Westville vs Jeppe, St Charles vs Parktown, Maritzburg College vs Pretoria Boys High, Hilton vs Michaelhouse, Kearsney vs DHS and Northwood vs Parktown.
The weekend starts with an interesting game on Bowdens, where Westville hosts the up and coming Jeppe Boys from Jozi. Jeppe beat Maritzburg College last week so they are not a team to underestimate. However they are yet to prove that they make good travellers and for that reason alone Westville are favourites to win. The scrums should prove to be an interest contest with Jeppe’s starting frontrow trio being fairly short and stocky while Westville’s highly rated props are both reasonably tall youngsters. Jeppe lineouts are possibly an area where Westville will see opportunity to make inroads. Likewise Jeppe may feel they have an edge in midfield as far as decision-making and penetration are concerned. Westville is without big and physical Fudge Qoma in the second row.
Parktown is the other Gauteng based school on a short tour of KZN this weekend. They haven’t been winning as many games as they would have liked but they have been very competitive and have not shied away from big games either. They gave both College and Westville a real go last weekend in narrow defeats and if they can continue in that vein there is no reason they can’t head back to Joburg with two wins from two after this weekend. First up is St Charles, who Parktown are expected to beat. It’s a special day for the Saints. They will be playing on their new “Home of Rugby” for the first time, which is expected to bring much anticipation and excitement for the season. Basically St Charles has built a beautiful new indoor sports facility as part of growing more of a rugby culture at the school. The new field is surrounded by another 4 fields so it creates an atmosphere of rugby which will is hoped will strengthen the spirit of the game as well as the spirit of the school. The field has been sunken with stands on the banks so that it creates that stadium atmosphere. A lot of effort and energy is being put into the development of rugby at St Charles and although they are under no illusions about always having to punch above their weight rather than being the pace setters in KZN, they are striving to be competitive and believe benefits are starting to show. So it’s good to see that their first game will be a challenging one.
Parktown moves onto Northwood on Sunday, for what could turn out to be a tight match with Northwood in spite of being beaten quite badly by Glenwood, showing good structure and defensive capabilities for at least half of that match. The big ask of the Knights will be to improve their attacking game where they lacked incisiveness last time out.
Maritzburg College trek to the capital to play an erratic Pretoria Boys High. Two heavy whitewashes stand out on the PBHS results sheet this season but in-between those defeats is evidence of a team that can compete very well. So College who seem a little down on their own confidence at the moment, needing a last move try against Parktown last week to avoid a third defeat in a row, will have to be cautious of a team that’s watched them play and will know where their strengths and weaknesses lie.
KZN’s most well attended match of the annual local inter-schools season takes place on Saturday when Hilton hosts Michaelhouse. Michaelhouse is unbeaten so far this season and on paper they look the better team. It’s a fixture driven by passion though so things such as superior skill, size and speed aren’t necessarily ingredients for success when coming up against opponents on school spirit highs. The battle of the backlines will be good. There are some very good match-ups including the one at fullback with House’s technically gifted Liam Furniss on one end and well-built under-17 Cameron Badenhorst looking to continue to impress with strong runs from the back on the other end. In the forwards, Hilton needs to come to terms with their lineout work. Former coach Brad Mac-Henderson has reportedly being helping them out here. The loss of go-to jumper Nkanyiso Nzimande is add to this challenge. Michaelhouse who are currently on a two game winning streak against their biggest rivals may see forward play domination as the key to success.
You have to go back to 2011 for the last time DHS beat a “Top-6” KZN school. They beat Hilton at home that year but squandered a golden opportunity to repeat the feat up at Hilton in 2014. Now they have another realistic chance when they play Kearsney away. It will take composure but DHS has the personnel in both the pack and the backline, attack and defence to get the job done as well as the psychological advantage of knowing they have never lost to this Kearsney team coming up through the junior age groups. Kearsney really seemed to get their season back on track in spite of losing to Michaelhouse last week. They seem to draw a lot of inspiration from their two talisman Tristan Dixon (captain,flank) and James Tedder (centre) but need to focus on a team approach rather than setting these stars up to be their go-to players all the time. Flyhalf Cameron Ritchie is starting to look like an outstanding prospect for the One-Stripes and in hooker Josh van Vuuren they know they will never get anything less than 110% effort.
@Tang: Agreed.
I’ve heard via the grapevine (so certainly can’t confirm if it’s true) that the reason why so few of such recruits attend St Alban’s or PBH is due to said schools insisting that the boys also focus on academics and play a summer sport.
As you’ve alluded to in your posts, I think we’re close to a crossroads where the old school corinthian values either disintegrate, or there is a mammoth backlash like when Michaelhouse abused the 6th form system a few decades ago.
I suspect that the former will prevail.
@Vleis – The recruitment scorecard gives a lower score for such instances.
I reckon PBHS and St Albans should accept the players as you quite rightly point out Southdowns doesn’t compete at a high level.
I reckon if Kwezi Mafu had of gone to PBHS or St Albans he wouldn’t have left the Bulls and gone to down to Grey PE.
In the case of a union placing the boys at the school and the union paying the fees, the recruitment scorecard will not be badly impacted.
@Tang: Out of interest, how does a Bulls recruit change your scorecard given that the school had nothing to do with the recruiting of same? A few points to consider:
If the Bulls source an english speaking boy and want him to attend a school in Pretoria, should the five local English speaking schools (Woodhill, Southdowns, PBH, St Alban’s and Sutherland) all reject him? He’s then forced to go to school in another province, which does not change the overall recruitment picture, except make the kid’s life more complicated.
It’s a real problem for the english speaking kids as the only schools that play Tier 1 opponents – i.e. PBH (most games) and St Alban’s (some games) – have only accepted two boys (St Alban’s) in the past six years…and maybe none before that. The rest of the schools are very weak, but the boys nevertheless go to Southdowns, who play schools at the level of PBH’s 4th/5th team, so that can’t be good for them. As mentioned above, I heard that some boys are now sent to schools in other provinces – e.g. Glenwood.
@Roger – Agree fully with you.
I think the scorecard would have to be updated annually.
Westville will have a totally different picture next year when the two Hudson acquisitions leave.
Although unlikely, Boys High may gain Bulls recruits.
Picture changes totally then.
@Roger: ah, my daughter is on the list there. Sister will make a plan for us though.
@Grasshopper: correct – in the prep though
@Vleis: Kingsmead :-)
@Roger:
Have you told her how you wind up her brother mercilessly on this site? What school is that – Brescia?
@Vleis: Post matric for my girls perhaps Vleis – right now they very happy been taught by Grasshopper’s sister
@Roger: So Roger, it sounds like your lightie/s is/are heading to St John’s at some point?
@Tang: This years team maybe – how about previous years?
Point being is that in the past – sports bursaries were the preserve of private schools and particularly at post matric level. I have two mates who were offered (and accepted) post matric rugby bursaries to Kingswood in the early nineties. Bursaries at a school like KES were unheard of because it only cost R500 per term to attend (including boarding) and it always was a school of choice. Times are very different now and Kes (and others) are run 100% on private lines and have to place themselves on that level. A very successful sports program is a huge attraction and differentiator.
Like it or not – it’s the way it is.
and FYI – most (80% I reckon) of the bursary money at Kes is old boy money.
I hear some granny passed away and left St Johns College R250 million – if true they could (if they wanted) dominate school boy rugby for the next 50 years simply by purchasing the SA Schools team every year. St Johns has never been defined by their sport and have never needed to differentiate themselves on that level but Kes (and Boys High) don’t have that luxury.
@Roger – The current PBHS first team were all at Boys High from form 1. There may be one sub who joined later but it was not a sports move and he certainly wasn’t a GK level player (also doesn’t have a bursary).
@Vleis – Yes. I think pissing into a hurricane is a very apt metaphor.
@Tang: I understand where you’re coming from, but I think that you’re pissing into a hurricane – e.g. there could be affiliated/related entities (e.g. OneSport, Scholarship fund, OB’s, etc) doing all the running and ‘greasing the wheels’. The school can thus honestly declare that the boy applied of his own volition, albeit there is a moral stink sometimes.
@Tang: even 25 odd years ago when I played there were guys in the 1st XV who had not been at Kes from grade 8 – three to be precise – so I am not sure why you have an issue with this? Always has been the case and I challenge you to prove whether it is any different at Boys High? I can tell you that I personally know of four in my era! As for an official statement from Kes – the boys in question applied to the school and were assessed as per any other applicant – happy?
@Roger – could well be the case.
Since there is no transparency, one is always left wondering. It becomes more suspicious once a boy has been selected for a GK team and then changes schools.
It could very well be that the Lions have made the move and now placed the boys at KES.
However, transparency is still vital.
There are a few others in the KES first team that should be checked out. If you speak to the PBHS boys, they will confirm at least 4 players that they have never played at from u14 level.
I am not saying they have come under the table but they certainly make a difference to the KES team.
Add Lwazi Monokali from SACS and the two above, all of whom weren’t at the school in form 1 and all of whom are excellent players, and they will impact KES results in a positive fashion.
If they all approached KES, you could go from being bad (as per scorecard) to being good and still have the benefit of recruits.
It would be good to get an official update from the school as to how the boys arrived at KES.
@Tang: Benoni High and Barberton to KES – I know where I would rather be to get greater recognition for my rugby talent – perhaps / perchance they both simply applied?
@Tang: and if we go back in time – most of the English speaking boys schools in JHB as well as Pta boys High made every effort to entice talented youngsters from English speaking primary schools. I recall Boys High doing presentations at my Northern suburbs primary school. So did Parktown and Saints. Now KES offer a limited amount of bursaries as well as having open days, attending primary school open days, advertising and marketing far and wide.
KEPS loses talented sportsmen from grade 7 to grade 8 (and earlier) to Hilton, Michaelhouse, St Davids, St Johns, Saints, Jeppe etc every year and KES cannot simply rely on the KEPS conveyor belt and Northern suburbs JHB schools like they used to.
Boys High and Affies face stern completion now in PTA which ten years ago was not the case. I think some creative thinking is required (rugby wise) from the Boys High powers that be
@Roger – Manny Mbathata was at Benoni High School and played GK for the Valke in 2012.
That is why I gave KES the benfit of the doubt with regards to when he arrived (as per the scorecard).
Daclan Zitha was at Barberton last year and played GK for the Pumas.
The research is extremely difficult to undertake on a player by player basis.
Schools should be forced to put out team sheets that denote how long the player has been at the school, year arrived and highest provincial level attained.
@Roger – I don’t know how they arrived at KES. This could certainly change the KES score (it will go down not up).
@star:
Yes indeed! I don’t even enjoy the Gr8 recruiting to be honest but I guess it’s necessary to ensure survival. Would love to still see Glenwood with some Penzance, Manor Gardens, Hillary and Brighton Beach boys in the A rugger teams – but those areas are not what they were back in the day. Socio-economics have changed, demographics have changed and education has changed. Some schools have not adapted and they have died. Some have taken drastic measures and survived and sometimes thrived. Not lekker – but that’s reality I guess.
@Tang: you seem to know way more about KES than me – where was Manny at school prior to KES. If you are correct then he arrived in grade 9 – is that bad?
