18
THE GRASS IS ALWAYS GREENER At the end of last rugby season, I swore to myself that this would be the last winter where I spent time beside Rugby A talking to the members of the board, old boys, parents and other interested parties about the state of the turf. Well, as they say, ‘the best laid plans of mice and men…’ here I am, five months into the year, talking about grass again. After the many indabas, meetings and opinions from a multitude of grass experts, I admit I was a little irked to hear, included in the various conversations around the side-lines, the accusation that, ‘they don’t even care about the state of the A rugby field.’ Given the time and money that has been spent this year, caring for the field in question, I felt it right that I share some of this journey with the rugby fraternity: Towards the end of last year, we were fortunate to acquire the consultancy services of the grass guru of the Newlands turf. While a network of sprinklers had been laid on the upper fields and new mowers had been purchased in the prior months, under his guidance a new turf surface was laid on Rugby A; this time only kikuyu, not mixed winter and summer grass. For a while all seemed to be going well; the ground was aerated, fertilised and watered and the new grass flourished. During the first part of the holiday period, a minor disaster struck. The automated sprinkler system went down and, because there was only a skeleton staff and the sprinklers run at night, it went unnoticed for a period and portions of the field were burnt in the unusually hot weather. The system was restored, more growth hormone, more aeration, more regular mowing and more irrigation and the patches started to sprout new growth. Just before April, brown areas began to appear. More experts were called in. The flocks of Hadidas which covered the grounds confirmed the analysis which indicated worm and fungus. Treatments were sprayed and early this term, we sought the advice of one of the top turf experts of the cape, Graham Johnson. He agreed to take on the challenge of bringing the field back to health. Along with the other plagues he has found that the ground is now water-logged from over compensation post the burn and once again the aerator has been called into service and the sprinklers have been rested. New plugs have been planted on the areas worst hit by the underground invaders and Graham’s prognosis is mostly optimistic. While we may not have perfect cover this season, the basic foundation has been laid for a good turf and next season we should see a much improved field, with a mat to match Cricket A. I live in hope that this time next year, our investment will bear fruit and Rugby A’s potential to be one of the finest surfaces in school boy rugby will be finally realised. While writing this piece, I am ever conscious of the counter perception that too much focus is put onto the state of the A rugby field. This is of course complete nonsense. It is always the intention of the management, sport’s staff, ground’s staff and board of governors that all of our sporting codes have the best possible playing arenas and a good deal of time, money and effort is put into keeping our facilities in good condition. I would like to make special mention here of our estate manager, Shaun Ovenstone and the support staff, particularly Godfrey Powsa who supervises the work force, the estates committee led for the past few years by Jonathan Rens (whose tenure unfortunately comes to an end soon) and the school’s management representative, Head of Grounds and Buildings, Gary Endly. A prominent role over the years has also been played by Wally Wood. All of these gentlemen have played a part in building and maintaining facilities that season after season garner compliments from visitors around the country and across the globe and it is our combined intention to keep it that way. Headmaster: Shaun Simpson 22 May 2014 # 5

THE GRASS IS ALWAYS GREENER - rondebosch.com Blitz No 5 22May1… · THE GRASS IS ALWAYS GREENER ... “Easy come, easy go!” ... Winger, Frankie Swart, collected a SACS kick and

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THE GRASS IS ALWAYS GREENER

At the end of last rugby season, I swore to myself that this would be the last winter where I spent time beside

Rugby A talking to the members of the board, old boys, parents and other interested parties about the state of

the turf. Well, as they say, ‘the best laid plans of mice and men…’ here I am, five months into the year, talking

about grass again. After the many indabas, meetings and opinions from a multitude of grass experts, I admit I

was a little irked to hear, included in the various conversations around the side-lines, the accusation that, ‘they

don’t even care about the state of the A rugby field.’ Given the time and money that has been spent this year,

caring for the field in question, I felt it right that I share some of this journey with the rugby fraternity:

Towards the end of last year, we were fortunate to acquire the consultancy services of the grass guru of the

Newlands turf. While a network of sprinklers had been laid on the upper fields and new mowers had been

purchased in the prior months, under his guidance a new turf surface was laid on Rugby A; this time only kikuyu,

not mixed winter and summer grass. For a while all seemed to be going well; the ground was aerated, fertilised

and watered and the new grass flourished. During the first part of the holiday period, a minor disaster struck.

