SA School Sports

IT looks like SA hockey has an exceptional talent in the making in Pretoria Boys High School striker Donovan Ferreira.

For the 19^th consecutive year St. John’s College will be hosting the St. John’s College Easter Rugby Festival from the 17^th-21 April, 2014.

A world away from the cringe-worthy mêlée of schoolboy rugby today, John William Smit’s formative years were rather spent in a manner far more conducive to a healthy upbringing.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

There is some massive hockey taking place this week and it is the Girl’s in particular that will be very busy with several high profile matches on the go and the much anticipated ISSF Festival taking place in Pietermaritzburg.

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.

Several huge encounters have taken place already this week and a few more will be decided over the 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.

Wynberg continue to rule the roost after completing another resounding win and now stretch their unbeaten run to 10 matches as underline just how dominant they are at present.

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 highly successful KZN tour by Rondebosch Boy’s High which saw the Cape outfit thrashing Maritzburg College, earning a solid win against Michaelhouse and drawing against Northwood has helped boost them into the Top 10.

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 match between Northwood and Maritzburg College was billed as the “Battle for KZN”, the undisputed Kings of KZN for the past few decades, Maritzburg College and the new kids on the block Northwood.

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.

Yet another win for Northwood this time over Hilton College saw the KZN outfit extend their unbeaten run to 11 matches and leap in to the No. 1 spot!

SA’s No.1 team, Outeniqua, have one of their easiest outings of the season so far when they face Punt and should be looking at using this match to rest some players and give others a run to maintain their form.

The hockey season is now fully underway with most of teams busy with a long season on the Astro. Check out this weeks fixtures and results.

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 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.

For most schools action resumes on the rugby fields across the country although several of the big name teams are taking a rest after an intensive Easter campaign.

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 hockey season has exploded into a very tight contest this season with several teams causing some shock results against the traditionally stronger teams. The many festival matches that have been recently played were hotly contested and allowed us to get a feel for the type of form in the teams.

Nomads Hockey Festival Day 1 Match Reports

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.

A thumping victory by Rondebosch over Bishops sees them edge ever closer to the number one spot as the season draws to an end and it underlines the depth of the ‘Bosch to be competing at the very top for the past three years.

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.

The annual Inter-High Gala for A Teams took place on the 27^th of February, 2013 and it assembled the finest school swimmers in the Gauteng region. It proved to be a very tight competition as for the most part the victory was wide open with the lead changing places in the early event.

However the swimming depth of Pretoria Boy’s High proved to be the difference as they started to edge away from Affies and St.Benedict’s who had given them a good run for their money.

At the end it was an impressive win for Pretoria Boys who responded well to the pressure as their passionate supporters urged them home for the win.

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.

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