The SACS chappie arrived in Grade 10 and is now in grade 11 playing 1st team eighth man – no need to rehash that but as I understand it was all sorted out with SACS.
who else is not above board ?
@Tang: Exactly, you hit the nail on the head. Whilst Westville is set in the wealthy leafy suburbs of Durban, Glenwood is much like Jeppe, surrounded by declining areas. DHS too. The only way to survive is build a bigger BE and get the best they can to stay there. Glenwood have almost created a microcosm or Eden in what one has to say is a pretty kak area. If they had relied on local boys only the school would have shut ages ago. Unfortunately it’s circumstance that has led to them having to recruit starting a decade ago. They have now increased their stock so to speak and should stop recruitment post grade 8. Something Star seems to forget is that I have always been against post grade 8 recruitment. Also, some might argue that even bad publicity is good publicity as suddenly many more people know about Glenwood than before….not sure if this is working though as there seems to be huge animosity amongst rival schools….
I continue to call the recruitment process and the lack of control around the recruiting process; “The law of diminishing recruitment returns”.
@ Star @Grasshopper – I believe in the case of both Westville and Glenwood, Boys are not reimbursed for playing rugby. The reward for attending Glenwood or Westville is a fully paid bursary (or partial bursary) and the chance to play in an A team and perhaps go further to provincial level.
What happens when boys or their parents are paid for the child to attend the school? Is this recruitment or is this out and out professionalism?
If a child is being compensated for playing a sport can they be considered and amateur?
I have it on good authority that a number of schools are paying money for boys to play. The children receive the bursary but they are also compensated.
Should this be allowed?
@Star – enjoy the golf.
@Grasshopper – Valid point. I guess it is like being pregnant.
There are some cases where recruitment becomes a necessity to survive. Jeppe are one of the best case studies to prove this point.
Jeppe has always been a good school but it was becoming evident that the catchment area was having a negative impact. Boarding houses were closing and the number of teams being put out on a weekly basis was declining.
The new headmaster, the Theo Jackson fund, a drive to involve old boys and some of the most passionate staff members turned this trend around and have made a huge success.
Jeppe Boys is like a Phoenix rising up out of the ashes. Had there not been recruitment, I doubt this turn around could have effected.
My point here is that Jeppe had to recruit just to survive. They never started recruiting to improve rankings (at least I don’t believe they did).
I guess DHS are now in a similar position and perhaps Glenwood were more proactive many years back. Recruitment was seen as a necessity.
Even if recruitment sets out with good intentions, the consequences and backlash can be severe. In the KZN instance, how many schools have now found it necessary to recruit in order to remain competitive with Glenwood?
I can see the same happening in Johannesburg and Pretoria. The knock on effects of one school starting the process can be profound.
In Pretoria, there are now a number of schools who are recruiting but there motivation is dubious. If you recruit to attend Wildeklawer or to be ranked higher than your neighbour, then I can’t have the same level of empathy as I would for schools who recruit out of necessity.
@GreenBlooded: You see even as a techie you can make sense
and you are right to have those feelings. However those sometimes ” partisan” feelings must not make us lose sight of the real battle. I think we are all more or less on the same page in that regard.
@Tang: I hope you enjoy it and the day is a success for all parties concerned. I would have liked to have met up but unfortunately I will be chasing little white balls around in the berg raising my stress levels no end.
@star:
I think we are all concerned – as rightly we should be. I don’t like the recruiting at all – not from anyone. What does get under my skin though is folk who think they are better than others because they recruit less than others. It’s a binary thing for me I’m afraid.
@GreenBlooded: “Hahaha-the only ones we know about. Indeed” You realize there are things called team sheets. I challenge you to get the 1st and 2nd team sheets and point these boys out. I think that if Qoma does not play then there will be only one. Grassy Prinsloo is not a recruit as we have accepted that K. Smit is not a recruit for GW. I think he could only go to GW if he did receive a bursary there. No further comment required.
And finally your point about being a ” little bit pregnant” does the argument very little justice By comparing an absolute to an issue best described by the 50 shades of grey movie ( hence the need for the elaborate scorecard ) is at best erroneous. Let me give a simple scenario.
Westville understand the error of their way in respect of the 2013 recruitment of 2 boys and desist from the practice. 20 years go by. GW buy an entire team in grade 12( koeksusters and the works) and justify it on the basis of Westville’s recruitment 20 years ago. For you see you cannot “be a little pregnant”. This is a complex matter that does not need a simple cop out. Tang is right to be concerned about where SBR is going is this regard.
@GreenBlooded: Yep, little one due on the 18th, we wait in anticipation. Might get his name down at PBHS asap…
@Grasshopper:
Hahaha – the only ones we know about. Indeed!! I think they are specialists at stealth and obfuscation where Glenwood use the bull in a china shop method.
But you are correct – you can’t be a little bit pregnant on this one. It goes to philosophy – you are either in (most schools) or out (like PBHS).
Speaking of pregnant – when is Hopper Jnr set to make an appearance? Must be pretty soon……?
@Tang: There is no grey area with recruitment/poaching, you either do it or you don’t. PBHS, as far as we are aware don’t. Glenwood and Westville do, simple as. Star will bang on about it only being 3 players etc…..but it’s still being done and those are only the ones we know about.
@Star: I fully understand your argument. I see your point about Glenwood and I think they would be in a different category.
I think Beet brought out the scorecard as a means to show just how problematic recruitment has become and how it has the potential to skew results.
We are so obsessed with rankings but we continuously forget how some schools will stop at nothing to be top ranked amongst the best.
You repeatedly see bloggers talking about rugby rankings being the best marketing tool for a school.
There is no control around school boy recruitment and this is a blight on SARU. School boy rugby is allowed to become more and more professional with little no control mechanisms in place.
You make two valid points:
1) Why would Westville even bother getting into the game. Where Els and Qoma required? Westville have enough talent.
2) Numbers – how many recruits are bad. If I have one recruit is it equal to 10?
@Star I only have a good impression of Westville (as do all Boys High Parents). The two fixtures we have been part of have been good experiences. The boys, parents and teachers have been excellent.
I am really looking forward to the trip next week.
@star: So why bring Glenwood into it?
@Tang: Well if we are Ugly then GW are “skreeu lelik”
(I hope my taal is OK). The problem with scorecards is that they allow for duplication and certain variables like injury do not get factored in. How do you account for K.Smit( now at GW) who played one or two games and is now out for the season? I like to get down to reality. There are 3 boys of contention ( Prinsloo, Els and Qoma). Prinsloo initiated of his own accord and was not a GK player at the time. Westville from a communication perspective insisted that he get the necessary clearance from DHS. He is cleared ( from the score card stand point). I would now like to translate to the sport day against a respected opponent Jeppe where Westville enjoyed great success. We won the tennis. the squash 12-0, and only lost one hockey game and 2 rugby games( albeit the main one 
). Qoma did not play as he was injured( and actually has missed several other games including Hilton, Northwood and KES.) We are now down to one so called” tainted” player on the day in question. Els is a great player but Westville has more than adequate replacements in Lee and ” the Beast” who have started several times for the Ist team this year with great success. Therefore you can understand how I would want to resist the notion that one boy in one code who could be replaced could undermine the performance of close to 50 other matches. That is why I was also a bit jumpy at the ” out and out” comment when Westville is so much more than that 
@CyndiAtRugby: Thanks for the correction – I was going off his profile on the SA Rugby site which is not always the most accurate
@Pedantic: If my information is correct, Palvie attended primary school in Rondebosch. One of the Cape bloggers mentioned coaching him while there in one of the previous blogs. He finished his primary school in Penzance Primary here in Durban and went across to Glenwood from there.
@Tang: Are you implying that KES stands for Keeps Ensuring Success?
@ Roger – take a look at the blog post
http://blog.schoolboyrugby.co.za/?p=10248
@Roger – Manny Mbatha made Valke GK in 2012 now he is at KES. How did he get there?
I didn’t base my KES numbers on the 2009/ 2010 intake. This would have placed KES in the ugly category.
I think there were a few more recruits besides Manny but since all of this is kep so quite, the research is very hard to do. Schools will not come clean and reveal what is actually going on.
@Tang: what do all the sections mean – give me details?
@Roger – I would have KES as follows:
Section A – 5
Section B – 3
Section C – 0
Section D – 5
Section E – 1
Section F – (1 or 4) we will go with 1 as we don’t know all the details
Section G – 3
Section H – 2
KES Total – 20 = Bad
Borrowing jerseys, swapping sweaty used jerseys, boots, socks etc. I remember the 10ths running on without a scrum half….hilarious stuff. No8 took it up every time until the 9th scrummie could come in for another game! The pack was always huge but got shunted, full of the biggest and tallest guys in the school. In 94, Glenwood had a 6foot10 10th team lock!
@Gungets Tuft: the best is on a Friday at the 11th team meeting, guys deciding on positions…..who will prop or lock, no hands….wings & flanks, all hands. Hooker….shared by a few in the match. Practicing scrum binds and deciding on line-out calls, all less than 24hrs before the game. What a gemors but what fun!
@Redblack White: No, No, NO!! .. I have not forgotten the 10ths, I was just talking about the matches this weekend.
I remember in my days the gigantic 11th team, which was made up entirely of part timers. One famous day a footballer by the name of Trevor Anley played for them and scored 3 tries by dribbling the ball all the way to the goal area and dotting it down. He later played pro football, but I am sure the 3 tries for the 12ths remain the highlight of his life.
@Tang: not sure how the scorecard works – what would KES’s score be?
@star: “Good old Westville boys” – “Down in the Hollow” – what are you on about old Star?
Glad to see you backing the Reds though!@Gungets Tuft: I think KES has cobbled together a 9th team once or twice – usually rowers and hockey players bribed with some extra tuck money!
@Star – Thank you for the clarity.
I will not mention the two Hudson Park boys after this post. I think they have been flogged to death. It would be nice if they didn’t play against PBHS. Perhaps you wouldn’t mind if PBHS were allowed two all star picks for the game – how about Palvie at 8 and Bosch at 10.
I can’t comment on the sums being paid for coaches, etc as we don’t have a scoring system for this as yet. The only benchmark we have right now is the recruitment scorecard. I do agree with you on these aspects. The amount of money being paid by sponsors, the amount being paid to coaches, etc should also factor into the level of professionalism.
In all seriousness, the term mercenary is more tongue in cheek than anything else. If Westville feel the need to be competitive by giving bursaries, then who am I or anyone else to make judgements. The only thing I would ask for is some method of determining true parity in results.
If we were to use the scorecard proposed earlier in the year, would you agree on the following:
Westville – Total Score 29
Section A – 5
Section B – 3
Section C – 0
Section D – 5
Section E – 1
Section F – 5
Section G – 5
Section H – 5
Total 29 (Ugly)
Pretoria Boys High School – Total score 0
Section A – 0
Section B – 0
Section C – 0
Section D – 0
Section E – 0
Section F – 0
Section G – 0
Section H – 0
Total Score – 0 (Good)
@Star If you would agree to the above, all we have to agree on is how many points, tries, the difference is worth.