The automated sprinkler system went down and, because there was only a skeleton staff and the sprinklers run

at night, it went unnoticed for a period and portions of the field were burnt in the unusually hot weather. The

system was restored, more growth hormone, more aeration, more regular mowing and more irrigation and the

patches started to sprout new growth. Just before April, brown areas began to appear. More experts were

called in. The flocks of Hadidas which covered the grounds confirmed the analysis which indicated worm and

fungus. Treatments were sprayed and early this term, we sought the advice of one of the top turf experts of the

cape, Graham Johnson. He agreed to take on the challenge of bringing the field back to health. Along with

the other plagues he has found that the ground is now water-logged from over compensation post the burn

and once again the aerator has been called into service and the sprinklers have been rested. New plugs have

been planted on the areas worst hit by the underground invaders and Graham’s prognosis is mostly optimistic.

While we may not have perfect cover this season, the basic foundation has been laid for a good turf and next

season we should see a much improved field, with a mat to match Cricket A. I live in hope that this time next

year, our investment will bear fruit and Rugby A’s potential to be one of the finest surfaces in school boy rugby

will be finally realised.

While writing this piece, I am ever conscious of the counter perception that too much focus is put onto the

state of the A rugby field. This is of course complete nonsense. It is always the intention of the management,

sport’s staff, ground’s staff and board of governors that all of our sporting codes have the best possible playing

arenas and a good deal of time, money and effort is put into keeping our facilities in good condition. I would

like to make special mention here of our estate manager, Shaun Ovenstone and the support staff, particularly

Godfrey Powsa who supervises the work force, the estates committee led for the past few years by Jonathan

Rens (whose tenure unfortunately comes to an end soon) and the school’s management representative, Head

of Grounds and Buildings, Gary Endly. A prominent role over the years has also been played by Wally Wood. All

of these gentlemen have played a part in building and maintaining facilities that season after season garner

compliments from visitors around the country and across the globe and it is our combined intention to keep it

that way.

Headmaster: Shaun Simpson

22 May 2014

# 5

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RUGBY MATTERS

There has been a change in the rugby structures at RBHS. Clinton van Rensburg will continue to focus his

energy on coaching the players as Head Coach of the 1st XV and of the coaches. Johan Snijmann will assume

the role of Head of Rugby taking care of all non-coaching rugby related matters and they will work together

on the same level to run rugby effectively. I would like to take this opportunity to wish both of them good luck.

Deputy Head of Sport: Gustaf Pienaar

U19A RBHS 12 SACS 13

It was never going to be an easy game, though many

supporters may have presumed so after the heavy defeat

that SACS suffered at the hands of Bishops the week

before. We knew that they would come out fighting and

eager to prove that they are not a walk over team, which

they certainly showed.

We were playing into the breeze in the first half which

made getting into scoring territory quite difficult. We did

manage to create a couple of good scoring

opportunities which we then squandered, like they say:

“Easy come, easy go!” We then took the lead through a

well-timed interception from Captain, Robbie Waddilove,

who scored under the poles to bag some reward after

doing most of the early playing. SACS hit back

immediately, after a poor clearance into the breeze

which left us exposed on the flank, and their fullback

sprinted through unopposed to put SACS back in front.

With the breeze at our backs in the second half we

started to dominate the territory game with flyhalf, Riley

Louw, kicking us into good positions. With time running out

quickly our frustration started to mount as we gave them

easy exits through soft turn-overs and silly penalties. I

sensed at times that our guys were standing back and

waiting for someone to win the game for them. The entire

second half was played between their 10m and their try

line, except for the one moment when they got around

our defence to score a 60m gem to take them further

ahead.

You could immediately sense the urgency kick in amongst our boys as they realised that SACS were not going

to just give them the game. We immediately hit back with Kyle Balikstan scoring wide from the poles after a

slicing run down the blind. The missed conversion had us trailing by one point and still chasing the game with

nine minutes to go. The boys continued with their renewed urgency and started to create good opportunities.

