Sad news for KZN and SAS is that Hendrickse has ruled out due to an ACL.
KZN could call up 1 of the 3 recognisable 9’s from their AW team but also have the option to do what last year’s WP CW team did in the case of Phillip van Dyk iow call up a player who was not picked for the AW team at all.
@beet: Classic comment and observation Beet, the last sentence a cracker suggestion. I think they should get Star to audit the process, he is the least biaised man on this blog. He went to two of the competing schools who are always under represented, his brother and nephew went to House, and I’m sure he’s had cousins and nephews at the balance of the schools.
@beet: Thank you Beet. Really sad that a talented player like Schreuder must lose out on selection. Hope a scout out there picks him up before he too heads overseas to kick our behinds in a foreign jumper years from now. I really rate the player. Otherwise seems like one helluva squad and I wonder how they are going to manage that #8 selection at the week because both those guys are probably in with a good shot at higher honors.
I’ll start off by saying I’m happy with the KZN CW selections. Not so thrilled about the AW team balance, it just does not look like much thought went into the positional picks. For CW I thought Lindo Luthuli was the unlucky loser out. I’ve been really impressed with his play this year. I also thought there would be a place for Robbie Koenig but I wasn’t as confident about him as Luthuli. The Westville hooker Loelly was the biggest surprise pick to me. The lock Slabbert is on the SARU radar so I was sure all along that he would be picked – I think he has unrealised potential which he still needs to unleash this season so hopefully he will time it to peak at CW.
KZN never seems to have a problem picking the star players for CW. The battleground is always around the fringe guys, where there are often choices to be made. Many of the Hilton players fall into this fringe category. They are good enough to be in the CW team but ended up losing out to others in the same category. Same story as last year when not a single HC player made CW. The worst fear for HC supporters is that when it boils down to an HC player vs another for a CW spot, the other is always going to win the vote. Why?
I was at a KZN high schools rugby AGM a few years ago. They spoke openly about the undue pressure school coaches get put under by their own headmasters to pick their own players at trials. So although they try to project a public image of being impartial in selections behind the scenes they are acutely aware bias that can creep in because of where loyalties lie.
Generally the KZN schools don’t like each other too much. There is a tolerance level and a public respect but not much love lost otherwise. The kids who play rugby seem to get along way better than the adults working for the schools. So the schools generally don’t work together even for common causes. This means that if just 2 or so do manage to put their differences aside and somehow collude, they can achieve a heck of a lot – maybe even control the destiny of their players at trials. I say this because some schools’ players “fringe candidates” normally seem to get the recognition during CW selections while others always appear to be the unlucky losers out??? Remember schoolboy rugby success and school marketing seem to go hand-in-hand – there is often big money involved.
Now you take Hilton’s situation into account. In the last year or so they seem to have gone out of their way to piss off a number of KZN schools by their actions. I count at least 5 KZN who must be less than thrilled about their treatment from Hilton at the moment. The parents of these Hilton boys who lost out on CW selection have to realise that Hilton is extremely unpopular amongst its rival KZN schools now. Relate that back to my paragraph above about undue pressures being placed on coaches/selectors. Maybe just a conspiracy theory or maybe some true to it. The way Hilton conducts its affairs might have come back to bite them. And the sufferers aren’t the adults who made those decisions, it’s the Hilton players who can’t win favour with selectors from other schools.
From my side this website is a community service/hobby. There is no money involved and no attempted financial gain from it. I get a lot of information help from school officials. It’s quite easy to establish how passionate some school staff are about school rugby and the kids they work with, in their willingness to assist. I also often find it’s easy to establish a consistency in the schools’ approach and the manner in which information is relayed. Of all the schools I communicate with, I’ve found Hilton staff the most difficult to get along with in the whole country. It feels like there are some egos that I have to tiptoe around to get the most basic information, and I’m lucky if I get anything because of their so-called policy. It’s also very hard to understand what their standpoint on rugby really is – there just seems to be very little consistency in their approach. So I’m of the opinion that they are just difficult customers all round.
