Monument has done it again.
The Krugersdorp giants have secured another highly-rated scrumhalf from a Cape Town Southern Suburbs school, this time luring SACS’ Jordan Forbes north. Forbes was SACS’ Grant Khomo Week No. 9 in 2025 and follows what’s starting to look like a familiar pathway to the Witbulle.
Before him came Wynberg’s Morne Noble, arguably the greatest u19 schoolboy signing since Boishaai acquired Ruan Venter. Noble has repaid that investment in full, emerging as Monnas’ most consistent performer and one of the standout scrumhalves in the country this season.
Forbes’ move is just as intriguing.
He walks away from a full scholarship at one of South Africa’s premier schools, in one of Cape Town’s most sought-after suburbs, for a move to Krugersdorp. The attraction might be obvious: a potentially clearer route to Craven Week selection in 2027 and, beyond that, a possible opening into the Lions junior system. It would have taken a compelling package to prise him away from SACS.
The reality is that neither SACS nor Western Province offered an easy road.
The battle for the No. 9 jersey in the Cape next year is already shaping up to be one of the fiercest in the country. Paul Roos look the early favourites to claim top berth. The Maroons have Tristan Armitage already making headlines and u16 James Holm waiting in the wings. Boland Landbou once again have a highly-rated prospect in Oloff Bergh, while Wynberg’s Rauf Ahmed has seized the opportunity created by Noble’s departure, earning Craven Week honours in 2026 after an outstanding campaign. Rondebosch boast exciting talent Ateeb Julius, Paarl Gim could hand the reins to red-hot u16 prospect Daniel Carstens, and Paarl Boys’ High have already exposed Zavier Swartz to u19A rugby. There will undoubtedly be more challengers.
Forbes also faced an immediate hurdle at SACS, where he found himself behind fellow u17 scrumhalf Daniel Draai in the pecking order. Add to this the arrival in 2027 of super-fit u16 grafter Karter van der Merwe, who made the positional switch in 2025.
Viewed in that context, the move to Monnas makes even more sense.
@Worsie (Comment #2) KES’ 1st team results in ’26 and ’25 have been below their normal standards – partly due to significant injuries in both seasons. That said, their results against Noordvaal Cup teams, during said difficult period, were: beat Nories last year, lost to Nories this year and beat Helpies last year, but Helpies withdrew this year. Also, I believe that KES has an overall positive win ratio v Monnas historically.
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Thus, you may want to revisit your hypothesis. As a learned man once said: “Life is like a worsie….Often hard for no reason!”
@Mate (Comment #22)
I’ve never paid at Affies (apart from Noord/Suid), PBHS, Grey Bloem,Maritzburg, Jeppe or KES…I guess there are others as well. At PBHS, Maritzburg, KES, Grey Bloem you can even park inside the school grounds for free, nice when you not prepared to permanently “lend” out your car to some Nigerian syndicate.
@OUD ANKER (Comment #21)
Ok Old Anchor
I must admit I paid R100 at Noord Suid yes but it was worth it, I pay at Garsies every week
So am I now a co-sponsor for all the secured players?
Which other schools do you know of that don’t charge admission fee?
I paid a hefty one for the Middelburg derby too.
In fact I don’t think I have ever been to a schoolboy game in the last 10 years without paying admission
@Mate (Comment #20)
You only pay at Affies during North/South, because that festival is NOT arranged or managed by Affies. Like at PBHS you don’t pay at Affies for “normal” matches…just to put the record straight.
@Rod (Comment #19)
That is absolutely fantastic, I’ll be there from now on. No more Affies and Garsies and that school that can’t tackle, Monnas for me anymore.
Charging me a fortune so that they can secure players for the future.
Basta with that.
Do you have any other specials there?
@Mate (Comment #18)It most certainly is. An added bonus is that at least one of the teams won’t look like walking billboards
@Rod (Comment #17)
I see your mate vanished, is it free to watch rugby on Brookes field?
@Kudu (Comment #8)
So Kudu, by your logic, because everyone (at most) pauses instead of stops at a stop street, makes it acceptable?
It’s fun dancing with a bear – until the music stops. So what happens when the (ex) SACS scrumhalf suffers a season ending injury at the first practice? Will he still be Monnas’ number one priority?
@Tang (Comment #6)
I’m a bit confused here, you say you have first hand experience of spectators having to pay admission to watch Monument.
So far this year I’ve had to pay at Affies, Garsfontein and Waterkloof. Do you think they robbed me?
If watching The Candies is for free it’s for me
You’ve just won yourself a new supporter, I’ll be there every weekend.
What else is for free there? Parking? Hot Dogs? Spookasem?
