AAction from St Stithians last year. Pic: Courtesy Wessel Oosthuizen/SASPA
Eaaster time in Joburg invariably means one of two things.
The crowds clear out for the coast. Those of us who are left behind throng to the schoolboy rugby festivals that have become such a staple of early autumn in the city.
The action is usually a welcome diversion from the problems of the day, and there have been a few, and also reinforces the virtues of the game so often absent at professional level.
The festivals are very much a family affair. The mood is buoyant, the rugby is full of earnestness and the beer tents do a roaring trade.
Because there’s so much of it – the historically big festivals are at St John’s College and St Stithians – catching the best games requires something approaching military precision.
These are usually determined by two factors: the traditionally powerful rugby schools and those who have something to prove. On Thursday, for instance, Paul Roos, one of the traditional big daddies of the game, play Nelspruit at St John’s (6pm). Nelspruit don’t have the pedigree of Paul Roos, but they are traditionally among the best schoolboy teams around. Old boys include Duane Vermeulen and Marnitz Boshoff, so its bloodline is decent.
St John’s College
Affies versus Hilton (Thursday, St John’s, 4.45pm) could also be fun, what with Hilton’s predilection for buying players having been thrust into the open in recent months. It’s the number one issue confronting high school rugby, although Hilton are far from alone in following this dubious practice.
St Albans have had a good run of late and their match on Thursday against Durban High School (St Stithians, 12.15pm) ought to be a full-blooded affair.
Look out, too, for Grey PE and St Andrews, who are both long on ambition this year.
There’s a nice spread to the games with action on Thursday, Saturday and Monday. My advice is to highlight the must-sees and then shuttle the 16km between the venues to catch the best of it.
You won’t be sorry.
St Stithians fixtures
(The College festival will also see 100 teams from South Africa and Botswana competing in basketball, cross country, football, hockey, netball, rugby, squash, and tennis on the Saints campus).
St John’s fixtures
