Athletics 2012

When looking at the busy season and the number of impressive performances that took place this year, it is clear that Athletics at Rondebosch continues to be an integral part of the school’s sporting programme.

It is worthwhile mentioning that in this context, two of our coaches (Mr Geldenhuys and Mr Julie) are both recognised nationally for their individual talents as athletes (the 100 metre and 800 metre respectively). It is clear that the success of our team’s performances can, at least partly, be attributed to the kind of expertise these two stalwarts impart.

Our year began promptly with a successful Interhouse Athletics day. With some sound performances and our athletes getting rid of some of the rust acquired during the December break, it was an excellent start to the year. The results were as follows:

Given the high level of competitiveness at Paarl, our team did really well to secure a number of top three positions:

3rd place:
u19:

• Simon Dwyer – Javelin
• Alex Mather – 800m
• Samuel Carstens – 100m and 200m
• Matthew Morris – Long Jump

u17:

• Dale Cornell – Javelin
• Khanyo Ngcukana – 200m

u14:

• 4 x 100m Relay

2nd place:
u19:

• Levi Calthorpe – 800m
• Keaton Saunders – 1 500m

u15:Kyle Ballakistan – 100m and 200m

• 4 x 100m Relay

1st place:

• Kyle Fredericks – 100m and 200m

The Annual Triangular (vs Bishops Diocesan College and SACS) was also successful with Rondebosch securing 17 wins out of a possible 45 (tying with SACS). There were a number of pleasing performances culminating in the relay teams winning three out of their four races with one 2nd place.

Kyle Ballakistan, Samuel Carstens and Keaton Saunders were selected for the Western Province High School Team that participated at the Western Cape Championship in Oudtshoorn.

For their efforts this year the following boys received awards: Half Colours: K Saunders, N le Roux, K Ballakistan, L Calthorpe, S Oostendorp, K Fredericks; Full Colours: S Carstens, D Cornell.

It has been a pleasure coaching the boys in this team, and congratulations for a year of fine performances.                                                                                                                            W Haggard

Basketball Reports 2012

U14 Basketball
This under 14 basketball year started on a very high note, with many new comers and basketball enthusiasts coming to the forefront and joining some of the more experienced faces on the team, who had moved up the ranks from primary school level.

Following in the footsteps of last year’s group of boys, the first term had its ups and downs. This was due to many of the newer players adjusting to the practices and match time, as well as the “veterans” who soon came to realise the difference in the intensity and pace of the game and fitness at this level of the sport. Enthusiasm however was never lacking and we would always analyse our mistakes and improve where we could for the following game.

With a long break between seasons it is always a worry for the coach as to the form of players coming back. In some cases, as in this one, the worry is unsupported as on our first day back at the grind and practices everyone was looking just as fit and ready to take on the challenges of the new season, which saw us beating Bishops, SACS, Herzlia and narrowly losing to Pinelands. With few chances to test our skills in such a short frame time we were happy with the results.

Special thanks need to be given to Mr Ronnie Davis, Mr Nongqotho and the U19 boys who were always ready to step in and give advice to the youngsters.  Congratulations need to be said to two of our top point scorers Joshua Hillman and Nishen Pather (C) and to the rest of the team for all the effort and improvement.

Good luck to all for next year and to what I believe is going to be a very strong side.
Keenan Bouwer 
P9 W5 L3 D1
MANAGER: MrG Cilliers  COACH: Mr K Bouwer  TEAM:  N Pather (c), J Hillman (vc), J Joubert, A Walker, L Stammers, G Mott, T Jones, R Parbhoo, K Matunzi, A Minani, C Wood-Callander, A Romero, A Turan      

U16A BASKETBALL
Coming into the season, the team had only one player who was in Grade 10, captain Kizito Mukasa.  With such a young team, they entered most games as the underdogs; nevertheless, they took up the challenge from the first game.

After a forfeit victory against Camps Bay, the team stormed to a double digit victory in the opening game vs. Bergvliet behind the scoring of Kizito and Dennis Chung and the defensive presence of Josh Weiss and Simeon Davis.  The youthful nature of the team was in evidence the following week as the team dropped a winnable game vs. Elkanah.  The team, however, rebounded in a hard fought game against Fish Hoek behind the scoring of Kizito and William Wu.  Kizito also made his presence felt on defence, leading all rebounders.  While they would not win another game, the team continued to compete.  Different individuals would step up as the team needed from Josh’s double game (10 points and 13 rebounds) vs Westerford to Kizito’s 11 point game vs Wynberg.  The bench play had strong contributors as well, most notably Chris Hooper and Liam Landsberg.  The toughest loss had to be the 16-17 result against Bishops.  After holding Bishops to only 4 points in the first half, we couldn’t keep pace in the third, falling behind.  Nevertheless, the team held Bishops to only 2 points in the final quarter and seemingly had tied the game, but due to a technicality had one point removed from the score.  The first term ended with a 3-5 record—very respectable for this young team.

The fourth term showed further maturity in this young team.  The opening game was called off due to a devastating injury to Josh who broke his leg during play.  The team adjusted to the huge loss of Josh’s presence in the defence as Nic Babaya and Liam received increased play. William Wu had a break out game with 16 points as the team manhandled SACS in their best win of the season. After losing another nail-biter to Bishops by 1 point and a contested game vs Pinelands (with William shooting 6 of 7 from the field), the team closed out the season with a comprehensive 11 point win vs. Herzlia.