You will have to admit that this is a chasm in difference and should certainly favour Westville on the scoreboard.
@beet – I have scored the sections based on the interpretations. Star may certainly wish to disagree. Are we to use the scorecard as a “golf handicap”? If so, Would Westville be a scratch and Boys High would be an 18? Now we need to determine some matchplay scoring so that we can get a true reflection of results.
@Ringo – It would be nice if you could give a score for Jeppe.
By a rough estimate, I have Jeppe in around the same range as Westville (between 21-30 = Ugly).
@Redblack White: I think everyone who is keen to play – should play – a 10th at College – is probably equivalent to the 3rds at Greytown or the 5ths at Clifton.
I trust all these boys who turn out at training get matches – and not just against their school mates – good luck to the Unknown Soldiers (BTW – my only games at MC were for the 10ths
– and only because I didn’t do my Geography homework with the 1st XV Coach 
)
@star: The 30th is looming large, I might even make the great trek down from Joburg to view the game on Dixons…..
@Gungets Tuft: ahem..Just wanted to point out that right behind the mighty ninths there still lurk the forgotten tenths. They shall still have their day soon I hope …… with MM in charge of the bottom half of the crop, these guys will be around not only for reunion day, but to infinity and beyond…..please don’t forget them – my trainee referee/regular touch judge son has worked very hard and gradually scaled the ranks into the tenths so I have some skin in the game…..
@Pedantic: At the beginning of the season no contest. Now with Kearsney’s form and Westville still trying to find their mojo 14 12 to Westville with home ground advantage and the OBs bringing them home. Should be a cracker.
@Pedantic: I’ll bite – giving it to the visitors from up the Hill by 15-20 point margin – looks like a good day – possible a little warm with slight Berg winds?
@star: I think GW off for a few weeks now – need to focus on trials ya know
What’s your prediction for Saturday on Bowdens ?
@Roger: I think KES took the long weekend off and so I back them to win by 4 as there will be less attrition in the camp.
They will also have some good old Westville boys playing in the hollow which will help with the winning feeling. 
@ Grassy- did GW also take the weekend off.
@Grasshopper: No … he’s intrinsically a Blue Bull via his primary school roots, but maybe from the Cape originally ?
@Pedantic: I thought Palvie was from Durbanville in the Northern Suburbs Cape Town….
This is not a new thing, Glenwood have spread the net far and wide for years – at Grade 8 it’s not a bad thing, it actually strengthens KZN school rugby.
We’ve all watched a player like Palvie develop into something special – he’s not really our own here in KZN, he’s from Elardus Park laerskool in Pretoria.
G8 no problem … G10 onwards it’s gets controversial.
@Grasshopper: Not sure of the mountains – it was just an interesting observation – especially at the lower levels. Surprising as GW normally fields a good set of teams. No plausible explanation was given (then or since) – so would be great if your moles could come to the party and put this one the bed.
@Gungets Tuft: There must be a reason for the 4 teams only, you guys are making mountains out of molehills here. I’ll touch base with some of my moles to find out..
@Grasshopper: And with all that marketing, all the boys are out of the province (so boarders – hardly likely they all made CW U13 and then decided to pay their own way) – one of them from Bloem where he lives a short walk from GCB (consistently the top school in SA, R12,000 a year fees, ‘kaans school).
And still only 4 teams. And with the B, C, D teams not setting the world on fire, whether or not there will be recuitment later will be seen in due course. Why not ask for the team sheets of all the U14’s – it’s just 60 names, then have another look in 3 years time …
@Gungets Tuft: In the days of no Under 16, DHS, College and others went up the 13th team! Horseflies, Grasshoppers and Nicotine Ninth’s as you say…..those were the days…my dad played 13th’s for 3 games as he was one of the unfortunate few who lived out in the sticks, Northdene so had to catch like 3 buses and a train to get home so no sport for him…
@Rugger fan: Some interesting facts about the rugby matches between PBHS and MC during 2014/2015.
In rugby in 2014, we played 26 games in the away fixture, winning 2 and losing 24. The points difference was 641. In the home fixture we played 23 games, winning 2, drawing 1 and losing 20 with a points difference of 474.
This year, we played 25 games, winning 8 and losing 17. The points difference was 237 and 6 teams lost by 7 points or fewer.
This shows a great improvement in the PBHS quest to improve their rugby.
@Roger: Rog, Rog, Rog – not everything a challenge. The team formerly known as the Nicotine Ninths – now called the BaaBaa’s I believe, because they include boys from sports across the board who want to have a run – are a College legend. In my day, when returning from injury (the Rinderpest was a real bugger back then ..) you were often given a run in the Ninths to blow out the cobwebs.
So – it’s just a pity they haven’t got a game as part of the greater fixture list. House will do – we will just pretend that the white stripes on the jersey was due to bad laundry ..
@Bwana: Boet, think about it. Glenwood is seen by parents as an alternative to their usual choices in Pretoria, EC etc…they have marketed themselves well. Kids from little known towns and areas are now aware Glenwood is an option. I say kudos to the Glenwood marketing and recruitment team, they boxing clever at grade 8 level. If they leave it there and don’t recruit after grade 8 then I am a happy OB and so other schools should no longer have any issues…
@Rugger fan: points to a very close fixture then – at home College should shade the overall results
@Roger: I’m not having a dig. Going to be close down the line on Saturday!
@Roger: What’s the problem – College bussed up 25 teams last w/e to PBHS – and included chess, debating, squash, tennis, table tennis etc. too! and 18 Hockey teams too!
Results for the rugby:
SUMMARY
Played: 25
College Won: 17
Drew: 0
Lost: 8
Hockey:
Summary
Played 18
College Won 12
Lost 3
Drew 3
@Bwana: give us a break – there are already 550 boys bussing down from JHB – 23 rugby teams, 15 hockey teams, tennis, chess, golf, debating – that’s more than half the school!
@Gungets Tuft: what were College results vs PBHS?
rugby KES played 23 won 17, drew 1 and lost 5,
hockey played 18 won 8 lost 9 drew 1
@Grasshopper: I don’t know about Glenwood attracting talent. Their current crop of Under14s has, I’m told, 2 boys from the confines of KZN. The rest have been recruited from far and wide in SA. Now if they did attract top talent then their depth would be better down the line. It is not.
@Roger @Gungets: Too bad the Reds cannot offer a 9th team. It would be the match of the day at College. A feast of schoolboy sport on offer in the Hollow on Saturday!
@star: Lets get some even more perspective here, there are hundreds of boys playing Craven Week at primary school for many provinces, the like of Paarl Boys, Paul Roos (now world champs), Grey Bloem and Paarl Gim sometimes have 30 plus primary school reps in grade 8 attracted to the schools because of their success and not bursaries. Glenwood is now in that league attracting these sorts of players, just because they have an A team of Craven Week players doesn’t mean they are all on bursaries. The same can be said of Westville swimming, it might have taken bursaries to start the snowball but once it’s rolling the others are attracted, fueled by an Olympic athlete helps even further…
@Rugger fan: @Gungets Tuft: hmmmmm – a ten pointer? I think it will be closer than that – heart say the Reds head says College by four!
c’mon Gungets – make a call!
@Roger: Sorry boet, no prediction from me. I find it affects how much I just enjoy the game.
I will however predict another victory for the mighty, MIGHTY 9ths. They play against an unkown House team. Since I doubt House bat down to 9, I guess an offset of sorts.
@Roger: Yep – I’m going with MC for a 10 pointer
@Gungets Tuft: I’m in the know – so to speak – but happy to be proven wrong.
care for a prediction for Saturday – in Maritzburra College got to be favourite?
@star: “The offer by DHS to the entire class of Prep was a classic case of ” embellishment as well. The Prep class of 2010 was subjected to a massive recruitment offensive by DHS (right down to the damned pencil scandal of 2010
), but to say that the 65 boys all got bursaries is a stretch. Full bursaries, maybe 5, partial another 20 (50% for anyone making a regional team for rugby or hockey). Not sure how many of those are still there – I know one kid who was mercilessly shopped around that has left (had a 100%, and is now not playing rugby any more anyway), another that got no bursary also gone.
Of those that got bursaries certain don’t even play rugby any more, and of the boys of that year now playing 1sts I think only 2 would have been 100%, one would have got nothing at that stage and has kicked on well.
Cautionary tale right there, Grade 7 is a horrible predictor of success 5 years later. But those bursary offers are a real feather in the cap at the end of grade 7 … real brownie points around the braai and in assembly, they all get announced in the final assembly. {shrug}
What are Westville fees now .. got to be more than R32,000 a year more like R36,000 I think (most of the KZN Model C are similar), and then the “donation”to the Educational Trust on top of that?
Glenwood U14 – their A team is immense. Front row all massive boys, but time will tell whether they have already done their growing (they are that big), then 3 teams that don’t come close. I’m told there is only 1 (perhaps 2) KZN boys in the A team. Then only 4 teams at U14 – time will tell whether that was just against College, or whether that’s it – 4 teams. Perhaps Umbiloburger can comment, it would help quieten the touch-line talk.
@Roger: Full scholarship only 75% .. hahaha .. right. That Dream Team was not assembled with boys all paying R40K a year, that can be certain.
@star: a “full” scholarship at Kearsney equates to 75% off fees (tuition and boarding) as far as I am aware
@GreenBlooded: Tang used the term out and out mercenary which is a relative term. Your simple answer” a hell of a lot- more than most” is a relative response. Who is most and how much more?Surely I have to give the full picture to do justice.( hence the embellishment). The whole issue of bursaries to me is a relative issue as in most cases it is used as a defensive/offensive mechanism. Offensive being proactive and defensive reactive. The offer by DHS to the entire class of Prep was a classic case of a defensive reactive response which proved short lived and they now seem to ply there trade in the EC. I think Tang needs to understand the local complexities before he and others make judgement. I believe Westville has several challenges and responds accordingly to stay relevant. One of the biggest challenges is a small BE which limits the scope of their intake.( Hopefully that will change soon) They also have 2 competitive challenges from down the road and up the road who will not hesitate to swoop in with trinkets on offer. Westville has to defend its line. That being said I do not believe there are any angels in this game ( by definition).
@ Vleis- the problem I have is there is a lot of speculation about numbers and percentages which is compounded by off balance sheet financing. That is why if you get to the outcome in terms of spend and actual CW players you will be getting closer to the actual truth. I raised the issue of the Kearsney dream team and the figures I heard from connected people would frighten most non believers. The govt school spend would not come close. I also raised the issue of the GW U14 A and the skewed nature of that age group where you have possibly the top team in the country followed by only 3 relatively weak teams. ( still to be witnessed and believed)This implies an overspend at the top line where virtually ever boy is a CW player from all over the country. That says more to me than trying to speculate about numbers and what percentage they are or what slush funds are in play. Another variable is a simple mathematical one. A boy on a 25 % at Westville costs R8000. A boy on a full scholarship at Kearsney in the region of R180000. That is a multiple of more than 22 ( although an extreme example) which could give context to the ” 80″ bursaries.