The last play of match ended up with a disallowed try under the poles after a massive 17 phase onslaught on

the SACS tryline, but again it wasn’t to be as we handed over another win.

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Just as wining becomes a habit so does losing and, unfortunately, we have gone the route of the latter. We will

be left with regret if we don’t start to take matters into our own hands instead of standing back and waiting for

someone to hand us our reward. We have shown that we are capable of playing good rugby but at this stage

it is not enough. In order for us to take the next step we will need to mature as individuals and more importantly

as a team.

The numbers in the game make for interesting reading and if the game was to be played on paper the result

might have looked a bit different. But as we all know it is played between the four lines and on grass where the

fortune favours the brave. In the possession stakes we had most of the ball as we played through 109 rucks to

the 49 of theirs - also managing to go more than eight phases on five occasions. This all reads well but doesn’t

add up to points on the board. The interesting stat is that they received seven penalties on attack to the three

of ours, which is strange as we did all the attacking. In the end the penalty count was 10 to 6 in their favour and

most probably the difference on the day, as those penalties occurred with us applying pressure in

advantageous positions.

The most important lesson to take from this loss is to

not leave it to someone else to hand you the game, if

you want it you need to take it and take it early. The

reality is that no person wants to be put in a position

whereby they have to make a big call to decide a

match – we are all just human in the end.

We are face down on the canvas for the moment

and will have to compose ourselves during the

referee’s 10 second count - while Paul Roos stand

waiting in the corner ready to pounce.

See you behind the poles.

CLINT VAN RENSBURG

1st XV Coach

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RESULTS

U19B

DATE: 17 MAY 2014

RBHS SACS

19A 12 13 L

19B 12 35 L

19C 25 7 W

19D 12 12 D

19E 21 19 W

19F 10 15 L

19G

19H

16A 0 21 L

16B 12 15 L

16C

16D

15A 7 5 W

15B 18 15 W

15C 7 34 L

15D 0 37 L

14A 5 17 L

14B 26 5 W

14C 43 5 W

14D 17 0 W

227 255 Total points

14.0 16.0 Av points

Played 16

Won 7

Drew 1

Lost 8

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SACS

Rondebosch Boys' High 1st XV SACS 1st XV

Half Time 7 8

Full Time 12 13

1st Half

26 min 6 Try by Robbie Waddilove 5 21 min 15 Penalty 3

14 Conversion Rory Thomson 2 32 min 15 Try 5

2nd Half

55 min 15 Try by Ballakistan 5 42 min 14 Try 5

INFORMATION

Captain:

Robbie Waddilove

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U19B RBHS 12 SACS 35

Rondebosch started well with crisp passes amongst the backs. Scrumhalf, Nic Potgieter, was giving flyhalf, Josh

Williams, good flat passes and centre, Josh Kaplan, broke clear with a good dummy pass, unfortunately, the

final pass to lock forward Byron Bowes was ruled as forward. Another good break by Williams looked as though

a try was looming, but again the final pass went wrong. A dropped pass by Rondebosch led to SACS entering

the Bosch half for the first time after 15 minutes and they forced their way over the line to lead 7 - 0.

Rondebosch continued to press and their forwards were pushing SACS backwards in the scrums. Winger,

Frankie Swart, collected a SACS kick and sprinted 50 metres. From the loose scrum the ball went wide and lock

forward Dylan Le Roux scored near the corner flag (7 - 5 ). Just before half time, three missed tackles by

Rondebosch, let SACS in for a try (14 - 5).

In the second half, Bosch continued to scrum well, but they were continuously guilty of missing vital tackles,

resulting in three more SACS tries, all of which were converted, giving them a commanding lead (35 – 5).

Although SACS were now dominating the loose ball, Bosch continued to scrum well, getting good ball, but

somehow the vital final passes were not going to hand. On one occasion, Bosch drove 25 metres from a won

lineout and, with the tryline in front of them, the ball was dropped. Eventually, Bosch scored making the final

score 35 - 12. This was a disappointing performance from Rondebosch.

