With the aid of Grey College results available on Nelio’s website rugby15.co.za (link: http://www.rugby15.co.za/2011/06/grey-college-1st-xv-school-rugby-historic-results-overview-from-1894-2011/ ) I’ve compiled two tables ranking their 1st XV’s from 1992 – 2013 (5-point try era) and 1972 – 1991 (4-point try era).
The reason for splitting the rankings into two parts is to do with 5-point tries came into play in 1992 and the ranking system used being dependent on points difference per game (PD/game).
2007 was an amazing year for Grey College. Arguably their best of the modern era. But just look at the records of the 1980 and 1981 teams. They must have been something else.
|
Rank |
Year |
P |
W |
D |
L |
Result% |
PF |
PA |
PD |
PD/Game |
|
1 |
2007 |
15 |
15 |
0 |
0 |
100.0% |
828 |
141 |
687 |
46 |
|
2 |
1995 |
14 |
14 |
0 |
0 |
100.0% |
660 |
129 |
531 |
38 |
|
3 |
2003 |
16 |
16 |
0 |
0 |
100.0% |
641 |
125 |
516 |
32 |
|
4 |
2010 |
17 |
17 |
0 |
0 |
100.0% |
714 |
186 |
528 |
31 |
|
5 |
2008 |
15 |
15 |
0 |
0 |
100.0% |
624 |
168 |
456 |
30 |
|
6 |
2002 |
17 |
17 |
0 |
0 |
100.0% |
645 |
143 |
502 |
30 |
|
7 |
1999 |
19 |
19 |
0 |
0 |
100.0% |
709 |
187 |
522 |
27 |
|
8 |
2001 |
23 |
22 |
1 |
0 |
97.8% |
741 |
150 |
591 |
26 |
|
9 |
2000 |
20 |
19 |
0 |
1 |
95.0% |
856 |
172 |
684 |
34 |
|
10 |
1997 |
20 |
19 |
0 |
1 |
95.0% |
693 |
170 |
523 |
26 |
|
11 |
2011 |
19 |
17 |
2 |
0 |
94.7% |
752 |
216 |
536 |
28 |
|
12 |
2009 |
16 |
15 |
0 |
1 |
93.8% |
687 |
95 |
592 |
37 |
|
13 |
1998 |
21 |
19 |
0 |
2 |
90.5% |
677 |
174 |
503 |
24 |
|
14 |
2013 |
20 |
18 |
0 |
2 |
90.0% |
864 |
260 |
604 |
30 |
|
15 |
2004 |
16 |
14 |
0 |
2 |
87.5% |
690 |
185 |
505 |
32 |
|
16 |
2012 |
17 |
14 |
0 |
3 |
82.4% |
558 |
279 |
279 |
16 |
|
17 |
2006 |
19 |
15 |
1 |
3 |
81.6% |
637 |
158 |
479 |
25 |
|
18 |
1993 |
19 |
15 |
1 |
3 |
81.6% |
558 |
181 |
377 |
20 |
|
19 |
2005 |
15 |
12 |
0 |
3 |
80.0% |
481 |
191 |
290 |
19 |
|
20 |
1992 |
16 |
12 |
0 |
4 |
75.0% |
390 |
119 |
271 |
17 |
|
21 |
1996 |
17 |
12 |
0 |
5 |
70.6% |
502 |
207 |
295 |
17 |
|
22 |
1994 |
21 |
13 |
0 |
8 |
61.9% |
513 |
334 |
179 |
9 |
|
TOTAL |
22 |
392 |
349 |
5 |
38 |
89.7% |
14420 |
3970 |
10450 |
27 |
|
Rank |
Year |
P |
W |
D |
L |
Result% |
PF |
PA |
PD |
PD/Game |
|
1 |
1981 |
13 |
13 |
0 |
0 |
100.0% |
661 |
59 |
602 |
46 |
|
2 |
1980 |
17 |
17 |
0 |
0 |
100.0% |
738 |
80 |
658 |
39 |
|
3 |
1975 |
16 |
16 |
0 |
0 |
100.0% |
544 |
80 |
464 |
29 |
|
4 |
1987 |
15 |
15 |
0 |
0 |
100.0% |
523 |
105 |
418 |
28 |
|
5 |
1977 |
17 |
17 |
0 |
0 |
100.0% |
602 |
152 |
450 |
26 |
|
6 |
1982 |
12 |
12 |
0 |
0 |
100.0% |
394 |
80 |
314 |
26 |
|
7 |
1986 |
15 |
15 |
0 |
0 |
100.0% |
504 |
134 |
370 |
25 |
|
8 |
1989 |
13 |
13 |
0 |
0 |
100.0% |
409 |
93 |
316 |
24 |
|
9 |
1988 |
19 |
18 |
1 |
0 |
97.4% |
722 |
114 |
608 |
32 |
|
10 |
1990 |
17 |
16 |
1 |
0 |
97.1% |
702 |
96 |
606 |
36 |
|
11 |
1972 |
19 |
18 |
0 |
1 |
94.7% |
517 |
180 |
337 |