Anyways in the youth week selection process I feel for any player who works his butt off to obtain youth week selection and doesn’t get a fair shake, Hilton players included.
Personally I do think Hilton needs work harder on its relationships with fellow KZN schools. This can only come about from a change in attitude. Headmasters don’t seem to last long there, so who knows, within 24 months we outsiders might be singing the praises of a new leader who makes sweeping changes for the better.
Perhaps Hilton should also think of spending money on investigating the trial selection process to be satisfied that there is no intentional corruption or missing controls that promote fairness and independence???
@SJ: you can blame the school for not allowing these boys to play Glenwood in addition to not playing either PRG or Helpmekaar at the STJ Easter fest …. if this hilton team had played and did well against a team of consequence then the boys would have had a better shot …. they are an untested side so their players have not had the opportunity to really step up and prove that they can play at a top level !
@SJ: Where would you put the HC players and who’s place would they take? Agree with Schreuder not in the AW side he’s is yards better than the MC player.
Well done to the boys who made the teams. All the best to them. Holding thumbs that the Craven Week team can do us proud again like last year when we won 2 games at CW for the first time since 2008 and featured in the unofficial. We have a good team and hopefully they can develop the cohesion, play to their true potential and make it to the final again.
@flanker16: The Sharks U16 Selectors’ XV is not a representative team and will NOT be capped or receive colours. This team will play against the KZN Grant Khomo U16 team on 18 June 2018 as a warm up fixture.
@Buddy: Hi Buddy. Thank you very much for sharing these match highlights
U16 Sharks vs Valke
https://youtu.be/HOPDWewTqEI
U18 Sharks vs Blue Bulls
https://youtu.be/jh3nRVZSC9M
@McCulleys Workshop: It looks like Gareth Schreuder has the nod. He played for the KZN Craven Week team at Bondedag.
@beet: Hi Beet, has the 9 position been resolved yet?
@beet: Thats a pity, best 9 in country in my opinion. He signed with Sharks already?
Sad news for KZN and SAS is that Hendrickse has ruled out due to an ACL.
KZN could call up 1 of the 3 recognisable 9’s from their AW team but also have the option to do what last year’s WP CW team did in the case of Phillip van Dyk iow call up a player who was not picked for the AW team at all.
@beet: Classic comment and observation Beet, the last sentence a cracker suggestion. I think they should get Star to audit the process, he is the least biaised man on this blog. He went to two of the competing schools who are always under represented, his brother and nephew went to House, and I’m sure he’s had cousins and nephews at the balance of the schools.
@beet: Thank you Beet. Really sad that a talented player like Schreuder must lose out on selection. Hope a scout out there picks him up before he too heads overseas to kick our behinds in a foreign jumper years from now. I really rate the player. Otherwise seems like one helluva squad and I wonder how they are going to manage that #8 selection at the week because both those guys are probably in with a good shot at higher honors.
@Rugga Fan: Dane Fisher was unlucky with injuries last year and at the start of this season.
In the recent match against St Charles he ( and his midfield partner ) showed us what we have been missing out on .
I’ll start off by saying I’m happy with the KZN CW selections. Not so thrilled about the AW team balance, it just does not look like much thought went into the positional picks. For CW I thought Lindo Luthuli was the unlucky loser out. I’ve been really impressed with his play this year. I also thought there would be a place for Robbie Koenig but I wasn’t as confident about him as Luthuli. The Westville hooker Loelly was the biggest surprise pick to me. The lock Slabbert is on the SARU radar so I was sure all along that he would be picked – I think he has unrealised potential which he still needs to unleash this season so hopefully he will time it to peak at CW.
KZN never seems to have a problem picking the star players for CW. The battleground is always around the fringe guys, where there are often choices to be made. Many of the Hilton players fall into this fringe category. They are good enough to be in the CW team but ended up losing out to others in the same category. Same story as last year when not a single HC player made CW. The worst fear for HC supporters is that when it boils down to an HC player vs another for a CW spot, the other is always going to win the vote. Why?