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U19C (Dogs) RBHS 25 SACS 7

After suffering a disappointing 19 - 7 loss against Boland Landbou last week the boys were eager to get their

season back on track. Traditional rivals SACS, fresh off a victory against Bishops a week earlier, was never going

to be an easy fixture away from home. For the most part of the first half the match was evenly contested with

Bosch gaining the set piece and territorial advantage and SACS dominating the collision and breakdown

battle. With Bosch leading 3 - 0 at half time, through a Jean Naude penalty, the frustration that the boys had

failed to convert more opportunities into points was apparent within the squad. After some calming words and

advice from skipper, David Kane, the boys were rejuvenated and knew they had to score early in the second

half to put the game to bed.

That was indeed what happened. Within minutes after half time, Bosch was on the scoreboard again with tries

through Logan Stone, Kieran Bax and two to Man of the Match, Gift Qetu, to put the Dogs in a commanding

25 – 0 lead. The second half saw Bosch dominate every facet of play and, had it not been for the fact that

numerous changes were made to the starting XV during the game, the scoreline may have been higher. It was

only near full time that SACS penetrated the Dogs’ tryline with a tap-and-go. A lazy penalty retreat by the boys

led to a soft try. The boys can, however, feel very chuffed at their outstanding performance and hopefully this

momentum can now be taken forward into the season.

TRIES: Kieran Bax, Logan Stone and Gift Qetu (2)

PENALTIES: Jean Naude

CONVERSIONS: Yasen Jacobs

MAN OF THE MATCH: Gift Qetu

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U19D RBHS 12 SACS 12

After our win at Boland to Boland Landbou the boys were ready. The first five minutes were tough with SACS

scoring two quick tries. Being 12 - 0 down after five minutes was always going to be hard to come back from,

but with the usual Force hearts we made a comeback scoring a great mauling try and pulling it back to 12 - 7.

The second half was tough but with big hearts we pulled another try back but missed the conversion. The

game ended 12 - 12. It was a great match and the boys showed tremendous character.

Well done boys. Keep up the hard work.

U19E (Flyers) RBHS 21 SACS 19

The flyers took on the SACS 5th team - coming from a loss the week before the boys really needed to show

what they were made of. The boys did just that as they put their heart and soul into the game in what was a

very close and entertaining match with the flyers pinching the victory by 21-19.

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U19F (Stunners) RBHS 12 SACS 15

After a disappointing performance against Boland Landbou, the Stunners had a week of thorough training for

the second derby match of the season against SACS. The match would serve as a good platform to push on

going into two tough matches against Paul Roos and Bois Haai. Despite a far improved performance, there

was again a narrow loss to a Southern Suburb rival - the Stunners also lost narrowly to Wynberg in the first fixture.

Unfortunately for the boys, it was a tale of two halves whereby they dominated the first and simply took their

foot off the pedal in the second.

In true Stunners fashion, often called the France of schoolboy rugby, the boys had a great week’s worth of

preparation, an lacklustre warm up to the match but managed to start like an absolute house on fire. SACS

kicked off with a deep kick off but the boys soon called their opposition’s 22m their home for the half. Robbie

Moser marshalled his troops well after being set the goal to talk louder and more often on game day, and his

quick service kept the SACS boys honest. Although they dominated territory and possession, the downfall of the

Stunners (despite leading at half time) was that too often boys got ‘white-line fever’, taking the ball up instead

of playing the hands and exploiting the space. Credit must go to the SACS defence, who fronted up

admirably, repelling wave after wave of attack. Even though white-line fever was prevalent, the Stunners

walked into the break with a well deserved, albeit flattering to the hosts, lead of 12 - 3. Unfortunately for the

Stunners, that was where the scoring would end as overconfidence crept in and the game plan vanished.

Going into the second half, it seemed that many players thought that the game was up for some reason.