18 |
|
12 |
1973 |
17 |
16 |
0 |
1 |
94.1% |
436 |
124 |
312 |
18 |
|
13 |
1976 |
16 |
15 |
0 |
1 |
93.8% |
468 |
76 |
392 |
25 |
|
14 |
1983 |
11 |
10 |
0 |
1 |
90.9% |
326 |
44 |
282 |
26 |
|
15 |
1985 |
19 |
17 |
0 |
2 |
89.5% |
503 |
135 |
368 |
19 |
|
16 |
1974 |
18 |
16 |
0 |
2 |
88.9% |
449 |
101 |
348 |
19 |
|
17 |
1984 |
15 |
13 |
0 |
2 |
86.7% |
520 |
144 |
376 |
25 |
|
18 |
1978 |
14 |
12 |
0 |
2 |
85.7% |
462 |
140 |
322 |
23 |
|
19 |
1979 |
13 |
11 |
0 |
2 |
84.6% |
371 |
108 |
263 |
20 |
|
20 |
1991 |
12 |
10 |
0 |
2 |
83.3% |
474 |
95 |
379 |
32 |
|
TOTAL |
20 |
308 |
290 |
2 |
16 |
94.5% |
10325 |
2140 |
8185 |
27 |
@Tjoppa: Ja, om op hulle trappies te gaan skuit.@Andre T: Wie is Valentine? Nimrod se sussie?Daai klompie was bietjie my junior. Maar ek weet die wedstryd daai jaar het in n goeie fight ontaard. Hulle het dit begin, maar GCB het dit gewen- die fight en die wedstryd en dit geeindig.
@JPS_10: And if you ask him to name one standout event in his life. He will tell you being at Affies.
@Andre T: Bog was at Oranje Meisies but would have fitted in better at Grey. That explains him being infatuated with Grey College Bloemfontein.
Happy Valentine’s Day to the Class of 71 at Oranje Meisies and to Bog
AB de Villiers played flyhalf for the Affies 1st team in 2002 as well as for the Blue Bulls CW side.
@Andre T: if we lose, Biff is gone! Amla needs to find form quickly too…
I repeat…………….The end of an era……………
@Grasshopper: we seems to start bady all the time, India last year, Aus in 2012, Eng 2011 – all started so badly and still managed to win!
@Roger: OK, we have to fight for a draw now, maybe even to avoid the follow on…..jeez we kak when we think we are good. Heads to far up our own asses….nice wake up call hopefully…
double f###!
@Grasshopper: Bog will knock you out if you dis Mclaren
personally – in this test, I would have gone with seven batsmen (De Kock, Elgar or Stiaan Van Zyl) and Kyle Abbott as the fourth seamer – no spinner neccessary – I don’t know why we pretend we have one! Last good spinner SA had was Denys Hobson – not even Kourie was that good
@Roger: De Kock as an opener in Test cricket? Must be joking. But Im all for his inclusion though, with Amla opening and De Kock as w/k and batting 6@Andre T: You write, Houlding were a grate bouler !@Roger: Well, he will certainly get the chance in this test, unless they declare on 450/4 to make a match out of it.
@Roger: Pieterson is not test material anymore and Biff may have a year left. AB too take over captaincy, bring in de Kock as opener and find a decent spinner…..maybe even play Parnell for the lefty variation instead of McLaren or Robbie P…
@Grasshopper: love De Kock – just not sure about him in the test arena yet? If Peterson plays another shot like the one that dismissed him though we may see De Kock sooner rather than later!
this Affies fellow is making the Aus seam attack look like 3rd league trundlers.
