The under-18 Craven Week quota system specifying the minimum number of previously disadvantaged players each team MUST select for their squad of 22 has paved the way for transformed Bloemfontein high school HTS Louis Botha to rise up and become one of the biggest contributors of Craven Week players in South Africa.
They have now produced 41 Craven Week players in the last 6 seasons at an average of just under 7 players per annum. During this time Free State powerhouse Grey College has had 86 representatives (avg=14.33), Sentraal 3, while the last Jim Fouche player to attend Craven Week was Jamba Ulengo back in 2008. For the last 2 Craven Weeks (2012 and 2013), HTS Louis Botha has actually filled the minimum 9 player quota requirement for the Free State under-18 team.
HTS Louis Botha’s best known player at the moment is Free State star wing Raymond Rhule, who played at the 2010 Craven Week. Rhule was not picked for the SA Schools team but 4 HTS Louis Botha players have achieved this highest honour in SA schoolboy rugby. They are Jannie Coetzee (1983), Moekoa Bolofo (2007), KK Hlongwane (2011) and Ox Nche (2012,2013). Ox Nche has shown great potential and the young prop who was recently selected for the SA under-20 training group along with his former schoolmate Victor Maruping, is expected to have a bright future as a professional player in the years to come.
Interestingly the third Louis Botha player named in the SA under-20 training group is 2013 SA Schools hooker Joseph Dweba, who was a student at Florida High School in Johannesburg and represented the Golden Lions at Craven Week last year. Dweba is now the second SA Schools player to have joined HTS Louis Botha as an under-19 player in recent seasons, with Boland’s Leroy Bitterhout making the move from Klein Nederburg in 2011.
For the record old boy and former Springbok AJ Venter is probably still the most successful rugby player that HTS Louis Botha has ever produced.
Article compiled with the assistance of information available on www.schoolofrugby.co.za (link: http://www.schoolofrugby.co.za/free-state/school-profiles/louis-botha)
Free State Craven Week under-18 teams 2008 – 2013
| 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GREY COLLEGE | GREY COLLEGE | GREY COLLEGE | GREY COLLEGE | GREY COLLEGE | GREY COLLEGE | |
| 1 | Martin Wipplinger | EW Viljoen | Arrie Vosloo | Jan Serfontein | Stephan Kotze | John-Henry Harris |
| 2 | EW Viljoen | Pieter Jordaan | Dries Swanepoel | William Small-Smith | Baksteen v Heerden | Johannes Swanepoel |
| 3 | Henry Immelman | Stephan Jv Rensburg | Edward Schmidt | Paul Jordaan | Stephan Pretorius | Stephan Pretorius |
| 4 | Stephen Rautenbach | Barend Bornman | Francois Pretorius | Ruwellyn Isbell | Carl Wegner | Jean Cook |
| 5 | Julian Delicado | Edward Schmidt | Gerhard Olivier | Johan Goosen | Jean Cook | Ryno Fourie |
| 6 | Heinrich Sander | Gareth de Bruin | Henco Greyling | Kevin Luiters | Niell Jordaan | Adriaan Theisinger |
| 7 | Andries Kriek | Dillon Harlen | Hennie-Schalk Theron | Niel Jordaan | Pieter Rademan | Pieter Rademan |
| 8 | Casper Fourie | Awie Thompson | Jacques du Toit | Tyron Schultz | Johan Goosen | Franna du Toit |
| 9 | Ruan Kramer | Ruan Kramer | Jannie Strumpher | Cobus Nel | Chejana Mallane | Francois Venter |
| 10 | Andrew du Plessis | Corniel Els | Jan Serfontein | Gerhard Olivier | Piet Lindeque | Piet Lindeque |
| 11 | Ruben Terblanche | Andrew du Plessis | Leneve Damons | Neethling Fouché | Riaan Britz | Christoffer Boucher |
| 12 | De Wet Bezuidenhout | Neethling Fouché | Anrich Bitzi | van Zyl Botha | Riaan Britz | |
| 13 | Marius Louw | Pieter Jordaan | Rudi Fuls | Egbert Ras | Baksteen v Heerden | |
| 14 | Rudolph Botha | Armand Stoman | Frederick Ras | Stephan Kotze | ||
| 15 | Ruwellyn Isbell | Rudolph Botha | Sethu Tom | |||
| 16 | Wihan Lombaard | Leneve Damons | ||||
| 17 | Setho Tom | |||||
| LOUIS BOTHA | LOUIS BOTHA | LOUIS BOTHA | LOUIS BOTHA | LOUIS BOTHA | LOUIS BOTHA | |
| 1 | Aliqhayiya Mgijima | Olwethu Ndakisa | DK Mukendi | Raymond Rhule | Nkululeko Mthethwa | Tumelo Moholo |
| 2 | Sheldon Fortuin | Chelton Fortuin | KK Hlongwane | Heinrich Douglas | Oscar Limani | Oscar Limani |
| 3 | Refuoe Rampeta | Refiloe Rampeta | Kwemi Moremi | Tuso Chalatsi | Mzuvukile Duma | Teboho Mohoje |
| 4 | Victor Maruping | Ox Nche | Thuso Chalatsi | KK Hlongwane | Siyasanga Mkunku | Nkululeko Mthethwa |
| 5 | Ox Nche | Othello Sebotsha | Vincent Maruping | Dillon Douglas | Lerato Ramahlape | Mzuvukile Duma |
| 6 | Whaseem Gallant | Byron Matthews | Heinrich Douglas | Thuso Mokgwetsi | ||
| 7 | Sharwin Cupido | Luke Cyster | Tsholofelo Mojanaga | |||
| 8 | Masego Toolo | Gomolemo Minnie | ||||
| 9 | Patrick Mbangi | Stanley Ramoetsana | ||||
| SENTRAAL | SENTRAAL | JIM FOUCHE | ||||
| 1 | Juandré vd Berg | Brian Malakeane | Jamba Ulengo | |||
| 2 | Stefan Kruger |
In Gauteng, I think a school like Jeppe may look to give their program prestige and focus. They seem to be filling quite a few quota slots regularly of late in both rugby and cricket which if it is the case will do wonders for development in the province. Again to cut out this poaching crap.
@Playa: Well said Playa. I am 100% in agreement with you.
Well done HTS Louis Botha and an even bigger well done to the Free State!!!
The Bulls can learn that you do not need to rape other schools in other provinces in order to fulfil these quotas. The FS, just like Gauteng has a black population that prefers soccer over rugby, and yet the FS has pulled this off without using underhand poaching tactics. That is the definition of ‘development’.
Hi Beet, in the 2010 side Leneve Damons was selected but did not pitch up for the team’s pre-Craven Week camp and just pitched at the tournament, they by then already replaced him with prop Kwena Moremi in their squad so they sent him home
Interesting article Mr Beet. Definitely widened my perspective towards the Freestate. I was under the impression there where only one school in the province. I now know as a matter of fact that there are 3 schools.
I looked at the BHP Top 75 combo for 2009-2013.
Louis Botha ranked #46
Jim Fouche ranked #48
Sentraal ranked #52
Perhaps the rankings are subjective but what is interesting is how closely matched the 3 Bloem schools must have been over 5 seasons to be so near each other on the list.