Switched off and unaggressive, SACS pounced and scored a try mid-way through the half and despite

another adventure into their 22m, the Stunners left pointless - again due to selfishness on the ball. Going into the

last couple of minute, SACS scored a try in the corner, edging past us from 12 -10 to 12 - 15. With only a handful

of minutes left, there was unfortunately not enough time to grab the lead back, leading to a disappointing loss

against our blue and white rivals. It is fortunately not a case of ‘back to the drawing board’ but more a case of

maintaing levels of intensity throughout the match and realising that the other team is made up of schoolboys

who want the match just as badly as they do.

Credit must go to Ian Jones, Matthew Perold and Robbie Moser who all had great games. Matthew Perold’s

ball carrying and all-round aggression throughout the match was great to see from a player who took up

rugby only this year. Robbie too, continued in his consistent performances in organising the team’s defence

and getting quick ball to his flyhalf so that the attack could get on the front foot. All in all, the boys are making

progress but must not switch off on game day. Against schools like Paul Roos, Bois Haai, and especially Bishops,

switching off for only a second could have grim repercussions.

TRIES: Rorke MacLeod Smith, Ian Jones

CONVERSIONS: Gareth Naude

BIG LICK: Matthew Leibrand

MAN OF THE MATCH: Matthew Perold

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U16A RBHS 0 SACS 21

Initially the defence held and it was only after 17 minutes that SACS managed to cross the Bosch line to go

7 - 0 up. This was also the half time score and a hard talk by the coaches urged the boys to come back and

take the game. However, this was not to be. Defensive lapses let through two further SACS scores (both

converted) and halfway into the second half the striped jerseys from Dean Street were enjoying a comfortable

21 - 0 lead.

It was then that Bosch started playing their best rugby and constantly hammered at the SACS line. In fact,

Munir Parker (1) was over twice but we were called back on both occasions. This loss hurt. Bitter lessons were

learnt but with the right attitude, commitment and enthusiasm Paul Roos might be in for a surprise as we are

sure they are already thinking of a massive win. Let’s get out there and show them what stuff Bosch boys are

really made of.

U16B RBHS 12 SACS 15

What a game! Coming back from being 10 - 0 down at the break, the B’s led 12 - 10 with one minute to go.

Bosch was on the SACS line and all that was needed was to win the ball and kick it all the way down to Main

Street. SACS won a turnover and, thanks to shocking tackling, their player weaved through all the way

downfield to score the winning try. Heartbreaking stuff, but it proved that the game is never over until the final

whistle blows and the fat lady sings.

There was some great Bosch defence, like the time nippy scrumhalf Keegan Collier ran 30 m to bundle a player

twice his size into touch to prevent a certain score. In the forwards Hylton Goatley (6) and Matthew Booth (5)

put in some hard work and climbed in to win balls and stop attackers. This team is getting better every week

and their progress will be keenly watched.

TRIES: Hishaam Damon (wing), Jay Fisher (lock) CONVERSIONS: Cameron Abrahamse (centre)

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U15A RBHS 7 SACS 5 !

After a few weeks of momentum steadily building within the team, we travelled to SACS knowing that we were

in for a tough match. The boys arrived looking focused and ready – the intensity in the warm up was evident. A

late change to the front row meant that Matthew Horrigan, fresh off a “Man of the Match” performance in the

B team, had to step up from the start and credit to the young man for putting in his second great performance

of the day. In contrast to the pattern so far this season, we were put under pressure from the start, and one or

two slipped tackles let SACS break through and go ahead early (5 - 0).

The boys rose to the challenge immediately and piled back into the SACS half from the restart. Great ball

carrying on attack, by DJ Falconer and Sam Alexander, took us deep into their 22m after which the boys

started to keep the ball amongst the forwards: Carl Smid was instrumental with his aggressive driving towards

the SACS line. The strength of our forward pack was evident as they sucked in more and more SACS’

defenders, opening up some space on the outside. Robbie Davis was aware as ever and quickly sent the ball

wide from a goal line ruck, allowing Zak Sallie to smash his way over for a converted try (7 - 5).

That was to be the last score of the game, however, as from there the match turned into an intense arm

wrestle between the two sides. To the boys’ credit, they made sure that the majority of play took place in the

SACS half and the defence rose to the occasion, allowing SACS very few opportunities to score. The forwards,

again with Carl Smid at the helm, were aggressive on defence, constantly hitting the SACS boys backwards.