The team has grown so much over the year and it has been a pleasure to watch the development.  The play of the captain, Kizito, who led all scorers for the year and was second in rebounds behind Simeon, will be a huge addition to the U19 team next year.  With the year of experience and the influx of talent from the U14s, next year should be one of the best in recent years for the U16 team.

R Davis

P12 W5 L7 D0
MANAGER: Mr A Fransman COACH: Mr R Davis TEAM:  K Mukasa (c), C Ling (vc), N Babaya, S Carletti, D Chung, S Davis, E Dorland, C Hooper, L Landsberg, R Maxwell, H Pather, A Urban, J Weiss, W Wu, L Zandstra

U19A BASKETBALL
The team entered the year with a strong core of young players as Jaiwei Yao was the only returning U19 starter.  The team was in a bit of flux early as new players joined over the first few weeks as well as working with an alternate coach (R Davis) as the regular coach (L Louw) was unable to join the team until week four due to other duties.  Nevertheless, the team jumped out to its first 3-0 start in recent years with a forfeit victory over Camp’s Bay followed by two double digit victories.  First, ‘Bosch outmatched Bergvliet led by captain, Daniel Akokpari.  Next, they had their most comprehensive victory of the season devastating Elkanah, 27-4.  The team started out slow ending the first quarter with a 2-2 tie.  The team, however, found its personality behind newcomer point guard Luke Wynne-Smith who led the team in assists.  The team held the opponent scoreless in both the second and third quarters.  Daniel continued to lead the team in both points scored (7) and rebounds (7), but Luke, Jaiwei and Chris Jonas each added 4 points.  The team also dominated the boards with Daniel and C Jonas leading in rebounds. 

While the team would not win again, the level of play continued to grow.  The most exciting game came against one of the top teams in the league, the Western Cape Sport School.  The visitors assumed ‘Bosch would be an easy game, but found themselves outplayed for most of the game.  Kaylim Bates had the best game of  his season providing a presence inside.  Daniel continued his role as scoring leader while Luke continued to provide key assists in the game.  ‘Bosch led by a single point as time ran out, unfortunately an untimely foul resulted in WCSS pulling even after making one of the two fouls shots.  In overtime, WCSS won by 2.  But ‘Bosch had showed the calibre of play this very young team could provide.  The team saw excellent support play from Chris Mparutsa and bench play from Jason Baard.

The fourth term had additional adjustments as Luke returned to the US, no returning matric players, and a return to their previous coach.  Nevertheless, the team demonstrated its resilience with competitive play.  The opening game vs. SACS saw brilliant offensive play with both Chris J and Daniel scoring 8 points and Chris M adding 7.  The game also saw the U19 debut of Dennis Chung from the U16 team who led the team with 8 rebounds followed by Kaylim Bates and Daniel at 7 apiece.  Although leading at the half, SACS had too many reserves and outlasted ‘bosch to win by 2.  The term also saw the debut of U16 Captain, Kizito Mukasa, in his first U19 game.  Great support off the bench was supplied by Brandon Collins, Keegan Smith and Anzio Marola.

This team has grown over the course of the year, showing great potential.  As a young team, they demonstrated the ability to compete with any team in the league and are in a position to have a core group of matric players next year and have an opportunity to compete in the post-season tournament. 
R Davis

P11 W3 L8 D0
MANAGER: Z Nongqotho COACH: R Davis, L Louw TEAM:  D Akokpari (c), K Bates, J Baard, B Collins, D Chung, C Jonas, A Marola, C Mparutsa, K Mukasa, K Smith, J Yao 

ROWING 2012

General: The 2011/12 season saw a few significant changes in rowing at Rondebosch Rowing. Nic Park-Ross stepped down as Head Coach and was replaced by Marco Biagio and Sean Harris retired as MIC (but not from rowing) and was replaced by Roy Hellenberg. In addition, we managed to acquire another Double Scull, which eased the pressure on equipment somewhat, but the growth of athletes in rowing meant we still had to use some wooden boats in order to ensure that all our rowers had the opportunity to compete at regattas.

Seniors: The past season of rowing was hard and exciting for the U19s. Being a small group of only five rowers we opted for smaller boats. This was a good decision, as normally we would have concentrated on the ‘Eight’ and occasionally rowed smaller boats on the side. This focus allowed us to see our potential in the smaller boats. Setting our goals high and training to come first, we set out on a shaky start at our local regattas. However, we improved with each regatta and ended up with first places in some of the local regattas.

In February we competed at our first Buffalo Regatta held in East London. We made our mark there by doing really well against all the other teams from across the country. Although there were no firsts we came away with good experience. Two weeks later it was SA Champs in Pretoria.  Here we again did well with the A division double coming 6th in the final and the B division double coming 2nd in their final.  This placed the A double 6th in the country and the B double 10th.  Esmond Schnehage just missed being in the semi-final for sculls.