I was at a KZN high schools rugby AGM a few years ago. They spoke openly about the undue pressure school coaches get put under by their own headmasters to pick their own players at trials. So although they try to project a public image of being impartial in selections behind the scenes they are acutely aware bias that can creep in because of where loyalties lie.
Generally the KZN schools don’t like each other too much. There is a tolerance level and a public respect but not much love lost otherwise. The kids who play rugby seem to get along way better than the adults working for the schools. So the schools generally don’t work together even for common causes. This means that if just 2 or so do manage to put their differences aside and somehow collude, they can achieve a heck of a lot – maybe even control the destiny of their players at trials. I say this because some schools’ players “fringe candidates” normally seem to get the recognition during CW selections while others always appear to be the unlucky losers out??? Remember schoolboy rugby success and school marketing seem to go hand-in-hand – there is often big money involved.
Now you take Hilton’s situation into account. In the last year or so they seem to have gone out of their way to piss off a number of KZN schools by their actions. I count at least 5 KZN who must be less than thrilled about their treatment from Hilton at the moment. The parents of these Hilton boys who lost out on CW selection have to realise that Hilton is extremely unpopular amongst its rival KZN schools now. Relate that back to my paragraph above about undue pressures being placed on coaches/selectors. Maybe just a conspiracy theory or maybe some true to it. The way Hilton conducts its affairs might have come back to bite them. And the sufferers aren’t the adults who made those decisions, it’s the Hilton players who can’t win favour with selectors from other schools.
From my side this website is a community service/hobby. There is no money involved and no attempted financial gain from it. I get a lot of information help from school officials. It’s quite easy to establish how passionate some school staff are about school rugby and the kids they work with, in their willingness to assist. I also often find it’s easy to establish a consistency in the schools’ approach and the manner in which information is relayed. Of all the schools I communicate with, I’ve found Hilton staff the most difficult to get along with in the whole country. It feels like there are some egos that I have to tiptoe around to get the most basic information, and I’m lucky if I get anything because of their so-called policy. It’s also very hard to understand what their standpoint on rugby really is – there just seems to be very little consistency in their approach. So I’m of the opinion that they are just difficult customers all round.
Anyways in the youth week selection process I feel for any player who works his butt off to obtain youth week selection and doesn’t get a fair shake, Hilton players included.
Personally I do think Hilton needs work harder on its relationships with fellow KZN schools. This can only come about from a change in attitude. Headmasters don’t seem to last long there, so who knows, within 24 months we outsiders might be singing the praises of a new leader who makes sweeping changes for the better.
Perhaps Hilton should also think of spending money on investigating the trial selection process to be satisfied that there is no intentional corruption or missing controls that promote fairness and independence???
Well done Dane Fisher. Coached the kid when he was 12 and 13. Good to see him excel and he had some special talent!!!!
Robbie Koenig from KC very unlucky not to make any side.
Also shocked that Schreuder isn’t in one of the teams, thought he was u19 ? I think he is better than both of the players in the Academy side.
@SJ: you can blame the school for not allowing these boys to play Glenwood in addition to not playing either PRG or Helpmekaar at the STJ Easter fest …. if this hilton team had played and did well against a team of consequence then the boys would have had a better shot …. they are an untested side so their players have not had the opportunity to really step up and prove that they can play at a top level !
@SJ: Where would you put the HC players and who’s place would they take? Agree with Schreuder not in the AW side he’s is yards better than the MC player.
Only 1 Hilton boy, and Schreuder not even in the Academy team??
Well done to the boys who made the teams. All the best to them. Holding thumbs that the Craven Week team can do us proud again like last year when we won 2 games at CW for the first time since 2008 and featured in the unofficial. We have a good team and hopefully they can develop the cohesion, play to their true potential and make it to the final again.
@flanker16: The Sharks U16 Selectors’ XV is not a representative team and will NOT be capped or receive colours. This team will play against the KZN Grant Khomo U16 team on 18 June 2018 as a warm up fixture.
what is selectors XV? anyone know