Meanwhile the positional play amongst the backs left no gaps when the ball went wide. Despite missing out on

a few of our own opportunities in the half, we managed to squeeze the life out of the game and walk away

with the win.

TRIES: Zak Sallie

CONVERSIONS: Sam Alexander MAN OF THE MATCH: Zak Sallie

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U15A after their tough 7-5 victory over SACS

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U15B RBHS 18 SACS 15 !

A fired up RBHS U15B team arrived at SACS on Saturday, still looking for their first win of the season. Once again,

they made a solid start to the game with the forwards dominating at scrum time. The SACS backline, however,

were very impressive and it was evident from the start that our boys were really going to be tested on defence.

That said, as is our habit, we struck first: a series of strong drives from a lineout on the SACS 22m eventually led

to enough space for Jason MacLeod-Smith to get over the line (5 - 0). The rest of the half went much the other

way however, with RBHS seeing little of the ball and being sternly tested by some strong SACS attacking. Credit

must be given to the boys though, as some great intensity on defence kept SACS at bay. It was only through

constant pressure that they eventually crossed the line (5 - 5). The pattern continued from there, and despite a

few more opportunities for our guys, we couldn’t seem to convert and SACS managed to break through our

defensive lines one more time before half time (10 - 5).

The second half proved just how quickly a game can be turned around, as the boys showed enormous

character and came out with a point to prove. On defence the tackles were notably hitting harder. On attack

the backline started to move the ball through the hands, with both Gabriel Bolnick and Dylan Pienaar getting

good opportunities to chalk up some running metres. That said it was up front that the real momentum shift

happened. The forwards were taking the game to their SACS counterparts, and Matthew Horrigan led the

charge with an impressive 30m line break, running through several SACS defenders before being stopped. The

rest of the forwards took their cue from this and a few minutes later Tristan Oliver made a break of his own,

bouncing two SACS defenders before rounding the last man to score under the poles. Michael King’s

conversion put us ahead (12 - 5).

From there it was all about intelligent rugby – the boys held on to the ball and kept it in the SACS half of the

field, allowing few opportunities for SACS to ease the pressure. The constant work from the forwards paid off,

with SACS being forced into giving away penalties at the breakdown. Matthew Ginsberg stepped off the side

of the scrum to take the game away from SACS, knocking over two penalties from a good way out. SACS now

needed two scores to catch up (18 - 10). SACS did get one try back, courtesy of some desperate attacking

towards the whistle, but were left to rue their missed conversions (18 - 15). A great performance by the RBHS

boys: they chalked up the first W and showed enormous character and skills in doing so.

TRIES: Jason MacLeod-Smith, Tristan Oliver

CONVERSION: Michael King

PENALTY: Matthew Ginsberg (2)

MEN OF THE MATCH: Matthew Horrigan and Matthew Ginsberg

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U15C RBHS 7 SACS 34

From the outset it looked like it was going to be tough. A big, SACS backline ran at us from depth, at pace, in a

well rehearsed manner. It might as well have been their A team backline - they were that good! With high

expectations of Bosch scrumming dominance cut short, by an injury to a front row player in their side, scrums

were restricted to “non pushing” scrums for the whole of the second half. Uncharacteristic errors on our side led

to them getting scrums, which allowed them to unleash their backline - finding themselves with a man up on

almost every occasion to score in the corners.

This, however, did not stem our energy to compete and players, like Jake Amaler (9), ensured our backline had

quick ball from the rucks (on the few occasions we had secured them) with his service from the base. Our boys

eventually found their rhythm in the final eight minutes and played some scintillating, supportive rugby to finally

break their defence with Khaleel Tayob scoring next to the posts.

TRIES: Khaleel Tayob (1)

MAN OF THE MATCH: Jake Amaler

U15D RBHS 0 SACS 37

The game against SACS was a tough one. Having prepared well during the week the boys were confident

going into Saturday’s game. A few mishaps and positional changes on the day resulted in a bit of very evident

panic. The boys played with heart but crucial “basics” errors always left us in a spot of bother.