@Vleis: 50 a year by Glenwood, 20 of which are academic scholarships. The key is the find ‘all round’ boys who cover a few sports and academics. The pool of grade 8’s in KZN from sporting primary schools is much smaller than Gauteng, so they have to look further afield to compete, so they look where their is a surplus which is usually Pretoria and EC. Again, not all are 100% and will most likely have performance clauses especially with regards to passing academics. Getting a good intake in grade 8 isn’t building a ‘dream team’ it’s getting the best possible with no assurances they will develop into great 1st team players. I believe Glenwood have been instructed by OB’s and senior managers to stop post grade 8 recruiting, the sooner the better :-). Remember the Gauteng schools self declare bursaries or lack thereof, that doesn’t stop an OB like John Smit paying for a couple without anyone knowing…..a lot happens under the table….trust me. Adopted boys, surrogates etc even appear…..
WTF – Beet – what gives?
@Vleis: Kes have about 60 kids on bursary / scholarship etc – most provided by old boys. 10-15 per grade and less than 5% of the school body
@star: @GreenBlooded: @Grasshopper: I am staggered by the number of bursaries provided by Glenwood and Westville. Having said that, I do not know how many are provided at KES, Jeppe, Parktown, etc. I know that the Theo Jackson scholarship fund has had a major positive impact on Jeppe, but it only provides a max of 10 per grade per annum to disadvantaged kids…and it only started in 2006.
The privates in Gauteng provide very little scholarships, if any, for rugby. For example, Saints have started to provide about five (or thereabouts) per annum for rugby in the past three years and their junior teams are doing infinitely better.
I am all for bursaries though, especially to kids that need the funds…but surely 80 is too much, or am I being naive?
@star:
I don’t think Tang asked about GW or how much other schools coaches get paid or how many CW players are at certain schools. He asked about how many Westville boys are on sports bursaries. The simple answer, when you remove all of your embellishment, is “a hell of a lot – more than most”.
@Tang: To be honest I think every school compared to PBHS could be deemed to be mercenary and it then becomes a matter of degree. You keep going on about the 2 Hudson Park boys but that was a once off. If Westville did it every year then I think you would have a point. What happened last year? How many GK recruits were made after the GK tournament by Westville? Nil. Let us now compare to GW who I think recruited 7. Maybe old GB can confirm and give actual facts for a change. He talks about a ” constant stream” of boys from GW and DHS in grade 10. The only boys I am aware of are Prinsloo who approached Westville ( already confirmed by Beet) and the 2 GW players who play 3rd and 4th team and the reasons were disciplinary and voluntary. Not exactly the torrent he talks about. He also says I contended ” that they only give bursaries out to Grade 8 learners”. Please refer to my post where I clearly state ” a lot” which I stand by. Rather than deal with more of his generalised/incorrect statements let us look at the GW u14 rugby team in terms of CW week members and you be the judge of who is the most mercenary at that level.
The boys you described above would all be on some sort of bursary but even at full value would pale in comparison to the amount paid for a dream team just up the road.
Why in terms of being mercenary have you not mentioned the amounts paid for specialised coaches/head of rugby by schools. There was a private school in KZN where it was rumoured the coach was earning more than provincial coaches. I wonder how much the ex GW coach is being paid at Paarl Boys or indeed what your new director of rugby is getting paid. I think the Westville 1st team coaches are also involved in school structures as teachers and coaches of other sports.
As explained above in terms of aggressive initial recruitment, subsequent poaching, and spend on the 1st team and management there are many schools that come to the fore in KZN alone and to have the perception and extra focus you have on Westville is actually way off the ” mark” .
@Tang:
Westville dish our an incredible number of sports bursaries every year – most of them partial (25% 50% or 75%). They have a deputy headmaster level position who looks after this role as well as a specialist recruiter on staff. I know many many Westville boys through club rugby circles and I would say that more of them are on bursaries than are paying their full fee. Although Star contends that they only give bursaries out to Gr8 learners, it doesn’t seem to fit with the constant stream of migrants from other schools who were on bursaries at Glenwood, DHS and others yet come across to Westville in Gr10 and later. It’s not believable that they dissed a bursary at another top school to go to Westville and pay fees. They must be offering something substantial for the guys to make the move. Your perception is not too far from the mark!!
@Tang: My brother-in-law is a senior person in the Westville Old Boys club, he said to me 80 bursaries are given out each year in grade 8, about 60 are for sport but not all 100%. They used to give out around 20 just for swimming, hence their B team being as strong as most A teams. However, many of these B team swimmers are preferring to be A team at other schools. PBHS is one of the best ‘allround’ schools in Gauteng, in fact I might even move to Centurion or Midrand in 10 years from now to be closer to it…be proud of your school. However, I do feel better marketing and offering a few sports bursaries will help…
@Star – It seems I have a lot to think about on my way down to Westville in a two weeks time.
I certainly don’t think of Westville as a one dimensional school at all. I know of Westville’s outstanding academic record and the excellent swim programme. As I mentioned in my post, the perception (I certainly can’t speak for all Boys High parents) was that Westville give out a large number of sports bursaries and hence the term mercenary.
Based on your response, I can certainly see this is not quite as bad as the general perception.
Your response should also help to put things in perspective. Pretoria Boys won’t have a single player in the first rugby or hockey team on a sports bursary (partial or full). The only sport you may find a bursary would be a Jacque Kallis cricket bursary.
If you take into account the number of bursaries and the acquisition of two GK quality players into the Westville team, it would be reasonable to assume Westville should win. It would also be reasonable to see how easily outsiders can view this as being mercenary (especially when compared to the number of acquisitions and bursaries Boys High offer). I guess it is all relevant.
I would expect the following players on the Westville team to be on bursaries:
Jordan Els
Sibabalo Qoma
Hendrik Prinsloo
Tonny Mahlangu
Devon Muller
Shawn Stolz
Mphilo Slange
Brogan Boulle
I may be wrong but this would be about 7/8 rugby bursaries at open level and all of these players have achieved significantly at provincial level.
The 7/8 rugby bursaries mean your second team is stronger, etc. Again only reasonable then to expect Westville should win the bulk of the fixtures agains PBHS.
If you don’t agree with me, I would like to read your response and rebuttal.
@Gungets Tuft: I’m not sure, there must be an explanation, maybe boys were involved with other sports…..even in the 90’s when Glenwood was kak did we have an E team at least…..usually the fatties, smokers and surfers…
@star:
Interesting. I thought GW was a rugby academy.
@GreenBlooded: Interestingly GW’s 2 most famous businessmen were these so called ” bottom feeders”.
@Rugger fan:
Mark’s favourite comment of all time: “I’m an optometrist. I spend the week telling people how badly they see and then on the weekend I listen to people telling me how badly I see.”
One of the greats IMHO – probably the best “communicator” SA has produced although Stuart Berry comes quite close.
We in the Midlands also have a heavy cross to bear – what with being sponsored by Moffat Optical…….
@Rugger fan: Last last word. My feeling is you can’t do that much about adult spectators jibes. However school officials should be held to an example setting standard and I’ve sat close enough to school kids on a number of occasions to hear the odd one verbally abuse the ref. I feel we should all feel free to respond to the play on the SBR field but not negatively towards the ref himself.
Yes – beginners at all levels suffer from the “thin” skin – I did my first reffing course under Mark Lawrence who had recently become a Currie Cup ref – and his “seniors” at the time loved recounting the story about his first match as a TJ – where he got involved in the fisticuffs between the players after some chirps were directed at him and ref – flag and all! not a very auspicious start to a great career!
@beet:
You get to a point where you don’t even hear the abusive spectators – but it takes many years to develop that tough skin. The problem occurs with the youngsters starting out who aren’t equipped to deal with it. They could go on to become very good referees but throw in the towel. I personally ignore it completely. As soon as you react you give the oke relevance in your world which I just won’t do. The only time I would take the step of stopping the game and calling the powers that be would be if there were threats or aggression directed towards me or one of the players.
There are great heartwarming moments too I have to say – it isn’t all doom and gloom. I ‘chaperoned’ a 16 year old youngster at the Glenwood College games at Kings Park a few weeks ago who was blowing his first ever game. At half-time the College coach came striding purposefully up to us while I was giving him a debriefing on his “typical beginner” first half. My first thought was “this isn’t going to go well”. To my surprise he shook the youngsters hand, told him he could see he was nervous and just to relax and that he was doing well for a first timer. The effect on the youngster was immense. Gestures like that go a long way. Gungets – it was the same gentleman sitting in front of us at PBHS that I asked you about.
@Rugger fan: Played by gentlemen, watched by hooligans.
Agree 100% about the gap between spectators and the crowd. Rugby is a gladiatorial sport, emotions run high. It was one thing I noticed at PBHS – no tape at all.
Last year I saw a re-bar in a dangerous spot at Northwood, mentioned it here, by the next Saturday it was sorted. Not claiming the credit of course, but credit to them, fixed chop-chop.
@Gungets Tuft: I guess that is what makes rugby so special – is that as much as we moan about the refs – and will question every decision – he remains “Mr Ref” – or “sir” – and we don’t degenerate into that soccer/football spiral!
@beet: The Ref does have the right to call the senior school master onto the field. I’ve seen it happen.
I don’t believe the schoolboys are a problem at all. They will moan and graon at decisions but I don’t believe they will launch verbals. Parents and Old Boys – eeisch, they do, and no school is exempt.
Best sight of anyones life – seeing a young (U15) schoolboy ref showing a coach a yellow card.
@beet: I personally find parents/spectators more of an issue than local coaches, players or staff.
One thing i do think that really needs to be worked on is making sure there is an adequate gap between the school boy spectators and the field. Having spectators right up against the field of play is really looking for trouble.
@GreenBlooded: Fair enough. Time to move on.
Last words from me. I still wish there was more schools could do to look after refs. I wouldn’t mind seeing each school appoint a marshall to sit amongst their own school kids to make sure they don’t launch any verbals at the ref and maybe even see the ref given the right to a call the headmaster onto the field to act against his own staff or consultants if they say anything out of line to the ref and/or assistants
@Grasshopper: Government school you mean. Not buying it – why all of a sudden when Glenwood has always matched down to F teams.
Does Glenwood seriously only have 4 x U14 teams. 60 boys out of an intake of 220 odd? I can’t fathom that. It fits well with my view that over aggressive recruiting damages depth (a theory that I cannot substantiate at all – much like my theory that PBHS would have skinned Westville
), because kids that feel that they cannot make the very top teams fear they will be neglected and replaced.
All speculation … but most of the stuff here is, so I feel all vindicated ..
@Gungets Tuft: Remember College has far more boarders than any other KZN school, they provide the depth….
This is a fixture list. Sort of … Having to fill in a few.
Rugby – 27 teams
1st – 7th – vs KES, 8th and 9th vs Michaelhouse (I suspect an offset)
U16A – U16E vs KES, U16F vs Westville U16E
U15A – U15 E vs KES, U15F vs Westville
U14A – U14F vs KES (still wonder why Glenwood couldn’t manage U14E and F)
Hockey 18 teams
1st – 4th vs KES, 5th vs Westville 4th, 6th vs House 5th
U16A – G vs KES
U14A – D vs KES, 14E vs House U14C
@beet:
You are quite right – I would be part of a small minority on this issue. Doesn’t mean I would be wrong. I’m very much a ‘courage of my convictions’ type of oke which doesn’t always make me popular, but that is less important to me than taking a stand which I believe to be correct and insisting that problems get resolved the correct way and not the easy way.