The last regatta was the V&A Waterfront regatta. We rowed in a quad together for the last time as U19 school rowers. We raced against Somerset and narrowly lost to them even though they were a seasoned crew. All in all, it was a good season and one where we learnt a lot thanks to our awesome coach, Marco Biagio.
Garrick Herman – Senior Captain

After very little water time in the first half of 2011/12 season due to the toxicity of the water at Zeekoeivlei, the U15s were looking rusty compared to their competition. The fresh U14s, however, promised a strong season. The first regatta, was successful for the U14s and gave them a good confidence booster to kick-start their season. The U15s unfortunately, with it being their first time in the Quad, didn’t perform too well. The series of local regattas that followed got better, with the U14s quickly learning the ropes and the quick pace that a regatta requires; they also managed to secure some wins in Quads and Doubles.

The U15s managed to place second in the B division Quads at a local regatta, losing to first place by a short 0.65 seconds. In the A division Single Sculls the U15s achieved a second place and secured a win in the B division Doubles. The next two regattas followed the same rhythm and with rigorous training schedules for the new Ergo Room and regular water time at Zeekoevlei, we were all eager to get to the Buffalo Regatta in East London and we were excited to see how the U14s would compete at a national regatta. All the crews gained valuable experience navigating through the narrow and complicated course on the Buffalo River.

The South African Schools Championships in Pretoria brought new excitement as it was the first full team of U14s Rondebosch brought up, they did very well at the national regatta and made finals for most of their divisions, but it was the A division Doubles that walked away with bronze medals.

To wrap up the season, it was nice to go to the Waterfront regatta, which brought a much more relaxed feel to the normally busy regattas. Sadly, confusion around boat allocation disadvantaged the U15s and they rowed with the cox unable to steer a faulty boat. However, the U14s feeling confident from their performance at SA Champs, came home with an easy win over Bishops.

So, how to conclude the season? As a young rowing club, and with limited members, we cannot engineer the super rower with ease, like the bigger clubs do, and so unfortunately, we cannot win every race we enter. We can however, try our absolute hardest and give of our bestt; we must have no regrets. Evidently, that’s what we have done. Compared to last year, we have put extra effort, long hours training, and it paid off. We are now excited to start the next season off better, we can’t come down from where we have come. It only gets better from here!
Brian Brummer – Junior Captain

MASTER IN CHARGE: S Harris / R Hellenberg MANAGERS: P Ghignone, G Austin HEAD COACH: N Park-Ross, M Biagio COACHES: J Cox, R Hitchings, M Harris 1ST CREW 2011/12:     G Herman (c), Daniel Hellenberg (cox), K Wilkie, E Schnehage, Tyron Redman.

Proud sponsor of Rondebosch Rowing.

Tennis 2012

It was once again a highly successful season for all our tennis teams this year.  We won more than 80% of our matches and the 1st team continued their good performance of the last 3 years.  The 1st team A doubles pairing of Keaton Saunders and Andrew Hegie again made it to the finals of the Western Province Doubles Championships but we unfortunately lost the title we won last year, to Reddam.   Keaton our number 1 and Andrew our captain and number 2, were once again amongst the top players in South Africa with Keaton making his mark in International tournaments.  Andrew who is in Matric this year has played 1st team since grade 8.  He was a loyal servant of RBHS tennis and we will miss him next year.

A new innovation this year was the introduction of various leagues from the beginning of the 4th term.  Teams now play for points and the play- offs will take place at the end of the 1st term of 2013.  All our teams have done well so far in the season and look well placed to make all the play-offs.  The 2nd team was the only team out of the 6 teams entered in the various leagues that suffered a loss in this competition so far.  The loss was against the SACS 1st team.  That means that 5 of the 6 teams are unbeaten at this stage.  The 1st team drew against Bishops in a very exciting encounter.  The scores were tied at 3 matches and 32 games each.

 A major strength of tennis at RBHS is undoubtedly the interest in the sport.  We had 51 players this year who regularly attended practices.   A number of youngsters are starting to make their presence felt in the various teams.  This is a very good sign for the continued success of tennis for the next few years.  Another reason for our success is the coaching of our pro, Linden Natus.  Linden is always eager and ready to help where he is needed.  He is also a highly respected coach and we are very lucky to have someone of his calibre involved in RBHS tennis. 

I would like to thank all the players, coaches, managers and ground staff for their commitment and support this year.  A special thank you must go to Mr Nongqotho who stepped into the role of master in charge 4 years ago and did a great job.         
L Erasmus
P13 W2 L13 D1
COACH:  L Natus  1st TEAM:  A Hegie (c), C Joseph, K Saunders,  M Tame and M Tippett (1st term) and N Schonegevel (c), Jean Naude K Saunders and M Tippett  (4th Term) 

Swimming 2012

2012 has been another year that the “Bosch” swimming team has come through untouched, closing the year once again unbeaten. . A special mention has to go to the U/14’s. They were under huge pressure to maintain the standards of Bosch swimming, and they did a brilliant job! They won all of their races throughout the year.

The first time our swimmers competed was at our annual inter-house gala. The entire school came dressed in their respective colours cheering and showing true Bosch “gees”.  A total of 8 records were broken this year; Jack Carlisle in the U/14, 50m fly (27.84), the U/14, 50m backstroke (30.05), and the U14, 50m freestyle (26.50), Craig Emslie in the open, 200m freestyle (1,55.56), the open, 100m freestyle (53.60) and the open, 100m breaststroke (1,08.91), Johan Minnaar in the U/16, 50m fly (27.81), and Dean Rutherford/Christoph Blake/Phillip Opperman/Craig Emslie in the U/19, 4X50m freestyle relay swimming for Canigou.

