1. Antony Reeler – Bishops
Most schools prefer to keep their internal matters private, but at Bishops the culture almost ensures that anything off course becomes public knowledge. Their rugby struggles have been no exception.
Reeler arrived from Pretoria Boys High, where he held the moral high ground and made his mark by holding the line against the bursary-driven recruitment wave. Now, however, he finds himself at the helm of a school that openly advertises rugby awards on social media – a stark shift in philosophy.
The contrast is hard to ignore, and the question lingers: if Bishops were handed a do-over, would they still have gone with AR?
2. Christian Erasmus – Grey High School
At a time when Grey were expected to widen the gap on their local rivals, they’ve instead drifted towards an underachiever tag. A string of top-end players have defected in recent times, suggesting all is not right in their structures. The controversial decision to demolish the school’s weights room for a music centre raised eyebrows, especially given Grey had the chance to build a modern gym that would have benefited far more students.
For a school with such rich rugby tradition, the optics haven’t helped — and the pressure is now on Erasmus to reverse the slide. The future does however look much brigher.
3. Andrew Dewar – Selborne
Ethically, Selborne can be proud of where they stand, but the reality is they may be digging a hole they can’t escape from. Their reluctance to fully protect junior school rugby assets or improve their talent acquisition pipelines is a risk that could backfire badly.
Rugby failures usually start with small criticisms, then grow into disenchantment — and once supporters start looking elsewhere for opportunities, the result is a downward spiral that becomes very difficult to reverse.
4. Kobus Hardman – Menlopark
After arriving from Boland Landbou, Kobus Hardman didn’t need long to find the heat — cancelling the interschools against Affies in 2024 was widely frowned upon and instantly put him under scrutiny. But the bigger picture is even scarier: Menlo only just avoided relegation from the Noordvaal Cup Premier League at the end of 2025.
With the league set to shrink from nine to eight schools after the 2026 season, two sides will again face the drop. That puts Menlo in real danger, and the Parkies will need a massive turnaround if they want to hold onto their place among the elite.
5. Patrick Lees – Kearsney
Kearsney had the chance to appoint Paul Viljoen (ex-Northwood and now flourishing at Paarl Gim), and one can’t help but feel their rugby programme would be flying under his watch. Instead, the job went to Patrick Lees — a good man and a solid headmaster, but one who often comes across as more suited to a Saints-style environment, without the luxury of Saints’ league to compete in.
His tenure has faced its share of obstacles, but the reality is that Kearsney rugby under his leadership has been marked more by struggles than successes. Fortunately, work is being done to change that narrative.
6. Brendan Grant – SACS
SACS is thriving in many areas including academics, but rugby remains the outlier. When Ken Ball stepped down, the school was riding high — number one in the Southern Suburbs and widely praised for having one of the best rugby programmes in South Africa.
Since then, however, under Brendan Grant’s leadership, SACS have collected five of the last seven wooden spoons in the SS4. To make matters worse, his successor at Queen’s College has managed to deliver relatively stronger rugby results.
Although 2027 will a crunch year with high expectations, the SACS support base is desperate to see the turnaround start to take shape next season.
7. Leon Grove – Kingswood
Leon Grove is an interesting case — he just as easily appear on a list of the best rugby headmasters, given the way he has helped give little English co-ed Kingswood a fighting chance to stand up and be counted. His pressure, however, comes from a different angle, namely the private school’s reputation dragged through the mud.
Thei recruitment policy, which drew players from local rivals, sparked major publicity, negative sentiment and the withdrawal of fixtures. Kingswood’s unapologetic stance initially rallied their support base, but when the season then went south, it compounded matters. To make things worse, their ace coach has since moved on.
It’s now a relaunch moment for Kingswood — but they’re starting from behind in the popularity stakes so they need things to work out on the rugby field.
8. Chris Denysschen – Waterkloof
Academically, Waterkloof brings its A-game – strong discipline, solid staffing, and consistently high standards. But while the classroom is under control, the leadership is in chaos. Ongoing investigations into the principal, Chris Denysschen, have seen him barred from the school grounds for a second time, casting a long shadow over the school’s reputation.
