Hosts King Edward VII School
2 Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool
3 Hoërskool Eldoraigne
4 Hoërskool Noordheuwel
5 Hudson Park High School
6 Jeppe High School for Boys
7 Northwood School
8 Parktown Boys’ High School
9 Pearson High School
10 Queen’s College Boys’ High School
11 Rondebosch Boys’ High School
12 Selborne College
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@RuggaFreak (Comment #17)
I don’t want to trivialise education as a whole at an institution but from a rugby perspective Dale is one of the most important rugby nurseries in South Africa. Its vital that they are financially secure and able to maintain a good standard.
@KatzRugga (Comment #16)
Queen’s costs around 48k and will be 52k next year, I think Dale costs around 38k .Dale unfortunately doesn’t look amazing at the moment facilities wise, go watch the Dale home derby vs Queen’s this year on the SSS app and you’ll see what I mean. Dale was making great strides under Garth to get them to where they belong, unfortunately Garth is gone and I don’t know much about the new principal but I wish him well. Difference is that old boys association at Queen’s is fully operational and every year the amount old boys donate is doubled and old boys participation is at an all time high, Queen’s blessed with a great headmaster and Old Boys with deep pockets who invest and are passionate about the school. Spoke to an Old Dalian and unfortunately not much being raised by OBs and participation is very low, that’s one of the differences.
QUEENS VS. DALE. (ALL SCHOOLS BENEFIT FROM STRONG NEIGHBOURS)
Very interesting and so good to read. In comparison how has Queens gotten it so right in comparison to their neighbour Dale? For people not in the know both schools looks amazing and cost almost the same.
@RuggaFreak (Comment #14)
Yes definitely excellent progress at Queen’s College.
Agreed Queen’s headmaster Janse van der Ryst is doing excellent work all round. I would put in my Top 10 “rugbyman” headmasters in SA at the moment as well but he is so much more than rugby in terms of leadership.
With the Jeppe job becoming vacant I asked someone in the know if Janse would be a top candidate for that post but was told he is very committed to QC. I think a few other good schools have tried to headhunt him for their unfilled HM positions as well but it does not seem like he is budging. He obviously loves QC and its showing.
@beet (Comment #10)
Thank you, Beet, for this, it really is a good quality line up and these teams play an exciting brand. Dissapointed in Queens under performing this year, maybe pressure too much for coaches? Doesn’t get easier pressure wise next year as expectations will rise higher cause a lot is being invested with the Sharks investing tool.3 SA under 16 players next year in the 1stxv and a few returning craven week players means on paper a strong squad. More positive news for QC, pupil numbers next year is 792 boys, 5 years ago struggled to even make 500. Hostel boys reaching 192 boys, barely even 70, 5 years ago, this will do our rugby program a lot of good and more added depth,the message is clear, we want to be in the mix. Janse doing a superb job, College is in a good space.
@Vleis (Comment #11)
Agree
@beet (Comment #10)
100%
@PASSIONATE ABOUT RUGBY (Comment #7)
Eh?
Last year Affies was ranked at 4, while Jeppe was at 9, Bosch at 11, KES at 13, Northwood at 16 and Norries at 21. Also, Selborne is normally a top 20 (or even top 10) school, so your comment does not make any sense…unless only top 5 “real rugby” schools should attend a rugby festival? If so, it would be a very small festival, I reckon.
@RuggaFreak (Comment #9)
I have been to watch matches at the KES Fest in the past and I would say if I had to attend this 2025 festival as a neutral, it would keep me entertained each match day from start to finsih and I’m someone who likes to watch every 1st XV match when I attend a festival.
Putting together a good school rugby festival is not about ego or bragging rights, but if I had to school rugby rate this field in terms of relative quality using stars:
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Affies (No explanation required)
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ Rondebosch (On a wave of producing a high top end product at the moment)
★ ★ ★ ★ KES (Have become consistent at producing a high standard in the last few years)
★ ★ ★ ★ Jeppe (Definitely moving up in rugby profile, 2024 win against Grey College was huge for upping their national profile)
★ ★ ★ ☆ Noordheuwel (If not the fastest, then one of the fastest rising rugby programme’s in SA at the moment but still very new to the big times)
★ ★ ★ ☆ Northwood (An ever-improving programme. Competitive and climbing the ladder in profile for sure.)
★ ★ ★ ☆ Queen’s (A traditional huge name as a brand. Some decent years of late.)
★ ★ ★ Selborne (still a big name but uneasy feeling about where they are heading and currently reputation exceeds form by a growing margin)
★ ★ Hudson Park (Have had their moments, but their financial ceiling leaves them vulnerable to player defections and prevents them reaching their full potential.)
★ ☆ Pearson (Positive vibes. Working hard to climb the ranks. Still a long way to go.)
★ Parktown (Have been through some hard times in the media which has to have impacted on finances. Need to show something to prove they are no longer in a downward rugby spiral)
☆ Eldoraigne (Big underachievers with potential to do so much better.)
This compared to Noord-Suid, where there is an overload of 5-star, 4½-star and 4-star 1st XVs.
BUBBLE MINDSET
EASTER FESTIVALS
QUALITY OF RUGBY FESTIVAL
@beet (Comment #5)
You can only do max two of the three – and most schools will only do one. Always felt that Easter tournaments are better suited to English and Independent schools.
@vonke_44 (Comment #4)
Personally, I think the Easter Festivals are still going strong. They enjoy good attendance figures, and the three Jozi festivals, in particular, serve as major social gatherings that transcend the boundaries of school rugby. Saints even includes other sports events. I believe these festivals are financially successful and offer rugby fans a lot of interest in what happens on the field, even for die-hard supporters with a keen interest in regional and national SBR progress.
That said, I’m sure all four festivals would love to attract more of the big-name schools, as they did in the past. Where they have lost out is with the advent of Noord-Suid, which offered a package more aligned with what many leading rugby schools are after. With two match-day festivals and an extra rest day, plus the advantage of not requiring reserves to play 1st XV game-time since a 2nd XV match covers this, Noord-Suid offered several big advantages. The success of this package has drawn interest from top schools, making it the leading festival in South Africa (Wildeklawer aside). Noord-Suid’s desire to grow the festival in participant numbers, its proximity to Easter, and the increasing focus on player welfare in line with the evolving physical demands of SBR all contribute to a shift away from Easter Festivals and towards Noord-Suid.
However, there’s nothing to say that interest won’t shift back to the Easter Festivals at some point in the future.
@beet (Comment #2) It’s a real pity that more and more schools are pulling out of the Easter Festivals. @Beet why do you think that’s the case? I understand it’s probably cause of too many games in a season, which I agree with, but surely then the schools would/should honour the Easter festivals over Noord-Suid, seeing as the Easter Festivals have generally been around longer haven’t they?
@beet (Comment #2)
o ok
@boerboel (Comment #1)
Boishaai have joined the growing number of schools that won’t be at an Easter Festival in 2025
waar speel HJS die jaar- terug na st Johns?