The Victor Ludorum was shared by Craig Emslie and Jack Carlisle. The gala was closely contested with Marchand winning and defending their 2011 title. Final results; Marchand 265 points and runner up were Canigou with 261 points, Fletcher 227 points, Andrews 226 points and Ramage 203 points.

Then the highly awaited event of the school calendar arrived, the Newlands A-league gala. This is where all the top schools from the Western Cape battle for the Steven’s Shield, and this year the Paarl Boys’ also joined for the first time. All the schools celebrated the excitement of the U/16 medley relay, with the Bosch team taking gold. This was the first time we have won this event in this gala. This would not have been possible were it not for the calves of Johann Minnaar that put them in the lead after his 50m butterfly leg. RBHS won the shield for the 10th time in the last 11 years and would keep it in the Bosch trophy cabinet for 4 years in a row. This was the last opportunity for the matrics to swim in front of the entire school so the final 4x50m medley relay was the matric relay. Big thanks go to Kurt Benjamin, the captain, who was always there to motivate the swimmers.

Throughout the year, the team participated in every gala and always gave of their very best. Every gala wasfilled with fun and laughter, often with Matthys Basson in the middle of it all where no one quite understood what he was talking about.

At the gala RBHS hosted, Craig Emslie spent most of this time talking to the girls. In fact, he was still so busy with the girls, his 50m breaststroke race was almost finished before he was reminded about his race! He casually dived in still and still managed to finish 3rd.
   
At national level, there were several swimmers that took part either at Level 2 or with Level 3 galas. We are proud of their achievements. At the Level 3 Gala (10 medals); Craig Emslie: 2 Gold medals, 1silver, Matthys Basson: 3 Silver, Jack Carlisle: 1Silver, Kurt Benjamin: 1Silver, Matthew Johnson: 1 Bronze, Jarrod van Blerk: 1 Bronze.

Level 2 Swimming Gala (34 medals); Ziyaad Isaacs: 1 Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze, James Key:1 Silver, 2 Bronze, Thomas Groom:3 Gold, 4 Silver, 2 Bronze, Jeremy Cook:     1 Gold, 2 Silver, Nicholas Mortley: 2 Gold, Gerhard von Aspern: 2 Gold, 1 Silver, 4 Bronze, Philip Opperman: 3 Silver, 3 Bronze medals.
5 Bosch boys have been selected for National Swimming;Jack Carlisle, Thys Basson, Jarod van Blerk, and Junaid Gamieldien have been selected for the Junior National Swimming Squad.
Kurt Benjamin has been selected for the Senior National Swimming Squad.
We are also proud to announce that Craig Emslie is no. 1 in South Africa for the under 17 breaststroke, and in the Senior National Division, is second in the under 19 age group for the 100m breaststroke. Craig is currently ranked 2nd in the world for the 50 meter breaststroke.

The swimming team would like that thank Mr Jenkins for all his dedication and effort that he puts into our swimming team. Mr Classen has also been a huge help to the team and always there to encourage the swimmers. Thanks to Mr Erasmus that has attended several galas in support.

We also say farewell to the matric swimmers that have done us proud over the years namely; Nicholas Simmons, Kurt Benjamin, Andrew Erlangsen, Michael Brooke, Dean Rutherford and Thomas Mountford. 
P Opperman               

TU19A Water Polo report 2012

he u19A team of 2012 was marked by real endurance and strength of character. Despite the high level of competition, and the relative inexperience of this new team, the boys acquitted themselves well and achieved several surprising results.

The first term was very much a building phase for the team and of the league fixtures the home draw against Wynberg was the highlight of a tough opening phase.

The annual KES tournament, arguably the most prestigious tournament in South African schools water polo, was something of a trial by fire for the team. We were knocked out of a particularly tough pool into the plate competition where the boys shone in a less pressurised scenario. We narrowly lost to Bishops in the Plate final on penalty shootout. Jacob Perren and Stef de Gouveia were the two standout performers throughout the tournament.

The highlight of the first season was however the win over Bishops in the league fixture. The game was initially close but RBHS pulled away as the game progressed to put the result beyond doubt.

The second half of the season saw several new faces as well as a few quite remarkable growth spurts, particularly Lihle 'Kanye' Kula.

The teams’ impressive win over Westville Boys in the annual SACS tournament as well as a close cut defeat against Grey PE (the eventual winners) stand out as highlights of a somewhat disappointing tournament. It was however the penultimate fixture of the 2012 season, Bishops at home, when this team truly rose to their potential, impressing all with a spectacular win over a well drilled opponent. Crucial goals from Ross 'chipmunk' Henebrey and Dean 'the crocodile' Rutherford were undoubtedly among the most exciting moments of the game, but it was the largely unnoticed composure on defence of Nick Simmons that truly put the coaches mind at ease.

The team was ably captained by Jacob Perren, the undoubted star of the side. Jacob's electric turn of pace and powerful shot will be sorely missed next season. Travis Taylor, the quietly confidant goalkeeper was an integral part of the side and was a constant pillar of strength in our defence. Travis's best game was undoubtedly the Wynberg fixture, where his impressive saves kept us in the game against a tough opposition. In Tom Mountford we found an incredibly hard working and dedicated centre back who improved in leaps and bounds throughout the season. If Tom maintains this attitude we can expect great things from him in the future.

