By Grasshopper
Many believe that today’s schoolboy players are far larger than 20 years ago. I agree that today due to improved supplements, gym programmes, professional trainers etc that the boys are physically better conditioned and the games have more ‘physicality’ if such a word actually exists. It seems to be all that commentators talk about these days. However, looking at some of the players that went through Glenwood in the 90’s when I was there, the facts seem to contradict a few of the assumptions. I arrived as a tiny 2nd former in 1992, the Glenwood 1st team was a very average one that year, playing 19 winning 9 and losing 10, mostly quite small margins. Their biggest loss that year was to Maritzburg College (9-42) and post matric laden Michaelhouse (3-39). They had good wins over Grey Cherries (14-10), Grey PE (8-7) and ran Corne Krige led Boishaai very close 3-10 at our own Ascension Festival. Anyway, point is the front row alone weighed close to 350kg, John Botha (110kg), Sean Kirton (110kg) and Leyton Pardey (125kg) were giants! Yes, their fat % may not have been in the single digits but they dwarfed a number of teachers. Also, both locks were close to 6foot6 and 100kg. These were not small boys. The year prior there was a player called Dom Sunjka who himself was a very big boy, around 110kg. He ended up playing high level club rugby for Collegians and bouncing at night clubs in Durban. Prior to then the biggest player to have played for Glenwood was BG ‘big Red’ Smith in 1984, at 17 years old he stood 6foot4 and weighed 108kg. Even by today’s standards he would have been pretty big. More recently Glenwood have had John Roy Jenkinson at 130kg and Joseph Potgieter at 120kg, but these guys to be honest were also a little overweight. It is probably more common these days to see 120kg props but they certainly were around in the 80’s and 90’s too. Paul de Bruyn from DHS 1992, the biggest schoolboy prop I have ever seen made up the KZN Schools front row with Leyton Pardey in 1992, he was honestly 135kg or more. They had to make him a custom blazer. His brother a lock too was another very big boy. JD Schickerling the lock of 2013 for me, was 2,03cm and 107kg not that much more than a lock in the 90’s…..just some food for thought…
Glenwood’s 1992 props Leyton Pardey and John Botha
@RugbyDad: Oops, only a hundred years out
@CRC: College side of 1884? The ship journey must have been long.
im sure that atleast 6 of Glenwoods forwards must be 100kgs plus this year, Kevin,Kenny,Percy,Jaco,Koos and Mac, im not sure of the new boys as i havnt had a chance to watch them this year now that ive moved up to Jhb.
i have to rely on all you KZN boys to keep up to date on the school rugga.
@RBugger: Outeniqua’s front row was comfortably over 370kg last year, Grundlingh the prop was 135kg on his own. Their pack was 840kg plus….massive! Both Doops were close to 110kg so yes big boys…
@CRC: You would certainly get around 3 or 4 over 100kgs.
KC, were by no means the biggest side around last year, but I do know that Maloi, both Doops and Schramm were all over 100kg, quite comfortably over in fact.
The Outenique pack were huge, they all looked 100kg plus!!!
Before the College side of 1884 went overseas on tour everyone was weighed. Not sure why? I would love to see those weights now but I clearly recall that there was only one player in the three figures and he was spot on 100 kgs. Then there were a few at around 95 kgs. I am sure that the side of 1985 had none over 100kgs, although they were an incredibly efficient scrumming unit, which showed when they scrummed Grey Bloem all over the park. Today you would expect at least 3 or 4 1st team players to be over 100 kgs.
@Tandem: seems to be chicken breasts, salmon, tuna, mackrel, eggs, steak and anything with protein in it…
@Grasshopper: Goodness Hopper what are you guys eating in KZN ?
Super 15 rugby sides seem to have packs close to 900kg or over, these days 800kg plus schoolboy packs are quite common.
i remember one of the u15 kids in the PRG team of 2yrs ago being actually nicknamed “109”.he is currently also over 130kg last time i heard…..kids out there are HUGE.
@BoishaaiPa: I watched the Varsity Cup Young guns final, that is about it..good game that ending up in a kick off..
