Archive: 2014

SOME PLAYERS GUARANTEED TO GET THE PULSES RACING IN 2015

It has become my habit of starting the school year with an overview of all the local top flight 1st XV players who will be hastening our heartbeats.

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2015 FESTIVALS REFLECT INTERESTING TRENDS

The tectonic plates that underlie schools rugby in this country might just be shifting ever so slightly if the trends currently discernible in two spheres of the game, both related...

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WP PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURE ROW BREWING

The release of the initial draft of the Western Province Premier A and B tier fixtures for 2015 on Thursday 23 October 2015 has led to some justifiable consternation, but...

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PAUL ROOS SET TO TURN 150 IN STYLE

They might not be the oldest school in the country – or even the Western Cape, for that matter – but that is definitely not going to stop Paul Roos...

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DEVELOPMENT : NOT JUST A FOUR-LETTER WORD

The word “development” has unfortunately become something of a thinly-disguised euphemism used either to justify the presence of teams comprising players from formerly-disadvantaged communities at elite festivals or, more generally,...

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THE RISE OF PROFESSIONALISM IN THE SCHOOLBOY GAME

With five weeks having passed since the end of the schools rugby season, all those in any way involved have had the opportunity to revel in their successes and, hopefully,...

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2014 WRAP…AND THE 2015 ELITE GROUP !

Looking back at last year’s wrap it is encouraging to note two distinct improvements.

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2014 IN REVIEW PT V : GREAT WHITES – THE APPETITE

Just for this part, the order will be reversed in order to build up to some sort of climax.

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2014 IN REVIEW PT IV : BASKING SHARKS – NOT ENOUGH ACTION

Technically, and as their name suggests, this quintet has, for this season at least, only tradition to thank for their being placed above the Piraibas of Part III.

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2014 IN REVIEW PT III : PIRAIBAS – IF LOOKS COULD KILL…

This is where the feisty fish metaphors get really appropriate.

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2014 IN REVIEW PT II : BARRACUDAS – AMBITIOUS SCAVENGERS

The medium schools, which, for the purposes of this article, include the lesser lights in the WP Premier B tier, threw up several welcome surprises this season.

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2014 IN REVIEW PT I : PIRANHAS – LITTLE GUYS, BIG APPETITES

At the outset, please bear in mind that the Team Stats 2014 table on which these articles and rankings are based only compares sides with respect to their success rates...

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IT MAKES ONE’S BLOOD BOIL !

This article, about aspects surrounding the local game that irritate me – and most likely you too – is being posted now so that those readers who switch off for...

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WHEW ! BISHOPS EDGE OUT SPIRITED BOSCH

Hosts Bishops came from behind, then just held on to beat an inspired Rondebosch team on a beautiful, cloudless spring day on the Piley Rees field on Saturday 30 August 2014.

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LAST ONE OUT, PLEASE LOCK THE CHANGING ROOMS

Ending the schoolboy rugby season with a traditional derby isn’t really the most satisfactory to say goodbye to another winter.

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DOGGED DONKEYS KEEP BISHOPS HONEST

This might have been the last match of a rather forgettable season and they may have lost 17-36 on the day, but HTS Drostdy gave as good as they got...

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JUST HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO ?

The following article goes against my stated intent of making this website all about the kids in that it does not deal primarily with schoolboy rugby.

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TIME TO SHOW YOUR RIVALS WHO RULES !

For the vast majority of the Western Cape schools, Saturday 23 August 2014 is the last day of the season, the day the whole school will be there to cheer...

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BRAKKES’ BARK NOT AS GOOD AS BLACKIES’ BITE

Two tries in the last ten minutes saw Hugenote clinch a narrow 29-26 win against hosts Brackenfell in a thrilling match played in warm, sunny conditions on Saturday 16 August 2014.

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CAN THE FARMERS MAKE HAY ON THE MARKOTTER ?

As everyone prepares for their climactic end-of-season Interschools clashes, it is perhaps no surprise that there are very few entertaining games in prospect.

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