Jack Purcell, Doug Bryant, Zac Perren, Dean Mostert, Lihle Kula, Tom Foster, Dylan le Roex, Jonathan Weideman and Imran Andrew all contributed greatly to the team and much is expected of them in the years to come.

P    W   D    L
26   6     3     17

COACH: J Hock TEAM: Capt. J Perren, I Andrew, D Bryant, S De Gouveia, T Foster, G Geldenhuys, R Henebrey, L Kula, D le Roex, D Mostert, T Mountford, Z Perren, J Purcell, D Rutherford, N Simmons, T Taylor, J Weideman, K Whyte

U15B 2012

The year started a bit tentatively with tough training and a few encounters rattling the boys, but with some great team play the boys got into their stride winning the Triple Crown and ending off with four wins and three losses. The second game against SACS was a stand out for me. Coming off a defeat to the SACS side, we played them a week later winning comfortably 6-2. I was excited to see the boys bring the same intensity into the 4th term season.

Although missing a few players Russell “Encouragement” Eaby , Patrick and Jet ,we kicked off the 4th term with a resounding victory over Wynberg with the likes of “ Big Boy” Ross sinking a couple of crucial goals, which became a good habit in the games to come. Next was SACS who gave us some trouble earlier in the year but the boys pulled together putting on a great show of polo to win. A pattern was starting to form in the team of great team play, combinations of Josh ”Counter” Goldmen and Jack ” Can I get out if I score?” Cooter, Stu  “CoolCalmCollected” Warren and Dave ”#Hardwork” Brooke, Jem ”Underwater” Wilson and Christian ”Chilling” du Plessis coming into their own in the side. Credit must be given to our local left half Josh who controlled every game masterfully, but let’s not forget the Great Wall of China Dan Denissov, our Russian import making some fantastic game changing saves.

The final game of the season was Bishops and it ended in a well-deserved draw. The team fought hard - Jamie, Stuart and Dave making themselves a presence in the pool in both attack and defense. There were a few missed opportunities, but I believe the boys deserved a win to cap off the season with a Grand Slam Triple Crown. Regardless, I think there are some potential polo stars in the mix here and with some hard work could definitely find themselves in the higher teams in the future.

Jack “Juicebox “Purcell, who we unfortunately lost to school work and 1st Team polo, was easy to coach with and the boys appreciated all your polo experience. I wish you good luck with polo next year - keep it up. Best of all, the boys had a run of 7 unbeaten games this year and that is an awesome achievement.                                                                       B Kerrigan

P11 W7 L3 D1
COACHES: B Kerrigan & J Purcell TEAM: D Denissov (c), D Brooke, J Cooter, C Du Plessis, R Ferreria, J Goldman, J Seemore, S Warren, J Wilson

U14A 2012

These past two terms, namely the 3rd and 4th term, have been the most challenging and most peculiar weeks of water polo for our team. Off the back of such an excellent 1st term, we had to make a team decision – do we settle with what we have achieved thus far or do we strive for more? “Do we want to be better?” and “Do we believe we can be better?” were some of the questions that I posed to our team at our first practice back. The boys did not hesitate to respond with a resounding “Yes!” to those questions, expressing their desire for achievement and enthusiaism for the game of water polo. I explained to the boys that, in order to realise the goals we had just set, we would need to comitt to the process and take one practice at a time. Little did we understand how difficult, and how testing, the road ahead would be.

We started off the 3rd term with three weeks of uninterrupted pre-season training. Void of any fixtures, those first three weeks proved to be significant in the re-establishment of team values and a positive team culture. Over that time period, also, the boys worked incredibly hard. Each individual showed a tremendous amount of commitment to the team and was determined to reach his own potential as a water polo player. Towards the end of our pre-season training, one weekend before the Rondebosch Tournament, the boys played in a pre-tournament round-robin. The round-robin comprised of Bishops, SACS and Wynberg. Up until that point none of the competing schools had played any matches, so the level of water polo was a lot lower than usual. We won every game, but that weekend proved instrumental in highlighting the aspects of our water polo which needed improving – and there were quite a few areas. Fortunately, there was one last week of training before the Rondebosch Tournament.

The Rondebosch Tournament was filled with great moments, as well as some disappointing ones. On the whole, the boys played good water polo and progessively performed better with every game. We won all of our pool fixtures and had some very good results. We were unlucky to have met Reddam in the semi-finals, as it would have been an incredible opportunity to have played in the final of our own tournament. That being said, our game against Reddam was as tough and as competitive as any final could have been. The boys came out firing and played awesome water polo, ending the first chukka 2-1 ahead of Reddam. Unfortunately, the end result was not in our favour. However, the team showed a great deal of character and played with passion – and for that I am proud of you boys.

After the Rondebosch Tournament, at our following Monday practice, we had a long and fruitful team discusion. In the discussion we reflected on the tournament and processed some things together as a team. For example, each member of the team was asked to mention his highlights and lowlights of the past tournament. This ended up being a very healthy exercise. After that, and much to my surprise, the boys asked me to give them individual feedback (in front of the team). That was a special moment and will be one of my most memorable times spent with the boys. It was an opportunity to publically affirm each of them, which is something teenagers yearn for and seek after – usually at a cost. I used that opprtunity to express my appreciation of them, but also to call them to more. It truly was a special moment. After that week, the team was given a much needed break over the school holidays.

