South African Schools Brief Overview & Info
Bishops Diocesan College
A veritable production line of gifted rugby players, Bishops have an extremely proud record and pride themselves on their brand of attacking rugby. Famous old boys of recent times include Guy Kebble, Dave van Hoesslin, Robbie Fleck, Selborne Boome, François Louw, Daniel Vickerman (Australia) and Stuart Abbott (England).
Dale College
150 years young this year, King William’s Town’s Dale College boasts a fine rugby tradition which began in 1880. Dale has 10 Springboks (amongst them the great HO de Villiers) to their credit, while Keegan Daniel and Greg Somerville are also notable Old Dalians.
Daniël Pienaar
With over 1000 boys, Daniël Pienaar Technical High School is consistently the strongest rugby school in our neighbouring town of Uitenhage. Daniel Pienaar’s most famous rugby playing old boy at present would be Springbok Dewald Potgieter.
Durban High School (DHS)
Founded in 1866, DHS prides itself on a tradition nearly as old as the city of Durban itself. DHS boasts Andrew Aitken, BJ Botha, Alistair Hargreaves and Greg Rawlinson (New Zealand) as among their most successful rugby playing old boys in recent times.
Graeme College
Founded in 1873, Graeme is a traditional boys school from the City of Saints, Grahamstown, and runs from Grade 1 to Grade 12. Their first recorded rugby match took place against St Andrew’s College in 1886. Graeme proudly counts Hennie le Roux and Dirk de Vos among their rugby representatives, while Cheeky Watson is also an old boy.
Grey High School (PE)
While founded in 1856, the school’s first formal rugby match only took place in 1893 against the Muir Academy. The school boasts a dozen Springbok representatives, the last being Luke Watson, while Michael Catt won a World Cup winner’s medal with England in 2003. JJ Engelbrecht, Tim Whitehead and Mpho Mbiyozo, Rory Duncan, Matthew Tayler-Smith, Michael van Vuuren and Siya Kolisi are all Old Greys who have gained provincial representation in recent times.
Hilton College
Another of KwaZulu Natal’s finest schools, Hilton was established in 1872. Their first Interschools’ rugby fixture took place in 1878. Hilton seems to be a cradle of international loose forwards, and boasts the likes of Bob Skinstad, Gary Teichmann and Wayne Fyvie as old boys.
Itembelihle Comprehensive School
Itembelihle, meaning “Good Hope”, started off in a single classroom in Kwazakhele as a junior secondary school in 1961. It later moved to New Brighton. The school moved to its present premises in 1983 and is presently a co-educational high school with 48 staff members. Itembelihle ranks as one of the strongest rugby playing township schools and in the past ten years has claimed victories over all the major rugby playing schools in the Nelson Mandela metro except Grey High. Not a team to be underestimated!
Jeppe High School
Founded only four years after the establishment of Johannesburg in 1886, Jeppe has a proud rugby tradition and has produced four Springboks, including Wilf Rosenberg and James Dalton. Perhaps their most famous rugby product is World Cup winning coach Jake White.
Kearsney College
Founded in 1921 and situated midway between Durban and Pietermaritzburg, Kearsney began to find their feet as a rugby force with their first win over DHS in 1942. Kearsney has produced 4 Springboks, including Trevor Halstead and Ettiene Fynn, while Matt Stevens has represented England.
King Edward VII School (KES)
Founded in 1902 and arguably the strongest of Johannesburg’s monastic schools, KES has enjoyed tremendous success in recent seasons. 3 of their old boys have represented the Springboks: Henry Forrest, Joe van Niekerk and Bryan Habana.
HTS Louis Botha
HTS Louis Botha is a Technical High School from Bloemfontein that caters for both boys and girls. HTS was founded in 1898 and played their first rugby match in 1902. Famed past pupils included AJ Venter and Daan Human, both Springboks and Willie Nagel who has represented the Griffons and Free State.
Maritzburg College
1200 boys strong, Maritzburg was founded in 1863, and played its first match (under Winchester rules) against Hermannsburg in 1870. Maritzburg have a strong rugby tradition and recent international representatives include Joel Stransky, Pieter Dixon, Butch James and Peter Grant.
Michaelhouse
Founded in 1896, Michaelhouse is a private boys’ school situated in the Midlands of Natal. Rugby has been played at the school since its inception. Present provincial representatives include Ross and Guy Cronjé, Robbie Diack, Patric Cilliers, and Springbok Pat Lambie.
Nico Malan
Coming from an area most famous for its surf, the coeducational Hoërskool Nico Malan is consistently competitive against local opposition, and is known as a breeding ground for powerful tight forwards. The school counts Western Province’s highly successful flank Hendrik Gerber as one of their more notable rugby playing old boys.
Parktown Boys’ High
Parktown was initially established as a co-educational school in 1920, and divided into separate boys and girls high schools shortly afterwards in 1923. Parktown has produced 4 Springboks in their history, the most recent being Paul Bayvel in 1976.
Pretoria Boys’ High
Founded in 1901, Pretoria Boys’ High has a proud rugby tradition, defined by their rivalry with Affies. Boy’s High have produced a number of successful rugby players and international representatives, most notably Springbok captain John Smit and his understudy Chiliboy Ralepelle.
Queen’s College
Named for Queen Victoria in 1910 (although the school traces its lineage to 1858), Queen’s enjoy a rich sporting heritage. Rugby only took root at Queen’s in 1924, but they boast numerous international representatives, Dick Muir and Robbie Kempson the most famous of recent times.
Selborne College
Founded in 1872, Selborne have been the dominant force in school’s rugby in the Border region for the last few years. Notable old boys include Keith Andrews, Mark Andrews, Brent Russell and former Bok captain Andre Vos.
St Andrew’s College
St Andrew’s College was founded in 1855 and is traditionally the strongest rugby-playing school in Grahamstown. College enjoyed a stellar season in 2010, and has produced a number of international representatives. Notable old boys include Russell Bennett and Nick Mallett. Ryan Kankowski is their most recent Springbok.
Westville Boys’ High
Founded in 1965, Westville has established itself as an institute of excellence in a very short period of time. Much younger than many of the other traditional schools at our festival, Westville nevertheless boast two Springboks in Waylon Murray and Tim Cocks, while Shaun Payne and Roland de Marigny represented Ireland and Italy respectively.
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