Let’s drop this. I don’t agree with you and this is just going to go in every diminishing circles.
@star: Well done to Westville in the past decade, embracing marketing, bursaries etc, it had to be done to survive and is exactly why Glenwood got more aggressive too. In fact Glenwood probably started the ball rolling in about 1997 with Malcolm Aierington being bought from Pinetown Boys High. Glenwood didn’t know how to compete with post matrics so had to do something to to match them. Westville had a natural fit with Graham Hill being an OB and national coach to focus on swimming, which they did. Good on Westville for finding the gap in the market to get exposure. Attracting virtually the whole SA Junior’s swim team reduced the odds of success and having world standard athletes was a bit of ‘luck of the draw’. Conversion from amateur to pro in swimming is far higher than rugby. Success breeds and attracts success so Westville managed to get their swimming programme to snowball. They also then decided to focus on other sports, which too has bared fruit. Again, well done to them. However, pre bursary era I can personally say Westville were seen as just another average boys school, sportswise with the sprinkling of the occasional great year eg Errol Stewart. They usually came around 4th or 5th at D&D events and performed OK in the big sports across the board. They did have some freaks like the Chapulsky’s in minority sports like paddling. Glenwood too was very average, probably seen more as just a very tough and gritty school who always caused some trouble to DHS, College, Hilton and Michaelhouse but not much more than that. Kudo’s to both the Glenwood and Westville management team in turning both schools into sports achievers, not just in KZN but in SA, competing with Grey Bloem etc……it’s been an awesome turnaround. If someone told me in 1996 that Glenwood would go unbeaten vs College for 5 years I would have laughed at them. It’s now a huge task to maintain that standard and there is even more competition amongst the schools to attract the best. Westville are just doing what they can to survive, it’s about survival now with these gov schools….
@GreenBlooded: Basically this thread brought it on and specifically your joke about dicey midlands refs might have triggered it along with a visit to the Midlands on Sat but I think the issue was in the back of my mind from Friday when I was at Westville and spoke to an unhappy Jeppe parent about public comments made by an MC official.
It seems like you are keen to single me out even though I didn’t cause the OB feelings in PMB/Midlands, I merely commenting about something real that should have perhaps been addressed years ago.
I respect your honest opinion but I feel you would be part of a very small minority if it came down to a vote on the matter: folks don’t want these OB’s reffing their own schools
@star:
“And I think the guy who ” used to date a chick whose brother went to the school” would be OK. :mrgreen:”……….until he blew a few errors in favour of the school, someone found out he dated the chick and wafted the rumour through the car-park after the match.
And PLEASE don’t EVER compare auditors to rugby referees. Someone once told me that an auditor is the type of oke who goes onto the battlefield after the battle is won and bayonets the wounded. I like to think we are infinitely more noble than that bunch of bottom-feeders……
@beet:
The problem with ‘avoiding unpleasant situations’ is that it creates entitlement. I prefer to tackle the root cause of problems than to wallpaper over them – a philosophy which I’ve found beneficial in the electrical industry where quick-fixes don’t really work.
In the current situation – the problem is the perception that a referee is biased based on his association to a particular team. The problem is: the perception. The problem in not: the referee is biased.
@beet: Thanks for the vote of confidence.
As an auditor you have to give a declaration of independence before you commence an assignment. This should not be construed that if you were not independent that your judgement would be unduly impaired. There is nothing personal in this as the clear requirement is the perception of neutrality. Therefore if there is the option to avoid the use of a teacher/OB then common sense should prevail. And I think the guy who ” used to date a chick whose brother went to the school” would be OK. 
@beet: I think we’ll agree to disagree on this point.
@Pedantic:
The online exam is a good start – but it’s open book and multiple choice. Not quite the same. Also you go back and correct your answers so you always end up with 100%….
@beet: @Pedantic:
I’m still curious as to what particular incident sparked this off? I know Nicholson didn’t go down too well with the Kearsney okes at Michaelhouse – but he isn’t a House old boy? What brought this on??
@Rugger fan: agreed and those situations don’t only happen at 1st XV level either. But at the same time it never occurred to me that SBR refs are just in it to feed their own egos, they provide a community service, part of which should be about trying to give the community what it wants without compromising on their own standards. If by in large the community does not want OB’s reffing 1st XV games, then…
@beet: Those unpleasant situations occur even when you are completely neutral!
@GreenBlooded: I can’t speak for the other guys but I think you got me wrong – there was no suggestion of bias in my comments.
As you would no doubt understand, there are many facets to a referee’s performance – it’s really not ALL about the rule book – if we had robotic refs blowing every single rule to the tee, we wouldn’t bother watching SBR.
All the players ask for is a ref that can :
1. Communicate effectively (Respect is earned, not simply given because you hold a whistle in your hand)
2. Deal with obvious infringements quickly so teams can make adjustments and both teams can be confident that obvious infringements won’t be tolerated.
3. Please, please keep up with the game – if you’re not fit enough to keep up with a 1st team then why the hell are you on the field? Referees making calls while standing 30 – 40 metres from the action are going to have their decisions questioned and rightly so.
4. The best refs are not the heros on the field – the best players are – some of the best ref performances have been where one hardly notices he’s there.
I won’t go write the exam physically as it would be embarrassing, however, I’ll give the online exam a shot and let you know how it goes.
@GreenBlooded: The people you need writing that test are not the likes of myself, Star or Pedantic who show refs the adequate amount of respect but those hotheads who will verbally abuse you guys during and after games. You probably know more of those kinds of people than you wished. My angle is to avoid the unpleasant situations. It should work for both refs and spectators.
@Tang: Out and out mercenaries. Absolutely not. To my knowledge the 2 Hudson park are the only boys who have been “recruited” and we are not part of the pocket money brigade( specifically post grade 8). Yes there would be quite a few boys on bursaries in the first teams but a lot would be partial and received at grade 8 level to compete with the other local schools. My son is in grade 12 this year the same year DHS offered the entire DPHS class bursaries. Gungets can confirm .How many Dale boys are on bursary at DHS currently(and I presume they would all be 100% with boarding)? 2 years before Kearsney acquired their dream team on a similar basis. More kids have been poached from Westville then the other way around. I want to give you a little fact about Westville. In the last 50 years Westville have had 8 top academic candidates provincially( and some nationally). How many schools can match that? Some would have been prior to the bursary era.( not the case with the privates who have always been in that game).Did Westville embrace the post bursary era. Yes and successfully so as was epitomised by their swimming program. Besides all the local records , this year Westville had 5 old boys( and the current captain) at the FINA world championships. The same year we had the FINA male swimmer( bursary) and coach( no bursary) of the year. I can honestly say that no school in world has achieved those heights. In a nutshell we performed before and after bursaries became a necessity to survive and we were successful in their implementation. I also do not believe we are an aggressor in the poaching game and with reference to undue benefits. I therefore reject your contention that Westville is a one dimensional and mercenary organisation. Surely if that were the case we would not be the only school on the continent to be invited to be part of the World Leadership Schools Association( which includes schools such as Eton). Please mull over these facts as you “trek” down to Westville.
@Rugger fan:
Not only that – but it would also imply that the society does not have faith in the referee’s integrity. That for me is a big problem. How would either of us enjoy it if our society did not trust us to blow a fair game? We are allowing the tail to wag the dog here. The better solution is for the rugby supporting public to do the following:
1. Inform themselves regarding the laws of the game. I would wager that any sample of spectators would score no more than 30% for a law exam. In fact – why don’t some of the critics come and write the exam which is in 2 weeks from now and see how they do? Beet? Pedantic? Star? You guys up for it?
2. Understand that referees are human and do sometimes err. The errors are not deliberate or designed to favor one side or the other. The perception that this is the case is simply that – a perception. How well do we remember the referee errors that go in our favour?
3. If we are going to make scathing criticisms of referees – then at least watch the game, as I do, from a neutral perspective.
Again – I have ZERO problem with Zane Watson reffing College, Dave Look reffing Hilton, Andrew Nicholson reffing Hilton etc.
@beet: To me it’s a no brainer. Why even contemplate creating a possibility that the integrity of a ref could be questioned when all and subdry knows they are an OB of a specific school!
By planning better that question could be scuttled in the planning room. In the NV we once had a similar experience with a ref father of a very well known school in the east next to the highway. His son played for the B team of that school and he was the ref for an A team game. There were no untoward decisions but we let the Bulls ref association know and they together with the father agreed that it would be good governance if he was not involved as a ref for his son’s school. Sanity prevailed
@beet: Fair comment – but again in such a small society – possibly easier said than done by the Appointment Secretary who has a very small group of refs to allocate for a relatively large number of “premier” schools.
Must be a mare when MHS / College / St Charles / Hilton all have home games – along with a smattering of Hermannsburg/Greytown/Howick/Wartburg/Alex/Carter/Voortrekker/Linpark/Weston/Treverton thrown into the mix to complicate things.
@GreenBlooded: @Rugger fan:
Durban seems different to PMB / Midlands. I know certain school officials have refs they don’t like but between them and the supporters this has never been aligned to the school the ref is associated with as far as I’m aware.
However in PMB/Midlands, possibly due to it being a smaller community, there are strong associations between ref and school, to the extent that even levelheaded parents who would never even raise they voices to question a ref’s call during a game are saying beforehand that they hope certain refs don’t get certain up and coming important games in the region. Now imagine how the hotheads will respond on matchday.
I’m not asking for anyone to reinvent the wheel here and I also don’t see quality reffing and pacifying unhappy supporters as being a one or the other objective. Both can be achieved simultaneously. Just do a bit of planning and where opportunity presents itself avoid letting these OB’s handle their own school 1st XV matches.
For most PMB/Midlands games I’m a neutral so nothing at stake on my end but I have a feeling that with regards to this particular issue I will enjoy majority support from the supporters and school officials who have a direct relationship to the respective 1st teams.
@Rugger fan – I was in the Northern Cape on Friday, Saturday and Sunday on a hunting trip. I missed the game but got some feedback from parents who were at the match.
Boys High is truly a remarkable institution and worthy of much praise. Thank you for your kind words. College Boys, parents and teachers are always a pleasure to host – have had many stay over with me and my family.
I will be in PMB for the return fixture so we can share a coke or a castle in August.
There are many fixtures that I enjoy but very few have the same edge as Maritzburg. College boys always give as good as they get and you can be assured they will play their hearts out for the badge.
The same can also be said of KES, Jeppe, Westville, Parktown, Affies, etc.
@Star – I am just sharing with you the general perception. It would be good if you could clarify the matter so that we don’t just operate under perceptions but rather have a realistic picture.
@ Gungets Tuft (the best name on the blog) – Perhaps I was a little heavy handed and you are right, they are only boys and will always give 100%. My only concern with the first team at the moment is they way they acquiesce. Having not watched the fixture first hand, I really shouldn’t comment but apparently many missed tackles and created no scoring opportunities. You never acquiesce against college as they need no second invitation to accept any gifts you are willing to give them. By all accounts College were solid if not spectacular and used every opportunity they received to score.
