Three Kings
Text: Grant Ball. Photos: Gallo Images/Getty Images/AFP
Source: This article is from the October 2011 issue of Sports Illustrated.
What does playing SA Schools mean for your rugby future? Sports Illustrated looks at three SA Schools stars with the potential to make it big.
The selection of SA Schools players is always a highly contentious issue. Will those selected be good enough for the Boks one day? How can the selectors justify their decisions based on three matches at Craven Week? Then there is the inevitable and jaded topic of quotas.
The relative strength and the selection process were seriously questioned when SA U18 lost 45-13 to England in Kimberley in 2009. That was a wake-up call, as were the results of the SA U20s over the last four years. Three third places and a fifth place in this year’s IRB Junior World Championships are just not good enough.
Looking back since the first selection in 1974, only 82 of the over 600 players selected have gone on to play for the Springboks, and three have played international rugby for other countries (Clyde Rathbone for Australia, Ireland’s Dion O’Cuinneagain, and Stephen Hall for France).
Of the 30-man Bok squad selected for the 2011 World Cup, only nine played SA Schools (Bakkies Botha, Heinrich Brüssow, Bismarck du Plessis, Chiliboy Ralepelle, John Smit, CJ van der Linde, Jean de Villiers, Pat Lambie and Ruan Pienaar). Schalk Burger, Victor Matfield, Frans Steyn, Fourie du Preez, Jaque Fourie, JP Pietersen, and Bryan Habana didn’t make the team. Strangely, Francois Hougaard and Butch James weren’t even deemed good enough for their provinces.
That shows that SA Schools selection isn’t the be-all and end-all for rugby players. Those selected have been given a great opportunity, but it doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll make the Boks, let alone play pro rugby. Injuries, form, work ethic and various other factors must be considered in gauging whether a player will be good enough to make it at senior level.
This year SA Schools beat France U18 21-14 in a scrappy match ahead of the Tri-Nations game in Port Elizabeth – a result to be expected, as the side assembled only four days before. Of the current team, one with a great pedigree is Jan Serfontein, who featured in the May edition of SI. Serfontein’s father, Boelie (a No 8), is the most capped SA Schools player, having played for three years. He shares that record with Danie Gerber, whom he played alongside in ’76 and’77.
The following three SA Schools players stood out as having the potential to reach higher honours:
Tim Swiel
The Bishops flyhalf – who last year played in his favoured fullback position – excelled in a disappointing WP team. “I played 10 my whole life before I went on an exchange to Dulwich College in England, where I moved to fullback. When I came back in my Grade 11 year, Dillyn Leyds (current WP U19 flyhalf) was playing for the first team, so I continued at fullback.
“I actually prefer it there – I put my name down for fullback at the WP trials. I just enjoy more time and the space afforded at the back, but at the second-last round of trials, they said they wanted me to play flyhalf. I like to think of myself as an attacking 10, and it’s quite nice to run, because at Bishops we hardly ever kick.”
During Swiel’s exchange in England, he was selected for Surrey and South East England U18 (one of four regional teams selected in the country) as a 16-year-old. England U18 coach John Fletcher approached Swiel about returning to play for England, but he remained loyal to SA.
“I had the chance to play in England and make it there, as I was already in the system. But I suppose I went for the tougher route to come back to SA – where I had to prove myself. That’s why I’m so glad I made SA Schools.”
The 1.79m, 80kg 18-year-old will enrol at the WP Institute next year. “I didn’t get selected for the Bok Sevens Commonwealth Games training squad, and I’m not the biggest guy, so I need to improve my conditioning. The Institute will help with that.”
Jacques Du Plessis
One player who doesn’t need to improve his conditioning is Jacques du Plessis. Standing 2.01m and 114kg, the Pumas lock shone at Craven Week, not only for his size, but for his skill, mobility and power. That latter attribute stems from Du Plessis’ days as an athlete. He took a sabbatical from rugby last year to focus on the discus. The Hoërskool Ermelo pupil was rewarded when he won gold at the inaugural Youth Olympics in Singapore, one of only three SA medallists (the other two earned silver and bronze).
“Last year’s plan was obviously to focus on athletics and I had goals I wanted to achieve,” he says. “But there was also rugby reasoning. I could bulk up, condition my body, and work on my speed. I knew I’d be hungry to play again after a year out, so it worked out well.”
Du Plessis will go to the Bulls next year. “I had to choose between athletics and rugby. I knew if I was to do discus, I would have to go overseas, because the quality of athletics isn’t high enough here. I didn’t want to go overseas, and I want to play for the Bulls and make a living out of rugby.” Du Plessis’ decision is a boon for South African rugby.
Thabo Mabuza
More good news for Bulls rugby is that flank Thabo Mabuza is eligible for Craven Week again next year. Mabuza scored a solo try against the Cheetahs, although his side didn’t win. He showed similar acceleration in scoring SA Schools’ first try against France, where he ran 30m.
“That game against Free State was seen as a final of sorts,” says Mabuza when describing his try. “It was essentially a grudge match between Grey Bloem against a combination Waterkloof and Affies. It was so tight and hard, and we’d missed many try-scoring opportunities and shots at goal. When I got the ball, I knew I had to score for my team.”
Mabuza has made great strides since starting rugby just five years ago.
“I captained Pumas U13, which was a record at the time because I was the first black guy to do so. From there, I got a bursary to Waterkloof, and have now gone to Centurion.
“I’m glad I got the chance to play SA Schools; for the first time I realised, I can be a Bok one day. I started to believe in myself.”
Mabuza acknowledges that others have played SA Schools in their Grade 11 year, but have not made it the following year (last year’s prop, Neethling Fouche, is a recent example).
“Next year I won’t just lie back and think I’ll simply make SA Schools again. I’ll work as hard as possible in the gym and see where I went wrong this season. I know that playing one year of open rugby is very different to U16 level, so I’ll have to keep on improving. My handling and speed are aspects I want to work on.”
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