SA School Sports

With the start of the final cricket season of 2013 there is plenty of cricket that is about to be squeezed into a few very competitive months and if the weather plays the game we are in for a treat of schoolboy cricket.

The unbeaten run continue for Paarl Gim and Affies who brushed aside this week’s opposition with very little worries.

Victories by Paarl Gim, Affies and Grey College consolidated their status as the leading teams in the country as the second half of the school rugby season kicked off this past week.

A high pedigree Cape School’s Week dominated proceedings in the SA School Rugby scene this past week where there were one or two surprise results and some expected victories for the big names.

A huge effort by Oakdale finally has brought the mighty Paarl Gim bulldozer to a temporary halt although they will no doubt feel the 17-17 draw was more of a speed hump than an arrestor bed.

Marlow beats Framesby in a heart stopping match!

It was yet another emphatic win by Paarl Gim who managed to steam roll their way over Wynberg to keep their dream of remaining unbeaten very much alive at this stage of the season.

Waterkloof fought bravely in their match against Affies and almost pulled off one of the upsets of the season this past weekend.

CJ Velleman of Grey High School, a 2012 CW veteran,  will captain the Eastern Province U18 Craven Week side in Craven Week 2013.

Affies didn't play this weekend which gave their players what many would say was a well earned break after playing several gruelling matches on the trot. Even though this was apparently not Affies choice they did get the opportunity to recharge the batteries for a demanding season that lies ahead.

There are now two unbeaten teams occupying the top two positions and virtually nothing separates them at this stage of the season.

Paarl Gim managed a clean sweep at the Wildeklawer tournament to keep their number one spot secure after having now strung together a run of eight wins on the trot.

A supreme effort from Paarl Gim against Outeniqua over the weekend catapulted Gimmies into pole position and in the process extended their unbeaten run this season.

Yet another crushing victory for high riding Outeniqua see the Kwagga’s firmly entrenched at the top of the table and few will argue that it is well deserved.

The majority of the teams have now played the minimum of four matches to be included in the rankings and this saw several teams make some steady advancement.

The hockey season promises to deliver some spectacular play and already we are seeing some traditional powerhouses losing ground to other teams who have seemingly closed the gap.

The rugby season is in full swing with most of the teams having started their 2013 campaign and as the second school term starts there is going to be nonstop action for several months to come.

The Rugby season is just about to move in to top gear as hundreds of players descend on the many Festivals and tournaments throughout the country.

Never before in the history of South African school rugby will the Easter weekend have such a plethora of matches on the go from all quarters of the country! 

Kearsney College, St. John's College, King Edward VII and St.Stithians College will all be once again hosting their annual festivals and they will be joined by Krugersdorp High and Tygerberg High who will be hosting the Tony Stoops Tournament and nobody is going to forget the big Maritzburg College 150th Festival either.

Take a look at the fixtures and results as they come in from the field of play!

The first term is over and the cricket kit is put away for a few months before old rivalries resume near the end of the year.

HOPE AND GLORY: Talent scouts, coaches and selectors will be eyeing Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival players who show the potential to play professional rugby in the near future.

For many teams it was the first match of the season but already there are some positive signs that the coaches and players have put in some serious off season training with some spectacular rugby predicted for the season.

Although the usual suspects continue to show why they are at the very top of school rugby it is encouraging to see the traditionally small teams stepping up and we can expect not a few surprises this season.

There was considerable movement on the table over the past week as most of the teams were engaged in numerous matches in a short space of time which tested the depth of the various sides.

Waterkloof who were the finalists against Rondebosch in the Coke T20 Challenge cling on to the top spot although the gap between them and the rest has shrunk appreciably. Affies take the second best slot thanks to a win against Waterkloof and a good showing during the Independent Schools Festival. Rondebosch who are now the champions of the T20 format, deservedly get back into the top three and had it not been for their surprise loss against St.Andrew’s Bloem they could have been challenging for the No.1 position.

One of the big movers is St.Andrew’s College who are now on a seven match winning streak and they burst into the Top 10 after enjoying an excellent week which included a stunning nine wicket win over Affies. St.Alban’s also have put together some good results and went undefeated at the Independent School’s Festival . Paul Roos Gym also break into the Top 10 after stretching their winning streak to four matches which has included brushing aside Wynberg twice.