@Tang: Hi Tang – sorry to have missed you last weekend up at PBHS -was an AWESOME day out! Thanks to all involved. A great school you are part of. I still owe you that Coke for the Jeppe 125th commentary.
@Star – how many sports bursaries does Westville offfer?
How many of the first team rugby and hockey players are on bursaries?
We have a perception in Pretoria that Westville are out and out mercenaries. Is this perception valid or are we way off the mark?
We know of at least three first team acquisitions last year (two from Hudson Park).
Would be nice if you could give us the real facts before we trek down to Ville on 15 May.
Maybe we could even use the scorecard for this fixture. It may shine a light on results.
@Rugger fan:
Indeed!! Ever noticed how many guys ref multiple games in a day? You’ll often find the 1st team ref at College on Snows in the morning reffing the U14A or U15A game – simply because there aren’t enough refs to cover all the games.
@GreenBlooded: Perhaps the solution is that there should be more of us armchair critics who become refs. Then the poor appointment secretary will have a whole host of refs to choose from on any given Saturday – and he can then start worrying about Old Boys and not just – “Do i have enough refs to cover all the games?!”
Check the results at U14 level (from a college win or loss):
14A lost 7 – 38
14B won 22 – 10
14C won 17 – 7
14D won 55 – 7
And what was really amazing – GW could only field 4 U14 teams on the day – the “E” team was pulled from the fixtures.
Similar trend in other age groups (apart from U15)
@star:
There will always be perceptions of bias – regardless if the referee:
1. Went to the school.
2. Kids went to the school.
3. Lives near the school.
4. Wife’s Dad went to the school.
5. Knows someone who went to the school.
6. Teaches at the school.
7. Used to teach at the school.
8. Used to date a chick who’s brother went to the school.
…..ad infinitum. If there is a perception that the referee is biased, finding a reason to justify the incorrect perception is a simple matter. How far do you want to go in denying games to competent refs? There are only so many that are at the level to do 1st XV Tier 1 school games – they are not falling out of the trees. Yet there are those who are in favor of adding further restrictions.
@Rugger fan: It becomes a real day out for the boys when there is a full complement. I hope the Jeppe boys enjoyed it as much as we did. That is also the reason why Westville have now added Jeppe and Affies to the PBHS and KES fixtures. Just have to be a little careful of all the travel and related attrition
( that’s for old dodge and the buccaneer). I am surprized at your comments on GW who we are yet to play( on OB day no less). Surely they have the numbers and top end quality to compete down the line. I was told in the U14 they had 23 CW players. If 50 % of their intake play they should be able to put out at least 5 quality teams.
@beet: The perception may be there – but at Super Rugby games and Currie Cup games we still get “local” refs doing derby games. it’s only international matches where the neutral is used.
Regarding impartiality – I paint myself with that brush (as a Midlands Ref & College OB too) in that I have reffed a few College games this season – and College have won some and lost some. In two cases (one win – one loss) – the opposition coach spoke to me afterwards and asked why I had not reacted harsher against his players (in one case my Yellow was questioned as to why it was not a red – and in the other why my penalty in front of the poles was not a Yellow!). I feel that was a complement to me that the non-College coach felt I was an acceptable ref in their eyes.
I am a firm believer that no ref will put his or her integrity and personal agendas on the line to swing a match. And if they do – they are unlikely to get to the level where they are awarded a 1st XV match anyway.
@star: Good stats on the college/WV day. I must agree – that on the fixtures so far – PBHS and Westville have provided the best “across the board” challenge for College. Unfortunately while with both GW and DHS – College came out poorly at the “A” team level – their lower teams mostly had one way traffic in College’s favour. Both wV and PBHS were very competitive at all levels – and both fielded a full complement of teams to match College. Just saying that this was really great that at the U14D or U16E level that the boys get a really good game and are not mismatched.
@GreenBlooded: I agree 100 % with Beet on the matter of perceived independence. In the KES /Westville game I was told that the ref was the KES 2nd team coach. I cannot confirm whether he actually was or whether he had a good game or not. The real issue however is that it came up. Surely this narrative should be avoided where possible in the interests of the desired perception.
@beet:
Is there a particular incident which has got this bee in your bonnet all of a sudden? The only high profile examples of this are Watson for College and Nicholson for Hilton and neither of those have happened lately? How do you feel about parents who aren’t old boys? Or teachers? Many examples of teachers who are more than competent to ref 1st team. Wedderburn and Rossouw at GW. Vd Linde at WV. Look at Hilton to name a few? Do we restrict them as well?
@Grasshopper: Why would you want to scrape the fixture with Affies? Proper goals for both schools. Affies to try and beat Glenwood on more occasions in hockey and for Glenwood to win on more occasions in rugby. I am sure Glenwood was extremely proud when their first team beat Affies in rugby last year.
@GreenBlooded: Thanks. I think I’m going to rather put the effort into an email to the PMB slash Midlands refs society to consider not allocating 1st XV games to old boys of one the two schools involved, if the supply of suitably qualified refs exceeds demand on matchdays. Cardiologists might hate me for making the suggestion but what the hell
@beet:
I don’t know mate. Why don’t you post your question to the duty ref at http://www.sareferees.co.za and see what he says?
@GreenBlooded: Yeah nothing worse than an irate diner in a family restaurant
Could it be that the international refs made their choice to “pacify some misguided, uninformed, ignorant spectators who believe that referees are biased” ?
@star: Honestly glad Westville managed to agree a fixture with PBHS, the more big schools agreeing fixtures the better it is for the lower sides. I really wish Glenwood scrapped Monnas, Affies and Framesby now for a PBHS, Jeppe, Parktown, Grey PE or KES fixture…..
@Gungets Tuft: I don’t mind you supporting PBHS as I think it is a special institution but do have a problem with incorrect comparisons as part of the validation process. You said” I believe that they ( PBHS) took more games off College today than both Westville and Glenwood.” You also said ” they would skin Westville ” in hockey.
)
Let us look at the stats then
Rugby v College
Westville played 24 won 12 lost 11 and drew 1
Hockey v College
Westville played 15 Won 7 lost 6 and drew 2
Squash Westville won 5-3( just for fun of it
So the first statement/belief is incorrect as PBHS won 8 and I think the use of the word ” skin” is a bit heavy handed bearing it mind that Westville won more than double the games that PBHS did against College.
Maybe a bit of temperance in your zeal or we will have to take the tag of ” hot” blooded away from GB and give it to you.
Further against Jeppe in the same three codes comprising almost 50 matches Jeppe won 3. Maybe just a little more respect to the lads from the leafy suburbs. I must add that the boys we hosted were real characters and I think this is a new partnership that will go from strength to strength.
@Gungets Tuft:
@beet:
I think that’s pretty obvious: imagine sitting in a restaurant with your family the week after you reffed a match where the Springboks lost by a point to New Zealand? Not for me thanks. SBR refs are not quite in that sort of spotlight…..yet.
@beet: Voyager miles …
@GreenBlooded: The international refs (experienced imparial pros) must have their reasons for not wanting to ref their own countries?
@beet:
Best available ref gets the best available game. That is the current protocol and one I happen to agree with. I don’t believe that referees who ref at that level deliberately favor their schools.
As I understand it, the reason for impartial ref’s at international level comes from the referees themselves – not the IRB (now known as World Rugby).
@Tang: Relax mate. You have a great school, and even they have lean periods. I chatted to a lot of PBHS parents this weekend and there is a variety of stories, but you have a rare thing there, where the perfomance of a single team doesn’t define the school. Don’t surrender it ….
And I think your next years 1st Fifteen is going to be quite strong (decent crop of U16’s and your open division has nice depth), so don’t pull a “Hilton” move that you will regret by trying to fix something that’s not broken.
@GreenBlooded: Like Pedantic mentioned above, Joubert is an international ref and a rugby celebrity. He’s left behind the label of society ref a long time ago. It’s regarded as an honour for the SBR players to have him take charge of their game. But even at his high level, you don’t see countryman reffing their own countries in top level test matches. Why don’t the IRB allow that? Don’t they trust the top pro refs to be imparial? Or do they just try to avoid the repercussions stemming for a human being making a legit error which might favour his own country?
Different circumstances when there is a shortage of suitable refs at SBR level but if there is choice, avoid the old boys reffing their own 1st XVs. The appearance of independence goes a long way.
@beet:
For what reason? To pacify some misguided, uninformed, ignorant spectators who believe that referees are biased? I don’t think so.
Would you include Craig Joubert reffing on Reunion Day? Imagine being deprived of that 44-40 spectacle (where he sent off a player from HIS school which some argue cost them the game).
@GreenBlooded: And up in Balgowan some Midlands refs also accept weaner calves as payment …
@Ruggerfan – The improvement in results by Boys High is stunning and proof that rugby is going in the right direction.
Results from Last year
23 Fixtures – MC won 21, drew one and lost 2.
Last year MC had some big victories over Boys High u16a 43-0, u16b 40-5, u14 a 47-12, etc.
Biggest margin of victory this year, 61-7 at u15c.
Last year u14A lost 47-12 this year u15a closed the gap to 26-17.
The first team fixture was very poor by Boys High. One word sums it up – GATVOL
@beet: don’t think the schools have ever had anything but cordial relations – rivalry too intense. I believe Jeppe will be at the KES festival new year – as a thanks for KES attending Jeppe 125 and agreeing to play Ville twice
@GreenBlooded: how’s a leather jacket strike you
@GreenBlooded: It seems like something the Midlands society should try to work around though – no old boys reffing their own schools’ first team games
@McCulleys Workshop:
Reffing 3 big games in 6 days is not easy – specially when travelling long distances (like up to House for example). It causes ref fatigue.
@GreenBlooded: What if the ref is a replacement due to attrician because of the many games being reffed by the 1st choice refs, who are now injured, and we know there is limited depth. This could be a tradegy…
@Roger:
In the Midlands we accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Diners Club, e-wallet and PayPal. What’s it worth to you? I can organise…..
@beet:
I can tell you this for free: No amount of criticism of any Midlands ref personally and collectively, on this or any other forum will have ANY affect on who is appointed to do what game – College old boy or not.
Some feedback from College / PBHS rugby
SUMMARY
Played: 25
College Won: 17
Drew: 0
PBHS Wont: 8
So actually a fairly good result for College – the main PBHS strength was in the open set of teams
Hockey was a little different:
Summary
Played 18
College Won 12
PBHS Won 3
Drew 3
@beet: Ja sadly the grass was laid to late , the compost was left in piles, so the grass below died…. sounding like our season unprepared
That said I do think that St Charles are doing the right things for a better rugby future – new sports coordinator – new gym guy -the primary school is fast becoming one of the strongest in Natal, which will naturally feed better players into the high school.. better facilities – flip you never know we might just have well educated rugby players in the future 
@Buffel: I must agree with your comments and I think it would have been great to see House at the Kearsney and Wildeklawer festivals playing against some of top 10 sides. Unfortunately I don’t decide that and we can only have opinions on how they would have performed. I personally think this House side is a very good side (naturally
) and would still have performed well.