The other Affies fellow and the KES fellow made them look unplayable!
The DHS fellow got a pearla
all is not lost – they were 80 odd for 4 too
need a big partnership
@BOG: can the Grey Bloem fellow bat a bit? We will see soon enough!
Bog you remind me of a test match between the Windies and England with Michael Holding ‘bouling’ to Peter Willey and the commentator, could have been Boycott, said………..’the bowler is Holding the batsman’s Willey’
@BOG: I think you should rather comment on Ten Pin ‘Bouling’ or maybe ‘rouing’ the ’bout’ ashore
I was reminded of the song, “Roll over Beethoven” Having watched Johnson boul, I think that Steyn should boul spin.
@Andre T:
and you can be chief selector.
@Roger: I have seen some new batting techniques on display. If I may, use ATs slogan, from a while back- “Swat the Fly”, “Swipe at the Fly”. If this comes from our opening batsmen, I wonder what we can expect from the tailenders?
@Playa: At least he didn’t wipe out his family
@BOG: Never mind the analogy Boggie, my only point is don’t justify one crime, by putting it amongst other crimes to make it look ‘not so bad’. I too am proud of Hansie fo all his achievements. He made a blunder, he is human, and like any other, he is not immune from making mistakes.
Tsolekile to captain the side
The end of an era upon us. Time to get more Grey and St Stithians players in the Protea set up
@Roger: Maybe time to give deKock a go as keeper and opener in the Adam Gilchrist mould…whack em!
@Roger: Fek!!
F###!
@BOG: now how’s that for a staement from Biff – first ball pulled in front of square for four!
@Andre T: keep the faith Andre T – keep the faith
@Playa: I think that using a rapist to compare him with what Hansie did, is a bit over the top, especially in a country where we have a rape every 4 minutes. But we are proud of him, for sure. If a “balance sheet” was drawn up for all of us, I have no doubt that Hansies one will out perform most of us. And if you want to see just how proud we are of him, go and watch his funeral again.@star: Then you have Ryan McClaren just taking a wicket and Mitchell Johnson in all kinds of bother, you replace him with Morkel who concedes 9 runs ?????????
@ Roger- actually it was a very poor decision with our main strike bowler under the weather and Australia being able to capitalise on their better spinning options later in the match. Also it gave those Aussies ammunition to pump up their pace attack in that SA must have been in 2 minds to face it. Never ever give an Aussie even half a gap.
Long Live Hansie
@BOG: Hahahaha BOGGIE! A rapist that admits to his crime is no better than the next rapist. He’s still a rapist. Don’t sugar coat his actions. He was wrong, he apologised, we forgave him. End of story
@Roger: I think this series will be the end of the Protea reign. Sad but true. All good things come to and end
@BOG: weeelllll – we will agree to disagree on Hansie then
but won’t disagree on Biff bowling first – thought it was wrong call too
@Roger: We are very proud of him. He made mistakes and admitted it. He did nothing worse than Warne and Waugh and certainly did not dip his fingers into the SAC bank account , to help himself to “bonuses” as the case with former “illustrious” administrators- the ones who gathered at the hearings like sanctimonious vultures. But speaking of captains, did they use grass pitches or a mat at KES? Biff seems to have a major problem in reading a pitch, or am I wrong?
@BOG: I;m not too sure Grey would be all that stoked with the way the 1987 rugby player / cricket captain turned out?
@Andre T: I would have thought that having received an undeserved Free State education, you would be in a position to tell the difference between “being infatuated” and being loyal. You must have either cribbed your way through matric, or did it in the Transvaal.
From what I’ve observed the last 4 years, is it safe to say that Bog is infatuated with Grey College Bloemfontein?
I think if anybody had any doubts about Grey Bloem this will answer any question they are simply the best.
Have seen Grey Bloem teams since 1969 and they have always being good I would say 1981/1973 and 2007 must be the better teams I have seen but Grey had some great teams long before that.
@Grasshopper: I think that all it says is that the step up through each subsequent level to senior pro is significant and that deficiencies that can be carried at schoolboy level eventually are found out if individuals don’t work hard to overcome them. I remember that Craven Week well and leaving aside some dodgy selections for reasons other than rugby many of those guys were outstanding schoolboy players notwithstanding their failure to progress much beyond U19-21.