The equation used for these rankings are not based purely on a win/loss ratio and in order to grade the various wins against stronger or less stronger teams a formula has been used to give as realistic evaluation of the team’s form. Click here to see how the rankings are worked out.

Please continue to send us your thoughts, opinions and suggestions on the rankings to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.    We are looking forward to hearing from you!

Rondebosch are the Champion T20 School side in South Africa!  But it was a title that didn't come without a huge fight when they faced Waterkloof in the finals.

After another full week of cricket it is still Waterkloof you remain unbeaten and are firmly entrenched at the top of the table although several interesting results have caused some movement in both directions.

Wynberg have tumbled down the table after suffering what must be viewed as a surprise defeat by the rapidly improving Paul Roos side who outplayed Wynberg to record a comprehensive five wicket victory. Wynberg are now grimly fighting to stay in the top ten and the win has rocketed PRG into the top 20.

Kingswood has also enjoyed a good week after thrashing Muir College and has managed to punch their way to the top half of the rankings. KZN powerhouse Westville, after a somewhat indifferent start to the season seem to be back to full strength now and they have made up some ground to get back into the top 10 after a welcomed win over Northwood who they beat by six wickets. This now extends their winning streak to seven matches as they look to forget their poor early season tour to the Cape.

Jeppe Boy’s continue to impress as they took care of business against the young Pretoria Boy’s outfit who are yet to show the form of last year but the experience will no doubt forge them into a stronger team in the matches ahead.

Please continue to send us your thoughts, opinions and suggestions on the rankings to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.    We are looking forward to hearing from you!

This week’s rankings have a new look as more teams have played the minimum of four matches to be included and several other teams have submitted their up-to-date results.

So how are the rankings worked out? In consultation with a panel of analysts and statisticians a formula was agreed upon which would allow as realistic a representation of a team’s current form as possible. In essence the formula works as follows:

At the start of the year teams are “seeded” based on how they finished last season. They are seeded from 10 to 1 with 10 going to the teams that are judged the strongest. (This seeding is adjusted after the first term and at the end of the year depending on how well the teams finish.)

Points are awarded for “Win”, drawn matches and teams are also awarded “Bonus Points”. The “bonus points” are awarded depending on the margin of victory that has been obtained. 10 bonus points are given for a 10 wicket win and a 100 or more runs win, 9 bonus points for a 9 wicket win and 90 run win etc.

However in order to grade the win the particular “seeding” of each team plays a part. For example: Paarl Boy’s (seeded 9) beat Pinelands (seeded 7) by 100 runs. Paarl Boys are therefore awarded points for the win, however instead of receiving 10 bonus points for winning by 100 runs, they get 10 points x 0.7 (Pineland’s seeding of 7) = 7 bonus points. If Pinelands were seeded 6 the bonus points for Paarl Boy’s would be 10 x 0.6 = 6 bonus points. This helps to grade the win which was against a weaker team and therefore Paarl Boy’s do not get the full allotment of 10 points. However the converse is also true. If Pinelands (seeded 7) beat Paarl Boy’s by 100 runs, their bonus points would be 13 because they beat a team that was seeded 10. The weaker team is therefore rewarded for beating a higher seeded team.

The win points and bonus points are divided by the matches played to give an average which ultimately ranks the team. Statistics of course only can tell half the story although we do believe that having a quantitive formula and not just relying on a “Win ratio” model is a fairer reflection of the strength of teams.

We are continually looking to improve and tweak the formula and welcome your input. Thank you to the literally hundreds of emails from players, coaches and fans and your unending suggestions, your support and interest is greatly appreciated.

It was another packed weekend on the cricket fields around the country with some big match ups that have  provided some very interesting results.

A great victory by St.Stithian’s over Affies was perhaps the biggest upset of the weekend although Saints have proved to be a more than capable side this year and the result was not all together unexpected.

The sun was shining for the most part over the weekend allowing plenty of action on the field which resulted in several surprises and some movement on the table.