Carl Spilhaus, the highly rated King Edward VII School rugby head coach was recently appointed as the school’s new Head of Rugby. He is just a few months into the job and although he has a lot on his plate at this time of the year, all indications are that he is thoroughly enjoying the new challenge. In terms of rugby coaching outside of KES, Carl is very active. Apart from being involved in the Golden Lions Craven Week and Academy Week setups over the years, he has now taken on a Varsity Cup role as well where he assists Wits with the campaign. At KES two up and coming coaches Jonathan Jacobs and Mziwakhe Nkosi, both dedicated Old Boys of the school will assist Carl with 1st XV rugby. There is also a change in the KES approach to rugby with specialist coaches being used in a number of areas going forward. The Red Army will have to hit the ground running in 2014 because their regular season starts with a bang on 22 March – a Jukskei River battle against old rivals Pretoria Boys High. The match is one of the biggest on the annual calendar and a huge crowd puller, which isn’t that surprising given the passion and quality of rugby on display during this intercity derby. So an extremely tough first up match awaits KES, who are yet to finalise their warm-up programme but do have the benefit of not being affected by cricket and water polo player commitments this year. Apart from their traditional inter-schools matches, KES will take part in three rugby festivals including their own successful tournament this year. Their debut at the Wildeklawer SuperSkole in Kimberley will no doubt be a highlight of the season. KES rugby fixtures for 2014
| DAY | DATE | SCHOOL | SCHOOL | FESTIVAL | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat | 22/03/2014 | KES | Pretoria BH | |||
| Sat | 29/03/2014 | Selborne | KES | Grey PE Fest | ||
| Mon | 31/03/2014 | KES | DHS | Grey PE Fest | ||
| Sat | 12/04/2014 | KES | St John’s | |||
| Thu | 17/04/2014 | KES | Rondebosch | KES Festival | ||
| Sat | 19/04/2014 | KES | Queen’s | KES Festival | ||
| Mon | 21/04/2014 | KES | Northwood | KES Festival | ||
| Mon | 28/04/2014 | Paul Roos | KES | Wildeklawer Super Skole | ||
| Wed | 30/04/2014 | KES | Noord-Kaap | Wildeklawer Super Skole | ||
| Sat | 10/05/2014 | KES | Maritzburg College | |||
| Sat | 17/05/2014 | KES | Affies | |||
| Sat | 24/05/2014 | Westville | KES | |||
| Sat | 31/05/2014 | KES | St Alban’s | |||
| Sat | 07/06/2014 | Pretoria BH | KES | |||
| Sat | 14/06/2014 | KES | St Stithians | |||
| Sat | 26/07/2014 | Jeppe | KES | |||
| Sat | 02/08/2014 | Parktown | KES | |||
| Wed | 06/08/2014 | Monument | KES |
@rugbyfan: @Queenian: I don’t think any of those games are predictable.I’ll be happy with getting one over the kudu at reunion.
The junior sides will definitely struggle. Too many players lost
@Playa: @rugbyfan: All games between our 3 school are hard fought affairs.
@Playa: Actually think all the games between Dale/Queens/Selborne will be like 3 point games this year all very close anyone of the games could go anyway.
The folks at Dale seem very confident about the 1st team although they say that Under14/15/16 will all struggle this year.
@rugbyfan: @DC ARMY: I hope what you’ve seen can translate into something special come game time.I’ll take anything that beats the 2013 season.
@Rugbyfan and @Playa, yep it does seem that Dale will have a pretty good backline year, but as for your predictions Rugbyfan only time will tell.
@Playa: Hey mate went past Dale the other day and I did see the Winnaar boy there which is good things looked good at training I think Dale might just be the dark horse for top spot on the Border this year Selborne and Queens have basically new teams I think Selborne only 3 back and Queens only 6 back.
So the bragging rights might just be yours.
@Grasshopper:
I was just missing you mate
@Bonthuis: yep, but that ain’t my decision. I don’t agree with it at all. I think this fixture list is well balanced and just enough…
@Grasshopper: …and guess who falls flat on their face by insisting on the powerhouse fixture list every year??
@Playa: Mate, it’s KES’s first time at Wildeklawer and they added Affies and Monnas 2 years ago, prior to that is was a powder-puff fixture list..
@Roger:Ok I see
Ja hey…not much recovery time there. You guys will need a big squad.
@Playa: not sure – they tried 3rd term rugby in 2012 but it didnt go down well and it was off the table for 2013 so not sure what has caused the change of heart for 2014
it is a tough fixture list – especially the 6 games in 18 days in April (incl Wildeklawer) – hope the injury Gods are with us
Spilly has never lacked in ambition. Good luck to him…step in the right direction for one day getting provincial coaching honours.
@Roger: This is one tough fixture list by any standards. Disproves previous perceptions that KES avoids the big guns *side eyes Grassy*
I see you guys now play into the 3rd term? Or is it just because of all the holidays earlier in the year, so games have been moved up?
6 games between 12 April and 30 April – tough going for these boys
@Beet – I think that Menlopark fixture is incorrect on 14 June?