The 4th term was equally as challenging as the previous term, if not harder. That being said, one of the highlights of the 4th term was the tour. It was something that the team had been looking forward to since the beginning of the year – and it really did live up to our expectations. We had a lot of fun and learned a lot about ourselves. Unfortunately, the tournament was not kind to us and we were placed in “the pool of death”, so to speak. The boys did really well to come second in our pool, beating teams such as St Johns and Glenwood. Like the Rondebosch Tournament, we started off the playing at a much lower level of water polo than we ended off with. To be more specific, our last game against DHS was one of the best games of the year – if not the best. It was an awesome way to end off such a difficult tour. Well done, lads!

After the tour, we played four league games – three of which, unfortunately, were not a true relfection of the character of the team. The last game, however, was incredible. We beat Bishops 7-4, a remarkable feat. The boys played like rockstars and, most importantly, had a lot of fun playing with one another. That game was a true display of what team-work in sport is all about.

Gentlemen, it has been a fantastic year. I have had the most incredible time coaching you and I will cherish the memories that have been formed with you boys. Leading you has been an absolute joy and I am so grateful to you for making this year as special as it was. Well done to Larry and Matt for your leadership – you boys did well! Well done to all of you for the hardwork you put in and the discipline you showed!

These are my final words to you as your U14A coach: life’s got curve balls but never give up, endure to the end and enjoy the process.                                                                                 C Day

P20 W15 L4 D1
COACH: C Day  TEAM:  L Napoli (c), M Johnston (v-c), S Bidoli, E Cousins, A Delgado, J Fisher, S Gird, A Hewitt, M McGuiness, R Van Schoor.

• Cricket at RBHS made a slow and inauspicious start. The school had no sports’ fields, practices were held on the Rondebosch Common and all matches had to be played away.
• Although from 1904 the school regularly played in the local Schools’ Shield, rugby was king and cricketing progress was slow.
• In the 1920’s cricket began to flourish, with the emergence of some talented players and the appointment of the school’s first professional coach.
•  In the 1930’s RBHS five senior sides and two U14s.
• Today RBHS boast almost three times that number, with eleven teams entered in the Saturday leagues and almost as many playing midweek matches.
• RBHS has had a number of players that have gone onto play international cricket:

  Gary Kirsten, HD Ackerman, Andrew Puttick, Ralph Coetzee, John Commins, Jack Nel, Archie Palm, Dennis Morkel, Jimmy Blackenberg.

  
  

Cricket 2012
MiC Report

Once again Rondebosch can look back proudly on a very successful cricket season. The depth in cricket at the school is truly remarkable – it is amazing to walk around the practices and see boys playing in lower teams who are really good cricketers and would be playing in the A sides of the vast majority of schools in Cape Town.

Facilities have again been upgraded. A new cover was purchased by the school for Cricket A and the old cover proved invaluable in ensuring that some games on Lower Desert got started this year that would certainly not have been the case if it had been uncovered.

Pickets were procured for part of Cricket A, with the intention to eventually have the majority of the field surrounded by the pickets which improve an already spectacular ground. Further plans for the improvement of the cricket facilities are underway and we hope to see some significant development in this regard by this time next year.

The results of the teams this year have again been outstanding. I encourage you to read the individual reports for the details of these successes! These results culminated in the selection of 21 cricketers for the Western Province provincial teams – no doubt a school record!

Rondebosch is extremely fortunate to have a coaching staff that other schools are rightly envious of. I would like to express and heartfelt thank-you to all the many staff members and outside coaches who have contributed so much this year. Their enthusiasm, dedication and technical expertise, I believe, is unparalleled.

Rob Dalrymple

1ST XI 2012

The 1st XI had another exceptionally busy year and what a successful year it was.

The season began early in January with the Grey Festival held in Bloemfontein and it was an inauspicious start with two of the first three games being lost, albeit against strong opposition. The second loss of the tour against KES proved to be a watershed moment for the team as the players realised the standards required of them at this level. The next day saw a much improved performance, beating Affies.

The first term saw Bosch sweep aside all opposition. Keagan Smith got the local season underway with a 112 against Somerset and this set the team undewrway. The team achieved the “Grand Slam” in one term beating SACS, Wynberg and Bishops twice. These wins included the annual day/night match at Bishops, winning the final of the Western Province T20 competition and the demolition of the Bishops’ batting in the declaration match by bowling them out for 27, with the Grade 9 prodigy, Dayyaan Galiem, taking 7 for 16. The one defeat came against Paarl Boys’ High in the regional final of the National T20 knockout. Other good performances included another victory against Affies and a win against Paul Roos. The strength of the side revolved around depth in batting and a bowling attack that never let up. Keagan Smith, Matthew Christensen and Hayes van der Berg all posted centuries and Zubayr Hamza proved to be mister consistency, passing the half-century mark on seven occasions. Riaz Sader’s spin complemented the pace of Alex Mather, Kay Skovgaard-Petersen, Jay Stevens, Dayyaan Galiem and Hayes van der Berg, which provided an attack that was the envy of every other side in the country.