Paul Willemse was about 130kg in school….smaller now that he has lost some puppy fat..
@Grasshopper: He is Os Hamman..Do you not watch Varsity Cup rugby?..He would not be classified as tall…
@BoishaaiPa: My best mate is 172kg and 6foot6 so I know about big boys, he has to wear Kobus Wiese branded clothes only. 153kg is massive, but was he tall and big or short and round?
@RBugger: Did you not watch the VC last year..he was used as a battering ram close up to the tryline and scored a few tries!…that at a mere lightweight 130 odd kg’s!…He moves fast for a big bloke!
@Grasshopper: You are right, they do not look fat – but I still feel they would not keep the pace with todays type rugby…
153kgs – that is crazy, what does he do the 40m sprint in
@Grasshopper: OS Hamman who still played for Maties in VC last year weighed in at 153Kg’s when he was in Matric in Paul Roos a few years ago…I could be a kilo or two out, but it was over the 150kg’s!..At the time the heaviest SBR player ever!..He dropped some of that weight playing VC.
@RBugger: Yep, but look at these guys in the pic, they certainly are not fat, they were built too! 100kg bench in 1992 is the same as now, these boys did gym. That same year we had Justin Koenig the KZN powerlifting champ and G. Funnel the No3 KZN bodybuilder training with the 1st team rugby…
@Grasshopper: Nice little article that. You would probably find that the guys pictured, would have been able to last the pace for about 15 mins before keeling over.
It is not just the size, but conditioning that is so different.
As a previous blogger has mentioned, the big difference nowadays, comes in the backs and loose forwards. If you have a look at the weights of the Springboks at the 95 world cup, it is funny to see that Japie Mulder was only 92kgs – he was considered a masssive and destructive centre – nowadays, the likes of Nonu and Bill-Williams dwarf that weight – both at around 110kg plus, scary
@oldschool: Wow, who would have known….a Pardey at Westville….good to hear :-)
@Grasshopper: as mentioned in the previous post I played against John and Leyton … and now the wheel has come around as my 12 year old is playing against Leytons boy whom is at Westville and is a very good player , playing 8 for the primary school …my prediction is that he will make KZN primary schools this year …..
@Vleis: Yep, agreed on the backs, that is where the big difference is now. I remember when Pieter Muller was considered massive at 90kg. The backs are like flanks now. I’m actually sad to see that because we lost great players like Brent Russell due to this size obsession. Some the hardest guys back in the day were also the smallest. Remember Wayne Fyvie, he was not big but tough as nails. These days the backs prefer to run over the player than find a gap……that Bishops clip shows how to find gaps….
@Grasshopper: The players are definitely bigger today – the 2013 SA schools team was heavier than the 1993 Bok team. However, the area that has changed the most is in the back line. Previously, as Grassy says, there were some large units in the forwards, but now there are quite a few massive backs too – especially with all the gym work.
@valke: Conditioning conditioning conditioning combine with diet diet diet diet and hard very hard work. That is the difference between then and now. Frik du Preez, our player of the century, will not play for any Currie Cup team in 2014. Fact.
@Grasshopper: I think you are correct in saying that there were boys just as big in those days.
I think the difference today is that to much emphysis is put on size.
In those days the smaller boys could also still make it. Today you are told that you are to small and that is it.
With a few exceptions, even scrumhalves are all over 1,80.
Rugby used to be for all shapes and sizes. Those days are gone.
@QC86: Yep, they a muscularly quite big but once they meet the big boys like Affies, Grey Bloem and Monnas then they actually quite small. I would say 2014 is not a very big pack, but a very efficient pack..
Grassy,i saw the Glenwood side in PE last week and they are massive,best team i have seen so far this year,very well coached and structured.i thought the big okes would tire but they didnt
I don’t believe that today’s players are necessarily bigger or heavier, but they are certainly better conditioned. Gym’s were unheard of in the 80’s and 90’s and most rugby coaches would have told you that pushing weights was bad for a rugby player (you would become “muscle bound”).
I was astounded this weekend when a super rugby commentator mentioned that one of the wings weighed in at 125kg!!! That was heavier than most props in my day.