SA School Sports

IN Travis Gordon, KES have gold.

The school rugby season is still several weeks away and already we are faced with big controversy over the ongoing issue of player poaching which threatens to cast a dark cloud over the sport again.

KES get their rugby season off with a big encounter against traditional rivals St. John’s College this Saturday and it promises to be a massive match for both sides.

Potch Volkies is the Highveld Lions’ T20 champion after they have beaten the Gauteng champion, KES, convincingly with 4 wickets at Senwes Park on Tuesday 10 February.

King Edward VII School (KES) first XI captain and SA Schools and SA U19 wicketkeeper/batsman Grant Roelofsen is making waves and the SA School Sports mag went to find out the why and what of this impressive young man.

King Edward VII School were crowned Inter High Champions for the third time, cementing an epic victory at AFFIES. In the 33rd Annual Inter High Meeting, King Edward VII School had now been victors 20 times in the history of Inter High clashes, with Pretoria Boys' High School winning 7 times, Affies 4 times and Parktown Boys' twice.

For the past 13 yeas King Edward VIII has hosted some of the top rugby playing schools from South Africa to their very well run Easter Rugby Festival and the 2014 edition promises to be a massive event.

There are two names that keep on cropping up after each day’s play at the CSA U15 Cricket Week and day four was no different. Dean Foxcroft from Northerns and Wiaan van Niekerk from Griquas.

For much of the year the race for the No.1 spot was a three horse race with Waterkloof taking the early lead with a powerful start to the first term and going into the last month of the season it looked like the Pretoria team might have done just enough to secure the top spot for 2013.

Congratulations to the King Edward VII School 1st Soccer Team on winning the 2013 St Peter's Festival Soccer Tournament.

The annual Oppenheimer Cricket Week in Pietermaritzburg, once again sponsored by that great benefactor of the game, Jonathan Oppenheimer, kicks off on Saturday, September 21 and runs until Tuesday, September 24.

Rarely is there an article relating to any school boy team within any discipline under the age of 14. I mean so much changes from the time that kids get to that age, that a proper standard can never be evaluated or commented upon.

St David’s Marist Inanda in association with the Kent Park Taverners is hosting its annual Twenty20 Cricket Festival this week. Matches take place from Thursday 5 September until Sunday 8 September. There are 12 teams involved.

A season of some of the world’s best school boy rugby has all but come to a close and for the players who ran out for the last time for their school they will be left with that supreme pride that comes from wearing their teams badge and playing to their best ability. A memory that will live with them for decades.

It was a tightly fought season which saw three teams vying for the top spot almost from the start of the season and at various stages all three, Affies, Outeniqua had a taste at being the number one side in the country.

However it is perhaps fitting that it is Affies who can lay claim to the top team in South Africa after completing the season without being defeated, without drawing and winning every single match. It is a supreme effort by a side that played the country’s most powerful teams and still remained competitive scoring heavily in most of their matches.

It is perhaps a pity that somewhere along the line Affies and Paarl Gim never met, as on paper there was very little to choose between the two teams, however Gimmies were held to a surprise draw by Oakdale in what was their only ‘blemish’ on an otherwise spotless season so perhaps finishing in second spot is justified.

A strong finish by Grey College, after an indifferent start to their season put pressure on Outeniqua for the third spot, but the consistency of Outeniqua helped them to finish in the Top three after suffering just the one defeat at the hands of Paarl Gim.

It was another great season and our thanks to the thousands of players, coaches and the avid fans of schoolboy rugby that showed sustained interest in the rankings, offered advice and suggestions and supported us. Rankings are not an absolute science but by factoring in the strength of the opponents, margin of victories and the actual results it is hoped that a team’s current form can be judged.

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

Rondebosch were in a rampant mood at the Cape Town International Festival as they swept all and sundry aside, handed Wynberg their first defeat of the season and won the final to move them ever closer to the top spot.

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.

The top five all recorded wins over the weekend which ensured that their positions didn’t change and it is a pity that the much anticipated Kearsney v Maritzburg College had to be cancelled due to a flu epidemic.

Please note that two outstanding results for Pretoria Boy’s High have been included which had a small bearing on this week’s rankings. This weekend there is the big “Battle of the Jukskei” when Pretoria Boy’s meet St. John’s College which will give both teams a chance to move up the table.

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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.

Hamer Esterhuizen from Monnas will lead the Golden Lions Craven Week side in this year’s edition of Craven Week.

Monument have supplied the majority of the players for the U18 CW side with a total of nine players from the Gauteng powerhouse making the side. Florida also have a good representation with four getting the nod.

The Wynberg machine continues on its merry way with yet another victory in what is turning out to be an outstanding season for the Cape Town outfit.

It was Founders days at Pretoria Boys High on Saturday, 1^st June 2013, and Hill Astro played host to KES on the 112^th birthday of PBHS.

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.

Facing the possible thought of slipping out of the Top 10 Maritzburg College faced a mighty challenge from Glenwood who on their day are able to mix it with the best in the business.

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

Wynberg clinched two comfortable victories in the past week to cement themselves on the No.1 spot although the chasing pack is not far behind.

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.

Among the many matches that were played out over the past week it was perhaps the Wynberg v Rondebosch and Pretoria Boy’s High v Maritzburg College clashes that were the most eagerly anticipated.

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.

Nomads Hockey Festival Day 1 Match Reports

Hockey was first played at King Edward VII School in 1959 and from those humble beginnings in King Edward’s has grown into one of the formidable hockey schools in South Africa, with a proud hockey history and tradition.

Over the years, King Edward’s has produced a total of 16 players who have achieved national colours at senior level including Gregg Clark, who, at the culmination of the 2004 Olympic Games, became SA’s most capped hockey international with 250 appearances. He was later appointed as the SA men’s national coach and he also coached the Ranchi Rhinos to victory in the inaugural Indian Hockey League.

Another Old Boy and ex-national player and SA Indoor hockey captain, Steve Jaspan, was a member of the Executive Board of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) for many years and currently chairs the FIH High Performance & Coaching Panel. Steve was also Chairman of the School’s Governing Body for many years. Recently, Thornton McDade has represented SA at World Cups in Germany and as well the Beijing and London Olympics.

At schoolboy level, King Edward’s regularly produces a large portion of the Southerns Schools’ provincial teams and regular representatives of the SA Schools team.

Affies will be hosting the Francois Swart U15 Rugby Week for the 10th time  as some of the finest U15 players assemble to once again pay tribute to one of Affies greatest sons FRANCOIS SWART 14 April 1982 – 2 January 2004

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!