The fourth term dawned with a preseason tour to St David’s for an under 17 team, which enjoyed good wins against Hilton and KES and then it was off to Graff-Reinet for Cape Schools’ week. Obdurate defence from Grey PE and Queens College saw them hang on for draws and wins against Dale and Union completed a successful week. Two wins against overseas touring sides

The remainder of the term saw us hampered by injuries and going into the last game against Bishops, three of our frontline seamers were out. Nevertheless the team still continued to produce good results. Unfortunately we lost our only declaration match of the year to Wynberg, where despite an excellent century from Hayes van der Berg, we couldn’t hold on for a draw. An epic lat wicket stand of 39 overs between Jay Stevens and Junaid Dawood saw us force a draw against Paul Roos. Wins against Boland Landbou and SACS set us up for the final Saturday game of the term against Bishops. We produced our best batting display of the year ending on 235 for 1 with Matthew Christensen recording his first century for the 1st XI. Our depleted bowling attack fought hard, but eventually Bishops managed to hold on for the draw – 68 for 6 after 60 overs of batting.

The term was jam-packed with T20 cricket and Bosch defended the title they won last year in Bergvliet T20 by defeating SACS in the final. The National T20 knockout reached the semi-final stage where Rondebosch will again take on SACS early next year.

The players can look back with pride on the results they achieved. This was largely due to the immense amount of talent that they possess, however even more impressive than their results was the ethos that existed within the team. They committed fully to practices, working exceptionally hard at their games. The spirit that was evident wherever they went was a result of the genuine bonds of friendships that were formed and nurtured throughout the year. Devlin Quinn must take the credit for providing the leadership that allowed this supportive environment to flourish. Devlin proved to be an astute captain on the field, but his real strength lay in the maturity he exhibited in being a leader off the field.

A huge thank-you must be said to the parents of the 1st XI who, once again, excelled in all areas by being loyal supporters and also amazing caterers – a special mention to Les and Peter – all your efforts were much appreciated by so many people!
Tom Dawson-Squibb has again added much value to the 1st XI, and to cricket at Rondebosch in general. His insightful thinking and analysis challenges the coaches and the boys to think more about the way they practise and play. Tom is a huge asset to the cricket family and I look forward to his continued involvement next tyear.

 A final thank-you must go to Peter Harold. Peter has continued to contribute significantly to cricket at Rondebosch. He possesses an easy-going nature which endears him to the players and the parents alike. He has a special ability to form productive relationships and coupled with comprehensive technical knowledge, Peter has managed to bring the best out of so many cricketers at Rondebosch.

R Dalrymple

P42 W32 L5 D 5 COACHES: R Dalrymple, P Harold  TEAM: D Quinn (c), M Christensen, M Commins, J Dawood, D Galiem, Z Hamza, A Mather, J Middleton, R Sader, K Skovgaard-Petersen, K Smith, M Steel, J Stevens, H van der Berg, T Wahlbrugh

U15A 2012

The talented young men who arrived at the Somerset College Cricket Festival 11 months ago, ready to start their Under 15 season, could not possibly have imagined the season they had ahead of them. What materialised was a truly memorable cricket season for everyone involved.

Dayyaan Galiem got the ball rolling at the very first game of the festival. In a thrilling, last-ball win, he dismissed the Paarl Gym number 11. We went on to win each game on the tour, with highlights being Galiem’s destructive batting (scores of 68, 77, 54* and 93); Captain Murray Commins’s effortless stroke-play (72*, 51*); first-rate new ball bowling from Eddie Bester (6 for 24 vs. Paarl Gym and 3 for 21 vs. Woodridge); and a superb spell of bowling from Jamie King in our T20 victory against Bishops, where he took 4 wickets with 4 consecutive balls (4 for 10).

We returned to RBHS victorious and confident, but battle-hardened and without our middle-order stroke-maker Nic Witten, who had obtained a nasty knee injury, and wicket-keeper Ashwyn Adams, who had suffered from a burst appendix. Luckily, Ash was back in action soon enough, but Nic had to wait until the fourth term to resume his cricket.

We remained successful over the months that followed. First, we saw Eddie Bester’s hat-trick against Bellville, where he got 5 wickets for 12 runs. Nic Stander showed off his tidy spin-bowling against Menlo Park, where he got 4 for 21 and against SACS, with 4 for 6. In the SACS T20, John Currie also impressed with his wrist spin, taking 3 for 8. But it was the visit by DF Malan that will remain in everyone’s memory of this season. Here, Dayyaan Galiem first took 9 wickets for 1 run to dismiss the opposition for 18 in the declaration match, and then scored a mammoth 196* off 72 balls - consisting of 16 fours and 15 sixes - in the T20 that followed. This signalled the end of Dayyaan’s cricket with the under 15As as he and captain Murray Commins were selected to play for the 1st team for the remainder of the first school term.

In the first game of the fourth term, Murray Commins scored a magnificent 193* against Boland Landbou. Eddie Bester destroyed the opposition; despite bowling into the wind, he bowled the spell of his season, hooping the ball around to take 6 for 13.

All in all, the fourth term’s cricket had far too many stand-out moments to mention - but to annihilate Wynberg, at home and away (by 75 runs and 8 wickets respectively), was a massive highlight for the boys, and especially Mr Snijmann. Attie Nyengane played a large part in the home game victory, with his commendable 5 for 34.

This team was thoroughly spoiled with its three leg-spinners, Yaseen Alli, John ‘Chubby’ Currie and Nic Witten; as well as Nic Stander with his left arm finger-spin. All capable of bamboozling batsmen, they did so regularly, on the field and in the Bosch nets every week. However, being in a team with top quality fast bowlers also meant that these boys were rarely required to bowl extra-long spells in the middle.