Nick Koster and Marnus Schoeman in the SA Schools side come to mind as two of whom much was expected. Others like Earl Snyman and Riaan Arendse would stand out on any schoolboy rugby field.
@BOG: Read for once in your live the historical facts is awesome the future time will only tell.
@Tjoppa: And their win ratio vs Grey? Its “ave” only if you are cockney, but “have” if you are not.
@Tjoppa: You asked the question if the other schools have caught up with GCB. Only time will tell and that is assuming that Grey has gone to sleep ito of advances made. To catch up with them, AND KEEP UP WITH THEM, other schools will have to advance more quickly than Grey . Knowing them, that wont be easy !
@BOG: Grammar Bog it is sister schools.
@Playa: Same with other schools who have their bad years. See Affies ave up to 88% if you take away their worst 3 years. Meant nothing bad it was just interesting to note. Also interesting was 2011,12 and 13 was not where we used to see them. Therefore simple question is the competition catching? I think so.
@meadows: It also tells me that the SA schools selectors got it VERY wrong that year. Smith was not a regular 1st team player, but got SA schools for Q reasons.@Grasshopper: Interestingly, the best performing NZ school, and the one which has produced most ABs, is Auckland Grammar, “brother” school of GCB and Grey High. All three founded by Sir George Grey. Sir George left SA and went on to become the first PM of New Zealand. There is a statue of him in a park in Auckland with a school badge of Grey on the pedestal. Just for interest sake !
@Tjoppa: I wouldn’t read much into that. That stat is skewed by the 1992, 1994 and 1996 teams which lost 17 games between them. And that was some time ago. If those were in closer years, I’d also ask the question. Look at the 2000’s for example. Very consistent with the old days.
Points difference per game are also consistent. I think it is more a case of teams improving along with Grey, albeit at a constant pace. Though one might name a couple of schools that were historically not competitive with Grey, but are now up there with them. At the same time, there are those who used to be competitive and have fallen off the radar.
@Grasshopper: With level what do you mean? Please advise.
Affies win ratio is 84% not bad for a 2nd rated school hey Hopper.
@meadows: wow, only a handful have gone on to succeed at profession level, scary really!
@RBugger: agreed, no school can compare with consistently amazing results over such long periods of time. All the others have good years but nowhere near this. Affies have done similarly well over the past 20 years but not at this kind of level. A loss to Grey by 50 in a strong year is actually OK. If only the top Kiwi school played Grey every year we could prove to world how strong our schoolboy rugby really is….
Simply the best School Boy Rugby Institute that has ever been.
We all like to brag about our individual teams and years, but if you are a Grey Boy, you do not need to say a word, the results speak for themselves.
What an unbelievable school, Grey Boys can all be very proud of their achievments
@BOG: I think that you have look at the performance as schoolboys. Many outstanding schoolboys do not progress much after school while others come through later like a Cobus Reinach or even Butch James.
Here are the SA Schools and SA Academy teams picked from that 2007 Craven Week – given that these guys are all 25 this year it is interesting to see how many have progressed or not.
