Dale Vs Queens Reunion 2016

Apr 26 • General News, School • 2796 Views • Comments Off on Dale Vs Queens Reunion 2016

Can Dale pull off another victory in the 176^th clash at First XV level against the “Old foes” from under the Hangklip in Queenstown?

Can Dale continue with another victory after achieving the double in 2015?

The 2016 Reunion Rugby game between Dale and Queens Colleges could not have a better script to follow. Both sides have beaten Selborne College this season. At stake lies both the bragging rights of “Top Dog” status and the leader of the pack of the Border rugby power houses!

Queens College and Queens Junior schools travel to King to be Dale opponents from Under 9 to First XV level. Hockey and other activities will also be contested. However, when both First XV sides take the field of Dale’s C B Jennings “A” field or known as the “Graveyard” past results will count for nought. Reunion rugby clashes at the “Graveyard” bring out a special something and a will to win by the Dalians.

What will be foremost in the young player’s minds will be a win, will be remembrance of past matches in both Queenstown and in King and thoughts of all past players who have worn the specific and appropriate jersey and position number and to uphold the ethos of rugby as a game that is also being a winner!

		QUEEN’S
1	Sat.05Mar	Hudson Park	23	7	Won	Border Rugby Day
2	Sat.12Mar	Kingswood	17	31	Lost	Graeme R/D
3	Thu.24Mar	Northwood	36	8	Won	KES Festival
4	Sat.26Mar	St Benedict’s	30	27	Won	KES Festival
5	Mon.28Mar	Jeppe	20	41	Lost	KES Festival
6	Sat.09Apr	Marlow	25	15	Won	Home
7	Sat.16Apr	Selborne	33	29	Won	Home
8	Sat.23Apr	Graeme	50	6	Won	Home
9	Sat.30Apr	Pearson	–	–	–	Grey PE Festival
10	Mon.02May	Framesby	–	–	–	Grey PE Festival

		DALE
1	Sat.05Mar	Port Rex	40	0	Won	Border Rugby Day
2	Sat.12Mar	Pearson	22	3	Won	Graeme R/D
3	Thu.24Mar	Maritzburg College	25	16	Won	Kearsney ERF
4	Sat.26Mar	Framesby	46	17	Won	Kearsney ERF
5	Mon.28Mar	Glenwood	5	32	Lost	Kearsney ERF
6	Sat.09Apr	Stirling	60	12	Won	Away
7	Sat.23Apr	Selborne	24	19	Won	Away
8	Sat.30Apr	St David’s	–	–	–	Grey PE Festival
9	Sat.02May	Welkom Goudveld	–	–	–	Grey PE Festival

History

We appropriately look back123 years in time and discuss the origins of this fixture between the schools and look at some of Dale rugby history.
On Friday the 3 April 1891 a meeting was held of the Dale College Football Club to elect Office-bearers for the coming season and to “fix” a committee.
Those elected to Office were: N. Hodgson -Captain, G. Tennant – Vice Captain C. Weir – Hon. Secretary and E. Solomon.
Their goal was to formalise the playing of ruby at Dale College, to arrange fixtures against both adult teams of the town, and to establish contact with other regional rugby playing schools.
Their efforts were not in vain, as they firstly established contact with the Queenstown Public School (later to become Queens College) in Queenstown.
Amid great excitement, a Dale College Rugby Football team left King William’s Town travelling by train for Queenstown to officially play a match against the Queenstown Public School.
On arrival in Queenstown, a member of their Football Club hospitably received the Dale team. The Dale College team had the run of the Masonic Hotel, where they were entertained at a dinner hosted by the Committee of the Queenstown Public High School. After a wonderful evening enjoyed by all the
stage was set for the first official rugby game to be played at schoolboy level by Dale College.
This very important rugby match between these two great schools commenced shortly after 4:00 pm on the afternoon of the 30 August 1891. The result of this match was a resounding win for Dale College. The recorded score was 5 goals, 4 tries to 1 goal for the Public School – Queens College.