Sensing the rugby programme wasn’t reaching its full potential, Klofies decided to part ways with their director. The real issue, however, remains the instability at the top. A lack of trust in school leadership is a major red flag – especially in a fiercely competitive environment where top talent has plenty of attractive alternatives.
9. Dr Johlet Krause – Marais Viljoen
Marais Viljoen rugby is in free fall — suffering back-to-back relegations in just two seasons. Once in the Noordvaal Cup Premier League, they’ve now slipped all the way down to the Shield competition. It’s a clear sign of the growing gap between the school’s rugby potential and its actual performance.
10. Willie van der Merwe – Nelspruit
Willie only came on board in April this year, but the honeymoon was short-lived. Nellies were promptly relegated from the Noordvaal Cup Premier League, forcing a hard reset. With no promotion available until the end of 2027, they now face the tough task of rebuilding and repositioning themselves as a B-league rugby school — at least for the next two seasons. Given the intense interest from wealthier schools in regional boys, the challenge is set to be an uphill one.
@Smallies (Comment #18)
Scheepers wou die baie swak akademie glo reg ruk-tientalle druipelinge etc maar die Grey manne wou rugby speel-toe van hom ontslae geraak-nou sukkel hulle op beide terreine
@Smallies (Comment #17)
Wat ek ook kan se is dat die verskil tussen Scheepers en Johan Volsteed soos dag en nag was ,Vollies was n man wat voluit vir die seuns en die skool geleef het…die nuwe hoof blyk in dieselde klas te wees .
@Grizzly (Comment #11)
Hartseerste van die besigheid is dat hy self n Grey Old boy is ….ek dink egter hy is baie liberaal in sy siening oor tradiesie en waardes…
@OUD ANKER (Comment #15)
Exactly. Common sense vir ons maar…. Net tyd sal leer.
@Grizzly (Comment #13)
Soos ek in ‘n vorige comment genoem het, Garsfontein se akademie sal 100% fine wees al stel hulle wie ookal aan, SO hoekom kan rugby dan nie ‘n baie sterk kriteria wees met die keuse van nuwe skoolhoof nie? want soos jy tereg opmerk het rugby ‘n baie groot invloed gehad om Garsfontein op die “map” te plaas en as rugby jou dan op die “map” geplaas het, hoekom van daardie patroon afwyk VERAL aangesien jou akademie reeds tops is!
@Smallies (Comment #10)
Ja, Deon Scheepers was altyd vir my ‘n half “vreemde” keuse by Grey. Voorheen by Michaelhouse en Hilton en nou by Wynberg, ek het altyd die idee gekry hy wil meer by die “larney” skole wees en dat Grey te veel “plaas” was vir hom…maar ek praat uit ‘n hoek van totale onkunde aangesien ek die man net geken het uit kommentare wat ek lees. Lyk nie of hy te kak job doen by Wynberg nie
@OUD ANKER (Comment #12)
Ja jys 100% reg oor die hoofde by die skole wat jy noem. Verder is jy in die kol met die res van jou argument. Rugby het Garsies meer as enige iets anders op die map gesit. Niemand kan dit weg redeneer nie. Akademiese was hulle nog altyd tops.Hulle is nou in n fase waar tradisies ens gevestig word. Ek verstaan die old boys club kom mooi aan ens. Ons moet egter verstaan uit my perspektief is die enigste oorweging vir die pos of dit n rugby man/vrou is? Hulle gaan hou by hulle beleide, personeel, budget ens wat rugby aan betref? In die praktyk werk dit egter nie so nie en ek wonder of die woord rugby ooit in die onderhoud gaan op kom.Nervous times….
