer ook nie spanne wat minder speel of vroeg ophou speel nie, of hoe? Hierdie is ‘n rugbyranglys vir rugbyskole, so moffieskole en sokkerboewe behoort nie beloon te word vir slapgat en bang wees nie. Goeie waarde vir geld om Boland tans te speel, 2013 seisoen in ag genome, maar behoort darem volgende jaar net 4 werd te wees, of wat praat ek?