History does not record, unfortunately, as what played an important part in the preparations for this fine win away from home. Was it the wonderful dinner and refreshments interspersed with oratory of the highest order where the Dale team had the better of the opponents, or perhaps an early “to bed” night and curfew? We can always speculate but those of us who know the culture of both Dale College and Queens College and based on schoolboy and Old Boy reminiscent tales will always speculate!
Thus began the history of Dale College rugby against Queens College. This important rugby game is recorded as the first at schoolboy level for Dale College and established Queens as Dale’s oldest schoolboy rivals. This rivalry is still jealously guarded by all Dalians, Queenians and Old Boys
of both schools.
Dale College and Queens College have never had reason to ever consider any breaking off of rugby playing relations against each other and regardless of any tensions on or off the playing fields. This is a testimony to the memory of all past pupils of both schools where winning is important but more
importantly rugby has always been the winner. As we approach the 176th game at First Team level we are mindful of the history of sporting and rugby contacts between Dale and Queens and reaching this milestone is as important today as it was in 1891 before that first ever game in Queenstown.
After this first game in 1891(Won by Dale by 19 points to 3 points) the next game was only played in 1926 at home in King Williams Town. Dale lost this game by 6 points to nil. The reason for the delay in resuming rugby between these two schools is that soccer was established as the main winter sport alongside cricket for summer. However, rugby continued to be played unofficially and against the rules laid down by the Headmaster – Rev J G Sutton – at Dale. Association football replaced rugby as the official sport at Dale in 1892.
This lack of rugby being played was of concern to a group of Dalians! During the year of 1906 group of STD 4 (Grade6) boys held a meeting in their classroom after school on a Saturday morning. The purpose of the meeting was to endeavour to start rugby for the amusement of the small boys who had nothing to do on Saturday mornings. Humble beginnings to what are Derby Day Rugby fixtures of the modern era!
It must also be remembered that rugby was not only frowned upon but also strictly forbidden by dear, popular Rev J G Sutton the Headmaster of Dale. In spite of many canings administered by the Headmaster and the confiscation of rugby balls, the game of rugby continued to be played. Up to 1909 the rugby team of Dale College played under the name of the Shamrocks in a bid to offset the influence of soccer and to camouflage the playing of the game of rugby at Dale.

The winds of change were certainly blowing. The Cape Mercury issue of 14 June 1909 reported that Shamrocks First XV beat Albert’s First XV 15 – 13. The same Newspaper reported the Juvenile Log standings on 7 July 1909. First, Second and Third team standing was headed by Stars rugby Club with Shamrocks holding second place in each division. Not bad for a school where rugby was “officially” banned but still managing to field three open aged sides!

Finally, in 1910, The Dale College Rugby Football Club was founded and the Shamrocks became the Dale College Rugby Team. Association football – soccer – was permitted to be played alongside Rugby and was not discontinued until about 1917.

By 1911, Dalians who had played rugby in the Shamrocks’ navy and black jersey, with its green band and shamrock-leaf breast badge, could proudly and officially wear the school’s black jersey banded by narrow red hoops and having the Dale badge. The distinctive Dale colours have remained the same ever since. The 1910 College magazine records as follows: “This season the ‘Shamrocks’ of last year play under the auspices of the Dale College Games Club”

There have been many close games of rugby between Dale and Queens throughout their rugby playing history and perhaps it is fitting to recall a drawn game between these two sides, the score being 14-14 at the final whistle. This game against Queens was played at the Victoria Grounds in King Williams Town in 1964. Those students of schoolboy rugby and Dale rugby in particular will recognise that this side was one of Dale’s unbeaten rugby First teams.

The coach was legendary Headmaster, Russell Walter Searle. The nail biting, chain-smoking tension of it all was just about unbearable for supporters and scholars of both schools. A winner of six games in a row, Charlie Pope’s team, was down 3-14 before the three try fight-back brought Dale back from the brink of defeat. Failure by Pope to convert the last gasp touchdown under the posts by scrum half Mickey Crossman denied Dale College of one of its greatest victories against Queens College but left it with perhaps its greatest draw.

The highest score that has been recorded for a match between Dale and Queens at a Dale reunion is the 64 points to 0 points victory scored by Dale at an Old Dalian Reunion celebration in King Williams Town in 1927. (The late Mr LLF Wood was the Dale linesman!) In this game Dale scored 47 points against Queens in the second half. Rugby between these two great schools always provides the enthusiast with a hard fought rugby game in which no prisoners are taken. An extraordinary season was 1938 when Dale and Queens met each other three times during the season with Dale winning all three games, 6-3 and 13-8 at home and the Queenstown encounter 9-5.

The spirit in which Dale and Queens play their rugby and the continued rivalry is a tribute to all those great schoolboy rugby players who have represented both Dale and Queens First Rugby teams since playing of that first game in 1891 right up to and including 2016.

No rugby game between Dale and Queens College can ever have a predicted outcome. Both schools play the game of rugby with a passion that is reserved for only the best. Every game between these great schools promises to be another epic rugby battle between two sides that will do the game of rugby proud.

It is human nature to make comparisons!

No doubt many will be making comments and also comparisons and exaggerated and real encounters will be relived over and over again as the weekend progresses and long after the final whistle has blown. This is what rivalry brings out. Stories, true and exaggerated that add spice to a weekend of renewing friendships, reminisces of fun times and those tense games of yesteryear and of the past few years

For the statistically minded the tale of the of the tape reads:

To Date Played Won Lost Drawn Points -Dale Points Queens

2015 175 78 81 16 1776 1705

(10.1 points to 9.7 points average in favour of Dale)

It all reflects and to show that over the years there has been very little given between the overall margins for these two great and competitive schools.Dale will pull back again to level pegging with Queen’s and as natural cycles dictate.

The bonds of sportsmanship and jealous rivalry between both Dale College and Queen’s College on the sports fields must be preserved at all costs. No matter the result on the day, we wish both teams, their respective Captains and their coaches good fortune and that sportsmanship and rugby will also be the ultimate winners.