True story! Schoolboy rugby is never short of unusual events so this one might not draw much attention.
Garsfontein 1st XV’s next match will be against Stellenberg at the Absa Wildeklawer on 02 May 2024.
Measured from the Affies match on 06 April 2024, that is 27 days of no rugby in the second term during what is traditionally the busiest schoolboy rugby month of the season.
It surely has to be a record of sorts for a top rugby high school.
People forget that the Easter festivals used to be season openers…but now, to make a good impression at the festivals – and more so for Noord/Suid – schools come with several games under their belts, and months of conditioning etc. So the result is a lopsided season with a long inactive stretch.
@boerboel (Comment #3)
Ek is so bly hulle het jou truitjie weggeneem.
gives them time to make some purchases-expect a couple on new okes
@Jakes (Comment #1)
Very interesting observation indeed. Could be bit of a both. Conundrum for a school finding itself between cup-rugby and growing into a national superpower with the associated depth?
GF will almost certainly play tough games every year at both NS and WK and, with the Noordvaal Cup’s packed schedule, could well be a case of rather resting players than scattering teams all over.
Mid-ranked schools not wanting to play GF, and GF possibly not wanting their A-teams to play too many lower-ranked teams whilst building up to WK and NV? Whilst the top-ranked schools will want minimum number of teams before putting pen to paper. Between a rock and a hard place..
Every year their depth is building and the options will grow. But so will the travel-requirements.
Personally, I would rather choose 17 games max (including sf and finals), with some gaps, over 20+ games and playing the boys into the ground just to fill the calendar. There will be a peak at some point, I will leave it to the sport scientists to determine where that sweet-spot is.
Just my 2 cents. I am sure it is not co-incidence but very specific planning by this well-oiled growing machine.
Couldn’t they get fixtures? Nobody wants to play them or doing it deliberately to rest players? On the other hand EGJansen has a rough schedule but their coaches are managing the team well. In most of their games they build a big lead and then bring on all replacements, in some games even before the 1st half is over. Good team management.