The first half saw us come out a bit complacently. Far too many soft tackles resulted in tries to the opposition – a

factor which we continue to work on at practice. It was the lost tackles that ended our hopes of winning the

game.

However, there were some moments of magic: particularly Stuart “the locks” Manten who slotted in at open

side flank from scrum half. Stuart (easily recognisable by his Schalk Burger hairdo) was most influential on the

ground, managing to steal more porridge than goldilocks herself. Cole “all action” Jensen, having missed a

practice in the week, was demoted from prop to 8th man. He took the opportunity well convincing a SACS

player in the process, that public transport is not a good option for him. Particular mention must also be made

to Michael “Gregan” Carelse who was constantly encouraging our boys even though we were down. It’s the

spirit we want to see as coaches in our Rondebosch boys.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Stuart Manten

U14A RBHS 5 SACS 17

After a good week's practice and a change in attitude we were ready for SACS. We knew it was going to be a

good match, especially playing away from home. In the first few minutes of play SACS were 5 - 0 up and losing

our fullback Jordan Child disrupted the team a bit – though yet again it gave another player a chance to

prove himself. After battling and playing good aggressive rugby we pulled the score back to 5 - 5 at the end of

the first half. Playing in the opponents half 80% of the time we, as a team, could not seem to get the points on

the board and every time we came close we made a mistake or decisions went against us. SACS scored two

more tries against the run of play and ultimately won the game 17 - 5. This was not a true reflection on how well

we played, but some hard work still lies ahead for us.

Try: Ross Stone

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U14B - no report submitted this week

U14C RBHS 43 SACS 5

The C’s maintained their unbeaten streak with a great win on Saturday. Once again the forwards put in the

hard yards and RBHS dominated at set piece. This allowed the backline to spread the ball, as they always do,

and star winger Chumani Mayosi got the scoreboard going early on. The flood gates opened as SACS could

not keep up with the physicality of the RBHS forwards who continuously got over the advantage line. They were

well controlled by scrumhalf, Darin Holman, who provided quick ball for the backline. The backline really gelled

together and it was a pleasure to watch the boys make decisions in pressured situations which turned into tries.

RBHS face Paul Roos this Saturday and are by no means the underdogs.

TRIES: Gareth Probert (2), Ryan Witte, Chumani Mayosi (3), Andrew Allkin

CONVERSIONS: Jeremy Owen (4)

MEN OF THE MATCH: Gareth Probert and Andrew Allkin

U14D RBHS 17 SACS 0

The week’s build up focused on preparation for the predicted wet weather on the weekend. However,

Saturday turned out to be a beautiful day to spread the ball and that’s exactly what the Dragons did. SACS

was no match for our very own Schalk Burger in Nicholas Rushton who crashed over for the first try. RBHS then

spent the majority of the game in SACS’ territory and they could not break the Dragons’ defence. RBHS then

turned pressure into points and the boys must be commended for not conceding any points. On Saturday the

boys outplayed their opponents, they did so with smiles on their faces and showed the manner in which the

game should be played. The mighty Dragons are now one more win away from the Triple Crown (having

beaten WBHS, SACS and Bishops).

TRIES: Nicholas Rushton, Joshua Venter, Daniel Wells

CONVERSIONS: Robert Gillett

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THE RONDEBOSCH BEST XV?

Last week we published a suggested “Rondebosch Best First XV” based on performances whilst at school by First XV players

since 1955. There has been great banter amongst Old Boys on the sections - herewith some of their comments below.

Send your comments to [email protected]

As a reminder, this was the team sheet we had last week:.

Ronnie Coates 1967 Fullback

Pieter Uys 1978 Right wing

Tony Ciolli 1984 Centre

Adam Barnard 1967 Centre

Brent Farrell 1977 Left wing

Richard Nurse 1967 Flyhalf

André Tulleken 1960 Scrumhalf

Dion O’Cuinneagain 1990 Eighth man

Charles Louw 1964 Flank

Gcobani Bobo 1997 Flank

Kobus Immelman 1968 Lock

Butch Deuchar 1971 Lock

Dawid vd Merwe 1958 Prop Johan vd Merwe 1984 Hooker

Sean Bonthuys 1991 Prop

Comments:

Chris Pope on the wing? If memory serves me correctly Ronnie Coates was the first "soccer style round the corner" goal

kicker - lots of theory and practice with Tickey.

