SA School Sports

 This past weekend (30 September- 2nd October) , schools from around South Africa competed in one of the country’s most prestigious water polo tournaments for the SACS u19 Cup.

Rondebosch have been threatening in the early parts of the 2018 season to stamp their authority on the game and prove they are the big contenders to finish the year as the leading team in the country.

There has been plenty of exciting rugby players that have thrilled and entertained the faithful during the 2016 season and many of them hopefully will go on to capture attention in the professional ranks.

It is not every day that the boys in the front row steal the limelight as most of the time their sweat and effort is clouded in the grunts and groans of the scrums and mauls.

Every year the iconic Newland Rugby Stadium plays host to the much anticipated Western Province Schools Rugby Day. The W.P. Rugby Union provides all the top rugby playing schools an opportunity to get a feel for the upcoming season, help shake off some of the pre-season rust and give some their first taste of First XV rugby.

Our exposure to cartoons, comic book heroes and animated television series has made us accustomed to expecting the bad guy to be lurking around in the darkness, waiting for the perfect opportunity to pounce. However, if you happen to find yourself in the vicinity of a golf course, putting green or a driving range anywhere in or around Cape Town, it would more than likely be Rondebosch Boys High School, 15-year-old golfing sensation Luca Filippi that you encounter. Sunset has been the signal for the rising young star to start his last half an hour of training, praying for just a little bit more light!

 Almost 150 matches later, played over a five-day period, two school first teams emerged as winners of the Cape Town U18 International Schools/Clubs Hockey Festival in dramatic fashion at Hartleyvale Hockey Stadium late Sunday afternoon.

Rondebosch travelled to SACS on Saturday, 1st March and batted first on a decent track.

Rondebosch had little hesitation in batting on a good pitch in Paarl on Saturday, the 25 January.  Despite the early loss of Keagan Langford, Matthew Christensen and Murray Commins took the attack to the home attack.

Rondebosch Boys High Schools’ rise to prominence as a cricketing powerhouse amongst the so-called “elite” schools cannot be denied or overlooked on anybody’s watch. Having undergone a cricket-revolution back in 2010, the school has gone from strength to strength boasting fine achievements in the sport.

Northerns were by someway the best side on show and deservedly finish the week as the leading U15 provincial side in the country.

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.

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.

Rondebosch Boys’ High School 1^st XV will wear purple socks at this year’s Mutual & Federal Premier Interschools derby match vs Bishops in support of the JAG Foundation’s anti-bullying campaign - JAGBullyProof which culminates in National Bullying Awareness Day on 26 July 2013.

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

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

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.

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 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.

Day Two of the Maritzburg College 150th Festival was packed with brilliant rugby from start to finish. Check out the match reports from the day's play.

Match reports for the  150th Rugby Festival at Maritzburg College:

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.

Rondebosch welcomed traditional rivals Bishops to Cricket A on Saturday. Persistent rain on Friday meant the wicket had a little moisture in it and a greenish tinge to the grass, which persuaded Bishops to insert the hosts upon winning the toss.

Bosch V Affies

 North net South on Saturday as Rondebosch hosted the very successful Affies 1^st XI on their traditional end of season tour of Cape Town.

Bosch had no hesitation in batting first on a decent looking wicket and openers Matthew Christensen and Riaz Sader proceeded to make full use of the conditions. The pair took full control of the match as they rotated strike beautifully with an energetic display of running between wickets. Affies were never allowed to build any pressure as the strike was rotated almost at will and bad deliveries were hit to the boundary. This allowed the partnership to maintain a consistent tempo (the 50 partnership came up in the 14^th over, the 100 in the 27^th and the 150 in the 42^nd). Riaz was eventually the 1^st to go, well caught in the deep for 83 ending the impressive 157 run opening stand.

Matthew departed soon after the lunch break for 88 and it was left to Hayes van der Berg and Zubayr Hamza to administer the final rights to the Affies attack. Hayes ended on 52 not out and Zubayr 25 not out to enable Bosch to declare on 252 for 2 after 67 overs.

Affies had 63 overs left in the day to chase down the score, and despite a run out, were well-placed to launch an attack at 58 for 1 with 40 overs still remaining in the day. A double strike by Riaz Sader in which he dismissed the two dangerous left handers, Leus du Plloy and Drian Bruwer, effectively ended Affies’ hopes of a victory and the batsmen went into survival mode.