Unfortunately I was not privileged enough to go to House and also have no axe to grind with KC.
@Pedantic: Two other comments, firstly I believe Midlands trials are being held today so that may explain why the House boys were on the sidelines. Secondly was KC invited to play at Wildeklawer?
@Grasshopper: I worked with a Queenian many years ago. We were always giving each other gears about are respective schools rugby performances. He so desperately wanted to call Kearsney Queersney as is common practice but coming from a school named Queen’s that was out of the question
Fun times we had back then. All in good spirits.
@beet: I reckon they just appoint Greenblooded, he will be totally impartial ;-)
@GreenBlooded: A Jeppe parent told me what he thought of a certain College official who had apparently gone on record about his views on the referee at the Jeppe 125th, so if true the pressure is very much on College official now to ensure that the ref does a sound job. I’m not sure how any school can guarantee that the ref will be fair but that’s the path chosen now.
If Mr Beans is assigned the 1st XV duty vs KES, it might be in College’s best interests to object. The last thing they need now is an old boy reffing and making a human error a high profile match against a Gauteng team, even tho it doesn’t sound like KES and Jeppe are the best of mates.
@Roger: Yep, but then he came into today with a sad face, well beaten by Selborne….eish!
@saints: Thanks Saints. I had a look at the field a couple of weeks ago and there were a lot of brown patches on it for some or other season. They may prove very hard to correct going into a PMB winter but I guess laying new grass might be a quick fix.
@GreenBlooded: nope – just been in those parts for ten days – will be back again in August holidays. Just be sure those dodgy midland refs are dodgy in favour of the Reds
@Grasshopper: tell him that’s two in a row for Queens – it will make his day even brighter
@Roger: Sitting in my office is a Queens Old Boy, he had a huge smile on his face the other day, wasn’t sure why. He then said Queens beat KES at home and I understood why…
@Roger:
You coming down to Sleepy Hollow this weekend? Might be able to introduce you to a dodgy Midlands ref or 2?
@beet: St Charles didn’t play on their new field, i don’t think they thought it was quite ready – they might use it this weekend, when we play Clifton.Friday’s game wasn’t great,with lots poor decision making, bad tackling and again missed kicks.
The Parktown boys were a pleasure to host and created a great atmosphere with their band and enthusiasm.
@Buffel: “when if’s and but’s are candy and nuts it will be Christmas all year round”. You are beginning to sound like the Westville supporters – too many matches, too much travel blah blah blah.
Only have yourselves to blame for overplaying your players.
So what is the Grogper looking like? Must be close…
@Stripes: When did you attend MHS? Just want to see if you have an axe to grind during your time there.
@Stripes: As I said in my last post. Enough said. MHS are a very good side and are unbeaten till now. Would like to see them play Selbourne, Grey College and Dale in 6 days. Me thinks a couple of losses there ,maybe 3. Put the games you played in Jozi into perspective then your record would look pretty similar to that of KC.
Let us say that we both have decent sides and the better team on the day won . It would be a very special day if they could play again at KC.
@Pedantic: House didn’t go to Wildeklawer out for respect for KC, they would have missed the KC game! Why do you think House were invited to Wildeklawer? At least KC wouldn’t have lost to House again if they did go! They play St Charles as part of a traditional fixture list, but not sure why they not playing Westville. Personally would have liked to see them playing Westville!
I think your comments are unfair and unjustified, but as I said to Buffel not sure why KC supporters have a problem with House and I will let the results decide my opinions.
@Pedantic:
Jeez – why so grumpy bru? Why the hating on the House okes and the Midlands refs? Kinda glad you okes beat Glenwood this year – seems to have shifted the focus off of the recruiting saga and onto other things
@GreenBlooded: Not referring to professionals who are clearly at a different level. I doubt that Joubert and Berry are currently “Midlands refs”.
@Pedantic:
Craig Joubert?
Stuart Berry?
@Pedantic: Eish…..and they were chanting ‘we play Glenwood’ taunting Hilton……seems pot kettle comes to mind…
@Grasshopper: Don’t forget they also turned down an invitation to Wildeklawer – in all honesty, what other school in SA would do that ?
@Galaza: Don’t think it’s been published anywhere. Let me know what school you want to know about and I can give you an idea of who is involved.
@Pedantic: I wasn’t aware they left out Westville, I retract my comment then….
Is there a list available of players doing the CW HP Training ?
@Grasshopper: Nonsense, “the strongest teams they can locally” – they take on St Charles (who is Tier 2 now) and Northwood while leaving out Westville? They then show more arrogance than Grey, Glenwood & College combined – Quickly losing respect all round.
@McCulleys Workshop: I am yet to see a decent Midlands ref in 5 years … something very wrong there.
@McCulleys Workshop: Interesting thing I saw today at CW HP training … ALL players present were training, except for the MHS players who stood on the sideline watching – apparently because they had a tough game yesterday – poor boys.
So they seem to be the golden boys of KZN rugby – Westville had a tough game on Friday … they were training, KC had an easy game yesterday … they were training … College boys played on Friday in Pretoria .. traveled back and were training.
Whether you like it or not … MHS mollycoddle their players and suffer far less attrition as a result.
Let’s see if any of them can step up at CW where they have to play 3 games in 6 days.
@McCulleys Workshop: I kind of like what House is doing, a calculated type season, playing the strongest teams they can locally and a few others. For me 14 to 15 games a season is enough. I also like that House don’t care what team Glenwood puts out, they also human and the right age so play what is in front on them…..Hilton need to take a leaf out of House’s book. Glenwood would not smash them this year…and only smashed them in 2014, but Glenwood did that to a few local sides in 2014…..just a very good side, arguably their best in a decade…..with 3 SA Schools players…
@star: Star – I know you are convinced of your attrition thesis – but 30 years ago before social media, we were never aware of the number of U19 players (other than a post matric count), nor the number of games our opposition had played, nor the number of rugby playing boys in a school. It has now become a fanciful excuse. I do not believe that a school determines who it plays at a festival, and secondly most schools commit to playing their traditional rivals first before traveling the universe. It seems a pitiful excuse, unless you believe the rankings, I don’t. As far as MHS is concerned we are certainly having a reasonable domestic season, would we beat Glenwwod again, I don’t know, should we be number 7 or number 16 in the ranking, I don’t know nor care. Could we beat some of the top 20 sides, Yes, could we lose to all of them, Yes.
@beet: Haha – I was just pulling the piss after last weeks comments. The ref irritated the Hilton supporters near me and did a reasonable job.
@Buffel: Besides the Sharks performance, I am also a Newcastle supporter( just organised my WC tickets for SA V Scotland at St James Park
) and so you can imagine how bleak I am with how the long weekend has unfolded. The performance of the Pacman did not improve matters. 
and will spot you on the side of the field later.
KC’s fantastic performance( I believe they did not lose one hockey or rugby game) against DHS has set-up our OB day perfectly. The good news is that some big boys will be back for the encounter and they need to dominate. I had a good chat to young Els who contributed to that nearly try in the corner with a good catch behind him, smashing the line and good hands in distribution. We need more of that from him ( and others). Prinsloo needs to use his pace and explode over the advantage line rather than check himself and do the Bismark parry. If we are going to set-up rucks in midfield I think it would we a good idea to support and defend them and so some thinking is required in that area. I prefer Beets suggestion to test the fringes with the big boys and wear K down. Ball is also far too deep as player ( and captain) and needs to get involved more as happened against Menlopark where he scored 2 great tries. The same applies to Tony and Wheeler who must play wing. Westville have got 4 OB/ Reunion days still to navigate which offers great opportunities/challenges for the boys who must keep there heads up high. I will be having lunch with the Kearsney mafia at Waxy’s which I will have to endure
@McCulleys Workshop: It was the same ref that handled the MHS vs College game on Meadows last year and left straight afterwards possibly because of the verbal abuse towards the end of that game. Definitely not a fun job sometimes. The Maritzburg Society refs’ motto will soon be “you can’t please any of the people any of the time!”
@Stripes: No dislike at all- in fact have had a family member through the school. A healthy rivalry always and respect. Enough said.
Good luck next weekend to KC and Westville. My heart lies with KC .Star, the game is on. 2 games and the victor the spoils. I suggest a points for and against determines the victor.
@NW_Knight: Archie has to be careful not to create the wrong reputation otherwise teams are going to start believing that throwing punches and dangerous tip tackles are merely yellow card offences when he’s in charge.
@BoishaaiPa: I do actually, but hey ho….best academic school in WC is probably Westerford…had mates teach at most of them…
@Buffel: No way a 40 point game could be called lucky! You obviously have some sort of an axe to grind with House, not sure what happened to make you dislike them so. Anyway I will just let the results speak for themselves and let you make excuses and derogatory comments. Well played KC hope you softened DHS up for Houses game against them next weekend!
@Pedantic:
Not sure – don’t have the inside scoop on the Durban scene anymore. How are those video clips coming along?
@Grasshopper: You dont much about other Gov schools outside your frame of reference..specially in the WC.
@Gungets Tuft: Injured.
@NW_Knight: I don’t know the boy well any more, but didn’t see Mr T in the firsts or seconds, or did I miss him?
@Gungets Tuft: Agreed. Wasn’t a great game and Archie was consistent (but sometimes too lenient).
@NW_Knight: Cool. I am a poor commentator, get too engrossed and don’t watch the detail. I thought 13 was lucky to get just a yellow for the tip tackle, I thought it should have been a straight red.
Thought the ref was pretty good though, didn’t miss much and was consistent.
Scrappy 2nd half, forward try for
Parktown, final score 19-10.
Well done KC on dismantling an improving DHS side but then Stripes would have said we were lucky. It was never going to be 3 point game. Star, pity you could not find the 7 points needed for victory- 2 close games in 2 days-your nerves must be shot.
19-10 to NW full time
@GreenBlooded: Who was the KC vs DHS Ref? Had a very good game – at least can spot tip tackles
No seriously, he really did a good job, kept everyone under control and kept the game flowing.
@Gungets Tuft: 13 scored 2
Half time at Northwood, 19-3 to Northwood. Good value for that, no clear winner in field position, Northwood back line the difference, good hard running from 13 for one try, then 2 kicks ahead gathered by 14, for the two other tries.
@McCulleys Workshop:
Well according to the Kearsney okes – you probably deserved the ref being biased against you…….
Northwood 2nds 19-16 vs Parktown. Full time. Gutsy game from Northwood, player down for yellow and finally a red for much of the game.
IMHO kearsney the best attacking team from unstructured play in Kzn, with Tedder being the catalyst of that attack. Very impressed yesterday
@GreenBlooded: haha – the chant sounded something like that – and we should have won by a far greater margin if we didn’t have a couple of injuries and the ref wasn’t so biased against us
It was entertaining but not epic – MHS dominated the loose phases with No 7 Jack Walters having a great game – small but tough. The MHS backs punched holes consistently and ran into space, offloading in the tackle. Bader creates the space by always having 2/3 players having to defend against him. They seem to lose their way in the last 1/4.