No place for Julian Halkett E85?

The McCallum brothers - Ian at full back for South Africa for 4 or 5 years? Or didn't they make the First XV? Nice list

despite this! Good to see how many from the unbeaten 1967 team!

I like the rugby team. I personally would have placed Francois Bonthuys E77 in the starting line-up as scrumhalf

because he played for WP and SA Schools in 1977.

Great idea Mike Barwell, all-time teams and/or rankings always create lively debate. Having seen every Bosch First XV

since 1984, it's terrific to reminisce. I would have included Robin Cockrell (E95?) at least on the bench.

I didn't see Cockrell play at school, but I had the misfortune of scrumming against him in an Old Boys game. Not

human! Also - before my time, but who was the #8 who captained Craven Week from '92? Plane? Played 8 for Bosch

and 2 for WP. He was also a beast. Great idea this. I thought JS Smit was the first round-the-corner kicker(?) Nice to see Kobus Immelman on the list. Athol

McLean was also an amazing wing (unbeaten E64 team) and what about the legendary Mike Lawless?

Can we do a most injured after school list?

Bennie Osler (Springbok Rugby Legend) wouldn't make it - I take it?

The 90's was quite a decade for Bosch. Names like Dion O'Cuinnegain, Dave Ricketts, Hanyani Shimange, Sean

Bonthuys, Robin Cockerill, Gareth Wright, Wayne Pocock, Paul Barker, Gcobani Bobo, Oginga and Samora Siwundla

spring immediately to mind and there were many more I don't recall.

See potentially 2 or 3 from 90's making this list (of which Dion at 8 is one of them) glory years of Bosch were 60's & 70's

Yes .. the 60's and 70's had two unbeaten RBHS Rugby XV teams ... 1964 and 1977. Does anyone know what other

years were unbeaten?

I do like the Tulleken./ Nurse combination.

Mr Broster ... the coach of the unbeaten 1977 side should be considered as coach.

68 was also unbeaten if I recall under Ron Wigget as coach (fitness fanatic)

Adam Barnard: Wow...this is overwhelming!!!

Great to see 2 of my cousins in the team...Prop and hooker!!

Quite an honour Butch. Well done!

What about Mike Lawless? The McCullums?

Great idea to create an All time XV. Loving the debate on Facebook.

I would be interested to see an All time cricket XI as well.

Bench

Paul Barker 1997

Franciois Bonthuys 1977

Tony Giles 1975

Steve Hillock 1964

James Richards 2001

Hanyani Shimange 1996

Rayn Smid 2010

Note: The team was selected on the players’

performance while in the Rondebosch First XV, and

not on later achievements.!

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FIXTURES

RBHS VS PAUL ROOS - 24 MAY

TEAM OPPOSITION TIME FIELD

U19 A

U19 B

Paul Roos

Paul Roos

12:00

10:40

Main Field

Main Field

U19 C Paul Roos 09:30 Main Field

U19 D Paul Roos 08:20 Meulsloot

U19 E Paul Roos 09:30 Meulsloot

U19 F Paul Roos 10:40 Meulsloot

U16 A Paul Roos 08:20 Main Field

U16 B Paul Roos 09:30 Rivierveld

U15 A Paul Roos 10:00 Doornbosch

U15 B Paul Roos 09:00 Doornbosch

U15 C Paul Roos 11:00 Doornbosch

U15 D Paul Roos 08:00 Doornbosch

U14 A

U14 B

Paul Roos

Paul Roos

11:00

10:00

Volkskombuis

Volkskombuis

U14 C Paul Roos 09:00 Volkskombuis

U14D Paul Roos 08:00 Volkskombuis

Photographs courtesy of Kia Arendse, Robert Gad, Patrick Horrigan and Kara Robertson