SA Schools Team 2007:
01. Dale Chadwick (KwaZulu-Natal)
02. Johan Oberholzer (Golden Lions)
03. Julian Redelinghuys (Golden Lions)
04. Marchand van Rooyen (Golden Lions)
05. Cornell Hess (Blue Bulls)
06. Marnus Schoeman (Blue Bulls)
07. Roelof Pienaar (Free State)
08. Nicolas Koster (Western Province)
09. Rudy Paige (Capt, Golden Lions)
10. Marnitz Boshoff (Pumas)
11. Ompile Marotothe (Blue Bulls)
12. Robert Ebersohn (Free State)
13. Earl Snyman (SWD)
14. Riaan Arendse (Eastern Province)
15. Patrick Lambie (KwaZulu-Natal)
Replacements
16. Sibi Masina (Pumas)
17. Coenraad Oosthuizen (Free State)
18. Kene Ockafor (KwaZulu-Natal)
19. Moeka Bolofo (Free State)
20. Kelvano King (Eastern Province)
21. Yondela Stampu (Blue Bulls)
22. Hadley Smith (Free State)
SA Schools Academy Team 2007:
01. Caylib Oosthuizen (SWD)
02. Frank Herne (Free State)
03. Peet Vorster (Blue Bulls)
04. Mlungisi Bali (Blue Bulls)
05. Meiring de Clerq (Pumas)
06. Byron Booysen (Griquas)
07. Wimpie van der Walt (Pumas)
08. Christiaan Stander (Capt, SWD)
09. Ross Cronje (Kwazulu-Natal)
10. Josias Ebersohn (Free State)
11. Blake Mecuur (Golden Lions)
12. Simphiwe Mtimkulu (Blue Bulls)
13. Bongi Luvuno (Pumas)
14. Alec Mhlanga (Limpopo Blue Bulls)
15. Damien Janse van Rensburg (Golden Lions)
Replacements
16. Martin Bezuindenhout (Leopards)
17. Trevor Nyakane (Limpopo Blue Bulls)
18. Pieter Labuschagne (Free State)
19. Tendayi Chikukwa (Blue Bulls)
20. Justin Claassen (Griffons)
21. Itaello Cupido (Eastern Province)
22. Gideon Helberg (Pumas)
@Grasshopper: And you would never guess which side came closest to beating the 2007 side- DHS. I think the score was 21-6
@Grasshopper: I need to tap my brain(sic) here- Im going by memory. 1 Richard Harris 2 Frank Herne 3 Coenie O 4 Lappies Labuschagne 5 ?? 6 Pienaar 7 Boom Prinsloo 8 Adriaan Thesinger 9 Sakkie Muller 10 Sias Ebersohn 11 ? 12 Robert Ebersohn 13 ?? 14 ?? 15 George Whitehead
5 years and 79 games unbeaten from 1986 – 1990.
This must be a world record of some sort.
Wonder who the 2 schools were that drew in ’88 & ’90 ??
Great record.
Here are the Grey 1stXv results from 1981 – in some of my mates opinions the finest Grey side. Interesting to see how the fixture list has changed over the years!
1981 Grey College 24 vs Welkom Gimnasium 3
1981 Grey College 44 vs Hoër Landbou Kroonstad 0
1981 Grey College 25 vs UOVS (u19) 4
1981 Grey College 100 vs Tweespruit 3
1981 Grey College 28 vs Sentraal Hoërskool 9
1981 Grey College 58 vs Jim Fouché Hoërskool 3
1981 Grey College 30 vs JBM Hertzog 3
1981 Grey College 46 vs Queens College 6
1981 Grey College 64 vs Sand du Plessis Hoërskool 9
1981 Grey College 100 vs Dr Viljoen 0
1981 Grey College 50 vs Grey High School (PE) 7
1981 Grey College 48 vs HTS Louis Botha 6
1981 Grey College 44 vs Florida 6
The 81 side produced 6 SA Schools players including Helgard Muller and the late Gerbrand Grobler
@Grasshopper: The Ebersohn twins, Coenie Oosthuizen, Boom Prinsloo and Pieter Labuschange amongst others. I agree with Bog’s assessment of them as a schoolboys side.
They were outstanding as OFS at Craven Week where I was fortunate enough to see them. They thrashed a very good WP side (52-3) led by Nick Koster that included Johann Sadie and Danie Poolman at centre, Jurgen Visser, Rossouw de Klerk, Yasiir Hartzenberg and Sidney Tobias
Can we then from these statistics accept that Grey’s overall success rate is falling, 1972 – 1991 a 94.5% winning ratio and 1992 – 2013 a ratio of 89.7%. Although we must admit that anything above 85% is an amazing achievement. I ave to ask the question – is the rest catching Grey.
Yowza! Most schools would consider a 60 to 70% win ratio as a good season, for Grey that is considered a kak season. 15 unbeaten seasons in 42 years, jeez! Who was in the 2007 team?
Oh yes, and apart from the 5 Springboks, the captain of the 1987 side, went on to become the SA cricket captain.
How do you actually compare two or more teams? How they performed as school boys or what players in those teams achieved since leaving school? Both the 1981 and 1987 teams eventually produced 5 Springboks each, although I would agree that as school boys, the team of 2007 was not only the best Grey side, but certainly the best school side that I have seen- and I have seen a few in my lifetime. But however you look at things, a phenomenal record overall.