@agter_die_pale_pa (Comment #14)
Yep Paarl Gim, Boishaai & Landbou played for Boland, PRG for WP
@Roger (Comment #12)
Under correction but didn’t Schalk Burger play Boland CW during that year?
Boland will probably need to agree for boundries to move, which I doubt will happen as very few smaller Boland-town boys will have any chance to play CW.
Only Boland Landbou played for Boland. Only once. The matter was unresolved at the time. The dispute was at the point of ending up in the High Court. Politically motivated and driven. Since 2001 everything was back to normal. The matter was extremely sensitive and the community absolute polarised and devided. Time to let sleeping dogs lie in the best interest of all.
@buitestaander (Comment #11)
it happened at Craven Week in 2003 didn’t it? I seem to remember WP been particularly weak and Boland particularly strong (funny that) – I may have the year wrong but I’m sure it was that Craven Week in Wellington? But the point remains, there is more than enough talent for the boundaries to be redrawn along the lines of all other sports – and in any event – the Stormers include the Boland in their URC/Investec Cup set up don’t they?
I do not understand why this debate remains alive, but somehow is does. Gim, Boland, Paarl Boys and Paul Roos will not be allowed to play for Boland because in terms of the SARU boundries, they are all part of WP. Rugby has its own provincial boundries. So has cricket. So has athletics, etc. This debate lingers now for thirty years, and as long as the boundries remain as they are, schools will have to adheir to it. Maties will be part of WP rugby, as it has been for more than a decade. The only way for the schools mentioned to play in Boland, will be if they request it as such. That will never happen. Boland will have to approve the request, which will probably happen. WP will have to approve the request, which will never happen. Then SARU will have to approve it. This situation is also not only a WP/Boland matter.
the merits / demerits of schoolboy recruitment aside – can I raise another age old thorny issue? Surely it is beyond time for WP to no longer include the Wineland schools in Craven Week selection and for them to represent Boland? The abundance of talent in the Western Cape is undisputable, and I can only imagine the number of kids (like said scrumhalf in this article) who are been overlooked. As far as I am aware, the Wineland schools represent Boland in all other sports – time for rugby to follow suit. Riley Norton playing cricket for Boland and rugby for WP at school level is just wrong. WP and Boland could have 8 teams at Craven and Academy week and still be competitive.
@Tang (Comment #5)
…and the “package” that secured him? …sounds like a pay package
@Tang (Comment #6)
I don’t think anyone is pretending anymore. Let’s accept that things have changed and are changing. Improvise, adapt and survive. You may just not be that upset anymore!
The sun will rise
You will pay tax
And Tang will remind us how he hates the climate and the direction school boy rugby is continually headed
Those are 3 definites in life
I must agree though. How on earth are we saying we or anyone have “secured” a damn schoolboy, it sounds crazy. But Tang, what do you now say that your beloved, the school on the Hill, are active in the market now? Are the powers that be at Pretoria Boys aware of your stance? Do you or will you bask in the imminent victory “bought” by the scholarship boys in next year and the year afters candy jersey? Perhaps these are just my selfish intrusive thoughts too.
For me, as long as there is just an intentional an investment on the wellbeing of these boys as there in their rugby playing abilities; I’ve seen first hand how bought players are thrown in the deep end, for lack of better phrasing, a culture shock really, trading the village life for the bright lights and bustle of Johannesburg, not a good enough grasp of the English language, and at our schools it is served as home language, meaning not only that it is considerably more difficult than English FAL, but if you fail English HL, you fail the year.
Another issue that needs to be discussed is the credibility of national rankings. We continue to rank schools as though every rugby programme operates under the same conditions. They don’t. Some schools develop boys over five years, while others recruit nationally into established programmes. Comparing them as equals is misleading. Those same programmes then benefit from the publicity and prestige that the rankings create.
I’ve also seen firsthand that spectators were charged admission to a schoolboy rugby fixture at Monument. That illustrates how commercial the elite end of school rugby has become. If schoolboy rugby has evolved into this level of professionalism—with national recruitment, scholarships, paid admission and intense competition for talent—then let’s stop pretending it’s a level playing field. It’s time for honest governance, greater transparency and rankings that reflect the reality of how these programmes operate.
SECURED!
Glenwood Worsie is seker die beste nuwe handle van 2026 😂
They will get hammered 50+ from Monnas
Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go”.
Good luck KES, will get another 50+ from a Noordvaal team.
Interesting, they getting this 9 from SACS, whilst their utility Craven Week back Mohou Malebana is headed for KES I understand.
The stocks look high for KES in 2027 and more so in 2028 given how strong this current U16 team is + the new addition.