@GreenBlooded: Exhaustion from the water bottle detective work perhaps
@Gungets Tuft:
Ahhh yes – the U16B “Soldiers”. How could I forget……
And well done to the Nicotine 9ths as well.
@GreenBlooded: The mighty 9ths was 26-3 and the U16B 33-17. I have very few scores though.
@Gungets Tuft:
Yip – agree 100%. All the games I watched were close. I think only the 14A and 1st had reasonable scorelines. Much better than the trip I made up there 2 years ago.
Like you say – a great day out at PBHS. I will definitely make the trip every year.
@Stripes:
I heard that one of the House half-time chants was, “We play Glenwood. We play Glenwood”
From what I hear – 3 good 1st half tries by House and then a gutsy Hilton claw-back in the 2nd half. Must have been epic.
@beet: i agree 100% with the forward statement you have a 80 something kg flanker as your main ball carrier which does not make sense…. regarding the midfield there is no option to offload which indicates that everyone is standing back and waiting for the next phase. … hello news flash you have to win the ruck first…. it just shows they train fast pace vs no opposition and neglect to compete at the breakdowns. … also forced passes indicates that there is no backup or patience to build another phase…. i feel slow the play and when you have earned the space then speed it up…..
24-18 to House. Good game and like I said the best team will win.
@chopper: Well done, but it’s not as if they are the Top3 in KZN this year. Westville have been good or rather poor, the latter must have applied yesterday. Michaelhouse are setting the pace it seems….followed by Kearsney and Glenwood. Glenwood seem to be erratic too….beating College by 50, Noord Kaap in a close one but then lose heavily to EG….shows they are a young side…
@beet: Yep, that’s what I heard. Also interesting re Jeppe’s grade 11s is that they are the star players of the team – i.e. 8, 9, 10 and 13.
It looks like two of last year’s u16A loose forwards are playing 1st team lock this year, so I suspect that lock is an area that Jeppe will need to work on – esp. re lineouts.
@Gungets Tuft: Always nice to hear about well mannered young South African school kids. We have something very special here in South Africa thanks to our school systems in place and long may they last.
@Vleis: I have been told that the no8 will be back as an U19 player next year
@chopper: As far as I can tell, the Jeppe side that played on Saturday had eight grade 11s in the starting line-up plus two on the bench. It will be a very good side next year.
Am I correct that your 8th man is in grade 11, albeit he is u18?
@h2o: For me I felt the frontrow was underutilised. 3 big boys who should have been used to dominate the gainline and wear down the opposition closer to the fringes. Instead the flank gets set up as the main ball carrier in midfield from which the team seldom establishes a good platform to generate a second wave attack. Els is a strong carrier with good skills. Stolz has some power and Prinsloo has a bit of pace to inject yet his best carries come from totally unstructured play when he is in a backline possie. Westville are yet to find a way to make this size advantage count in their favour. Also think Wheeler must stay out on the wing and with Ball and Mahlangu should be the players allowed to look for work down the middle or played to quickly on the blindsides. All three have shown in the past that they are line breakers. Tonny was well marked by his opposite number but when he had a run up the middle off a set play he easily got by his marker and scored. Contrast Westville’s use of key players to Jeppe’s and that’s where the game was won and lost.
@chopper: Indeed. I arrived at Montrose last night at about 8.30pm just as the place was awash with something like 600 Jeppe boys and staff. You guys can also take a bow, your school
Was immaculately turned out in their number 1’s, all of them doing their school credit, boys stepping aside to allow parents and other customers access to rest room, counters etc. I chatted to some of your staff, all clearly chuffed at a good day out. Well done Jeppe, not just the sport but in general.
As an aside, my wife knows people on staff at George Campbell, they’ve just had overseas educators visit and they were OTT about the manners and behaviour of the boys there. I think we take the discipline of the boys at our traditional schools for granted, gloss over it, but it’s a big deal to those that aren’t used to it. We’re in fine shape, despite the national challenges.
@Gungets Tuft: The rest they say is history! Jeppe claim 3 KZN scalps inside 7 days! College, DHS and yesterday Westville where the score flattered Westville. Jeppe manned up to a huge Westville pack with a prop the size of a ratel! But it’s not about the size of the dog in the fight at Jeppe, it’s the size of the fight in the dog. Jeppe’s 8, 10 and 13 ran Westville ragged! Well done to the Black and White.
@Gungets Tuft: Maybe my comments regarding PBHS could be seen as a derogetory comment. For that I appologise.
I was not referring to rugby in general at PBHS. I was referring to their 2015 1 st xv. They are weaker than in the past and are going to struggle in 2015. This is how SBR moves from year to year, up’s and down’s. The do have a really magnificent campus with top notch facilities
@Grasshopper: “I was going to pop over but the wifey said no chance. PBHS in my opinion is the best gov school in the Vaal. Academics are 2nd to none, only Westville, Bosch and SACS probably come close. My first athletics trip was hosted by PBHS and I was impressed by their facilities.”
Why would anyone be concerned for this franchise and alma mater?
You’ve missed my point completely. In years past lots of schools have been klapped 6:0 by Affies, being lucky to win one fixture in 26, including Glenwood and College. Nobody was calling for the lifeboats and women and children first.
Once again, people should get a grip, it’s school, the first years of an adults life, and PBHS has a crop of fine boys. I know this is a rugby blog but despite a loss on their main field yesterday I saw Z.E.R.O evidence of a school in decline yesterday. I was reminded why College play them twice every year, it’s one fixture that I will consider traveling for even after my boy leaves at the end of this year.
@h2o: maybe Ville should get Mike Vowles back….
@beet: It is not difficult to see the lack of a game plan. Some individual brilliance and then the structures fail to show. Firstly you cannot run every ball from your 22. Then it is all good and well setting up a ruck in midfield but no use trying to play expansive game if you do not commit to this ruck. A poorly coached side with very little if any game plan. Maybe GB needs to go back to basics. 9/16 is well below par. With some big derbies coming up i cannot see Villewith ending above 50%. Some talented kids in this side…. very sad
@Gungets Tuft: I was going to pop over but the wifey said no chance. PBHS in my opinion is the best gov school in the Vaal. Academics are 2nd to none, only Westville, Bosch and SACS probably come close. My first athletics trip was hosted by PBHS and I was impressed by their facilities. My point was if College can beat them by 25 points then PBHS 1st side are going to battle compared with previous years. I mean what would Monnas, EG Jansen, Garsies & Affies going to do to them, a Sharks mangling comes to mind. John Smit must be a concerned man for his franchise and alma mater…
All the talk about the demise of rugby at PBHS is hogwash. Their 1st side might be under par this year but rugby in general is in rude good health. Their depth is impressive, I believe they took more games off College today than both Westville and Glenwood. They also ran 25 rugby teams and 18 hockey, their hockey is very good, they would skin Westville and Glenwood.
Just back in Durban from an extremely enjoyable day. PBHS can be very proud of their campus, their boys who were outstanding in every way, their organization of today (even if they ran out of food and drink, but the catering ladies told me that they completely underestimated the huge numbers of College parents that made the trip). Say what you like about their strength, they are styling, and it will continue long past the odd poor season for their 1sts. I have a new favorite away fixture, what a pity it’s my first and last while my boy is at College.
@GreenBlooded: We started hearing about Glover last year … seems we are developing a lot of good # 8’s in KZN recently – Schramm, Coetzee, Palvie, Glover – one wonders how good Staples would be this year – a real pity we never got to see it.
@Grasshopper: You are actually kind when you say average. I think they are below average. Its going to be a loooong season for them.
The Affies game might be a record defeat.
PBHS must be very average then…
@Pedantic:
Was still a ball game with 20 to go. 2 very well worked tries by College in the final 20 put it out of reach. For most of the game PBHS were still in it. College kicked too much today – when they ran the ball things happened. Awesome try by Guma who stepped 2 defenders and left a third with a ‘deer in the headlights’ expression as he ran right past him on the outside. Craig Glover was immense today at 8 – man of the match by far for me . Frackers also ran good lines.
@Grasshopper: Excellent result, one cannot underestimate any College side. PBHS having a bit of a nightmare at the moment.
@beet: Sorry didn’t go but will be at Hilton tomorrow!
Westville quite disappointing today. Jeppe deserved to win but what a Jekyll and Hyde performance by them. Star players that are brilliant one play and then nightmare come true the next
@Stripes: Did you watch the St Charles match?
If so please tell us what you thought of their new Home of Rugby.
I dropped in on the way to MHS last week but without the atmosphere created by spectators (SCC at Hilton last Sat) one can’t really get a good feel.
@Stripes: Finally got one and close to 30 :-)
Parktown 34 St Charles 10.
Another wrong one for me, College beat PBHS 25-3!
I started badly, Jeppe beat Westville 27-20. Westville having a mare run this season……eish, just not playing to potential….
Jeppe by 5
Parktown by 15
College by 10
House by 7
DHS by 3
Northwood by 5.
The under 16 games will be quite interesting in these Fixture. Michaelhouse could have a long day against Hilton even though we showed improvement against a decent Kearsney side. Kearsney will do well to beaten by less than 10 against a sharp DHS side. Jeppe will need to be on top of their game if they are to get anywhere near Westville and College will lose against PBHS. The College side hasn’t impressed at all this year.
@beet: KES play Ville at home on 23 May – if Westville were going to beat KES it would have been at Jeppe 125 – can’t see them turning KES over in Houghton!
@Grasshopper: hmmm – you picking PBHS over College? It might be a lot closer than I anticipate – I think it’s their first home game of the season? They will certainly be fired up.
Workers of the world, unite ! Viva comrades ! Fight capitalist exploitation and refuse to play for any school which pays less than 100 k pa + benefits. Happy workers day !! Aluta de Continua !
Westville by 5
Parktown by 15
College by 3
Hilton by 1
Kearsney by 5
Northwood by 5
Westville by 10
Parktown by 30
PBHS by 5
House by 5
Kearsney by 3
Parktown by 10
@Roger: I think there is still a Westville vs KES game to come so things could still turn around there for Westville. I’m not sure overrated is the right term but certainly saying they don’t play to their true potential has to go hand in hand with them showing that true potential every few games. You are right about Parktown. This is a team to take seriously.
Ville have a big pack and blow hot & cold, if they blow hot and the pack rumbles at home, no chance for Jeppe…
@beet: Ville are overrated Beet – admit it
Did you pick them to beat KES? Parktown Nothhwood will be close but Parktown are not too shabby this year 
Without home ground advantage I reckon Jeppe will struggle at Westville, same with Parktown against Northwood.
@Roger: Think you may have 1 outta 5 there
@Roger:
Lots of love Roger. Come Saturday evening you will either have some serious “I told you so” ammo at your disposal or taking cover as the bullets rain down on you mainly from Sniper Starsky
@Redblack White: nope Jeppe will do ’em and DHS are primed
@Roger: I think you have your Kearsney result the wrong way round. Also think the Ville can deal with Jeppe.
Jeppe to shade Westville and Parktown to beat St Charles and Northwood. College to get one over Boys High.
DHS to pip Kearsney and House to pop Hilton
Star – no comments this time and no winner at half time