@Grizzly (Comment #11)
Leon Bantjes is ‘n Garsfontein legende en om die regte keuse te maak om by ‘n legende oor te vat gaan BAIE wysheid verg. Ek dink Jeppe het dit bv. nou baie goed reg gekry met die die aanstelling van Brendan Gittins, ‘n Jeppe old boy en ‘n rugby man deur en deur. Ek dink Affies het dit spot on gekry toe Pierre Edwards (ook ‘n legende) weg is. PBHS met die aanstelling van Greg Hassenkamp ‘n paar jaar terug is ook ‘n baie goeie voorbeeld van ‘n baie goeie aanstelling. Garsfontein se uitdaging is verseker groter omdat dit ‘n co-ed skool is, dis heel waarskynlik makliker om die regte keuse by ‘n enkel geslag skool te maak, want in die geval van Garsfontein moet hulle die behoefte van die dogters ook in ag neem met die keuse van skoolhoof…kyk hoe bitter verkeerd het Waterkloof dit gekry!
@Smallies (Comment #10)
Absoluut. Die old boys van Grey het al hulle dae gehad met hom. Dis nag as n hoof wat nie die ethos en tradisies van n skool ken of verstaan aan gestel word. Dan imo moet hy stil onder die radar beweeg. Dink aan Kloof hoof voor die nonsens nou was hy ook heel tyd in die media.Ek bv het nie n clue wies Affies se hoof of hoe hy lyk nie. Dit wys wat nou daar gebeur. Dis daai as die stertjie die hondtjie wil swaai.As jy Ranier se comment tussen die lyne oor Leon Lees van hoe die onderwysers op hulle tone rondom hom trippel dan se dit n 1000 woorde. Die nuwe hoof is alles bepalend by n groot skool soos Garsies. Daars baie kinders wat in Lyn gehou moet word. Ek hou duim vas vir die regte aanstelling.
@Grizzly (Comment #7)
Ek was nie n groot fan van Deon Scheepers nie en ek dink dat die dip die laaste twee jaar is n direkte uitvloeisel van goed wat hy gedoen het ,hy doen egter goed in die Kaap en dit lyk my posh engelse laaitys is meer sy ding as n klomp plaasballase van die Vrystaat en Noord Oos kaap….
@Grizzly (Comment #7)
Garsfontein sal fine wees wat akademie betref ongeag wie die hoof is wat aangestel word. Waterkloof is ‘n goeie voorbeeld daarvan. Wat die ruggas betref stem ek 100% saam jou. ‘n Nie- of swak rugby man as hoof kan ‘n skool se rugby program baie vinnig sink al is daar watter goeie rugby afrigters/ouers/administrateursin die skool.
I just don’t see how Selborne will get back on track. Hoping not, but if that Merc factory scales down/shuts down then I think thats the final nail…
Ek en ek dink n paar duisend ander hou asem op om te sien wie Leon gaan op volg by Garsies.Die verkeerde keuse en al die harde werk van meer as n dekade moer toe.Geen skool is bestand teen die “verkeerde” hoof nie. Nie uit n rugby perspektief nie. Dink aan Grey,Grey PE, Kloof, Menlo en en en. As die Bere iemand aan stel wat die wiel wil herontwerp is dit nag. Glo die BL en Gustav sal wal gooi as daar n verkeerde besluit geneem word. Net n vraag… Is die aanstelling suiwer Dept keuse of het BL insette? As iemand weet asb.
@Pine (Comment #5)
Thank you
MARTIE HEYSTEK - MARAIS VILJOEN
@Smallies (Comment #3)
En as hulle glip stel hulle dit vinnig reg
@Kantman (Comment #2)
Die top rugby skole is gewoonlik baie goed gebalanseerd in terme van sport en jy sien hulle name ook altyd by groot krieket hokkie tennis swem en atletiek geleenthede.Gaan kyk maar na al daai skole hulle presteer op alle gebiede nie net rugby nie
@Smallies (Comment #1)
Ek stem saam.
Glo ook dat goeie leiers meer as een prestasie area kan ontwikkel. Die puik leiers ontwikkel verskeie areas.
I think we tend to forget that a school is first and foremost an academic institution….we need to always remember that,a performing rugby program is a bonus…