Mikaeel Haffejee’s form continued to increase throughout the season, as he became one of our stand-out batsmen, with numerous scores above fifty. Fast bowlers Ryan Klein and Eddie Bester had a great season, bowling some excellent opening spells with the new and old ball. Both finished off the season playing in the Bosch first team with Galiem and Commins.

As a flourishing finish to the year, we beat Bishops in our final game. Thanks to John Currie for his spectacular 6 for 19 which secured a wonderful end to a great year.

It has been a huge pleasure coaching and working with these young men. There have been many memorable moments and a lot of fun times. I’d like to extend a huge thank you to my fellow coach, Johan Snijmann, who continues to devote so much of his time and passion to the under 15A cricket team. Thanks also to Peter Harold and Tom Dawson-Squibb, who have played a huge part in the development of the boys this year. We also really appreciate the delicious teas and lunches at every home game – thank you to Mr and Mrs Commins and Mr and Mrs Stander for all their hard work.

This team possesses some remarkably talented cricketers, who have been part of something special this year. We’ve seen fifties and hundreds, but I’ve lost track of the number of match-balls I’ve handed out to players with five wicket hauls (three to Eddie Bester alone). These players have been part of something special and have some marvellous years ahead of them, playing first team cricket for Rondebosch – and, no doubt, beyond.
R Walker

P26 W22 L2 D2
COACH: R Walker & J Snijmann TEAM: M Commins (c), N Stander (vc), A Adams, Y Alli, D Amos, E Bester, J Currie, D Galiem, M Haffejee, Y Jacobs, J King, R Klein, A Nyengane, S Samson, M Visser, N Witten.

U14A 2012

Every year has a different character to a side and this year proved to be no different. After the usual trials and sifting process a squad of 15 players ended up doing duty and did Rondebosch cricket proud at U/14A level. The season started with some emphatic wins over Fairmont, Bellville, Colfes from the UK, WPCC and DF Malan. A loss against the touring Grey PE side, added to the boys resolve and the quality of the side can be measured in terms of the sides they beat locally and from around the country. These included Wynberg, SACS, Bishops, Hilton and St Charles.  Entering the U/15 20/20 knock-out competition the U/14 side did well, beating Pinelands U/15A in the process but eventually losing to SACS U/15A in the semi-finals.  Some memorable fighting draws were also recorded. Rene´ Du Toit started the fight to bat it out against Grey College and Mike Mavovana and Jonathan Jeffrey continuing to bat it out for 12 overs, for the last wicket. Jonathan Jeffrey and Mike Mavovana also showed their never-say-die attitude in a memorable last wicket stand against Affies, to salvage a draw. Dane Stevens also proved his fighting qualities with some good rearguard actions with the bat. The Hilton tour was memorable. Despite not playing good cricket the first three days, against Michaelhouse and St John’s, the side came back to record wins against Hilton and St Charles on the last day, to show the character of the side. Mike Mavovana pulled off some memorable athletic fielding feats that stunned the opposition. Mike, together with Max Pike, formed an athletic and formidable opening bowling combination and took many wickets as a partnership. Hamza Saloojee, Keagan Collier and Sammy Cragg were the seam all- rounders of the team and on their day could destroy sides with their bowling. Keagan Collier and Sammy White as opening batsmen scored hard-hitting fifties between them. Hamza Saloojee proved to be a quality batsman with an excellent temperament and was unlucky to miss out on a century against DF Malan. Kyle Smith proved that he has all the makings of a top-legspinner and at times showed great resilience at the top of the batting order. He was also unlucky to miss out on a century against Rylands U/15A cricket club. Suhail White proved himself as a consistent off-spinner who could always be relied upon. A memorable knock of 116 by him against DF Malan was a highlight. He also proved that one can bat themselves out of a slump with hard-work and concentration and ended up scoring many runs at the end of the season. He must be congratulated on being selected for the Western Province U/15B side. Josh Isaacs after being injured, came back and proved himself to be a revelation with his off-spin, and consistently was amongst the wickets. In fact one of the strength of the side was to bowl four spinners. In a match against Paul Roos, Rondebosch had the luxury of being able to bowl 31 overs of spin in a 50 over game. Jonathan Jeffrey on this occasion, taking two wickets on his “spin debut.”    Mention must be made of Gavin Kaplan, whom proved himself to be a real team man and as captain, gave the players as many opportunities that he could. Wicketkeeping, batting and captaining requires real emotional effort and Gavin rose to the occasion. On a personal front he scored centuries against Wynberg and Faimont and missed out in the nineties against Rylands CC and Bishops. Gavin must also be congratulated on making the Western Province U/15A side. Many thanks must go to the parents for the support of their sons. Mrs Kaplan and all the parents were absolutely fantastic in the catering department. A very big thank you for their catering and ensuring the opposition felt welcome. Once again the future looks bright for Rondebosch cricket.                

L Nel

P24 W15 D3 L6
COACH: L Nel TEAM: G Kaplan(c) D Arendse, K Collier, S Cragg, R Du Toit, J Isaacs, J Jansen van Rensburg, J Jeffrey, M Mavovana, M Pike, H Saloojee, K Smith , D Stevens, S White