Despite the best efforts of the bowlers, a victory for the hosts was not to be, as the visitors proved resilient on a wicket that was offering less and less assistance. All the bowlers bowled good spells but eventually Affies ended the day on 143 for 6 after 63 overs

The Vineyard Oval was the scene for the franchise final for the Cobras region where Rondebosch and Paul Roos met to determine who would go through to the National finals in Stellenbosch.

Rondebosch won the toss and elected to bat on a surface that looked full of runs, but were soon in trouble at 15 for 2 in the 4^th over with Matthew Christensen and Hayes van der Berg back in the pavilion. Zubayr Hamza joined Murray Commins at the crease and the pair took the attack to the Paul Roos bowlers in a partnership of 57 off 36 balls. Commins departed for 30 off just 17 balls and fellow Grade 10 learner, Dayyaan Galiem took over where Murray left off. Hamza and Galiem took the total to 114 with 5 overs still remaining and it looked as if Bosch was going to post a formidable score.

The introduction of Botha into the attack changed the game as he and Schoeman ran through the middle order as Bosch lost 4 wickets for just 7 runs in the next 3 overs, including Galiem (27 off 19) and Zubayr Hamza (46 off 41). 25 runs off the last two overs of the innings proved crucial as Riaz Sader picked some gaps in the field in a gem of an innings scoring 21 off just 11 balls to give Rondebosch a final total of 146 for 8.

Paul Roos attacked hard from the start in the powerplay with Johan Siebritz and Arnold Scholtz using the aerial route to good effect. At the end of the first 6 overs Paul Roos were 42 for 1 with Siebritz back in the pavilion and the exciting Niel Botha at the crease. The relaxation of the fielding restrictions allowed the Bosch bowlers to get back into the game and at the halfway mark the score stood at 57 for 2 with Scholtz having been dismissed for 28. Botha and Sean de Necker accelerated the innings nicely and with 21 runs coming off the 13^th and 14^th over, Paul Roos were nicely placed at 94 for 2 after 14 – needing a further 53 runs off the last 6 overs.

Wickets began to fall around Niel Botha as first De Necker holed out on the boundary and some aggressive running resulted in run outs but while Botha was at the crease Paul Roos were still in the hunt. The last ball of the penultimate over saw Botha push hard to get two, but crucially meant that he was not on strike for the last over with Paul Roos needing 14 to win.

Dayyaan Galiem stepped up to bowl the final over and bowled Theron with his first delivery and then bowled a dot ball to the new batsman to leave Paul Roos still needing 14 runs of 4 balls. A scrambled single brought Botha back on strike and he perished in the cause as Galiem bowled him, effectively ending the game. Botha scored 74 off just 54 balls and with his 3 wickets, would have been a worthy Man-of-the Match recipient.

Bosch eventually won by 10 runs in a match that was a good advert for schoolboy cricket.

What was supposed to be a massive showdown in the Cape between Rondebosch and SACS never really materialized as Rondebosch seized control from the start and never let go.

It was never going to be easy to establish the country’s first School Cricket Rankings but after many hours and consultations with coaches and players we embraced the task of finding a believable equation that could give a fair reflection of current form.

The Hilton Michaelmas u14 Cricket Festival started on Saturday 29 September and will end on the 2^nd October.

20 of South Africa's top sides will compete in the annual SACS Water Polo tournament between the 29 of September and 1st October.

St. David’s Marist Inanda hosted a highly successful T20 festival which got the ball rolling for the cricket season for most of the school’s who took part.

Google the name Dayyaan and you'll find it means “mighty ruler” but watch him on the pitch and you'll see it's true!

Ever heard of the cricketer named Dayyaan Galiem? Perhaps not but pencil in that name because there is every chance that the young Capetonian will be the next big thing to come out of Rondebosch Boy’s High.

In our latest foray into the massive weekend clash between Cape giants Diocesan College (Bishops) and Rondebosch Boys' High, we head across Sandown Road to the hallowed halls of "Bosch" where we caught up with skipper Chad Matthews to discuss the impending conclusion of a topsy-turvy season.

All eyes in the Cape were on the massive Classic Clash between Wynberg and SACS this past weekend, yet somehow this game which initially promised so much, failed miserably to deliver. Across the road however, in a surprisingly more quiet build up, Rondebosch managed to pile even more misery on Bishops' topsy-turvy season with a breathtaking come from behind victory away from home, their first against their biggest rivals in five years.