Important matters to consider when playing rugby:
- Mouthguards: All players are encouraged to wear mouthguards. While there are many orthodontists who will manufacture these, we have been given the website of www.maxmouthguards.co.za.
- Head Protectors: While not compulsory, all boys, regardless of position, are encouraged to make use of head protectors.
- Traditional Boots: The use of traditional black boots is strongly encouraged. Many of the bright, luminous boots, which are exorbitantly priced, are inappropriate at school boy level.
- Undergarments: Moisture management type undergarments may not protrude from the traditional Rondebosch jerseys and shorts.
215 Main Road, Claremont, 021 670 1100
Auric Auto BMW, Claremont is the official sponsor of the RBHS 1st XV rugby team for the 2013 season.
MD, Eric Scoble is a Rondebosch Old Boy (E78).
The Sales team at Auric Auto looks forward to welcoming Rondebosch Supporters to their dealership where it will be their pleasure to service all your BMW and MINI requirements.
They have an exciting range of the latest models as well as a large selection of Premium Selection Approved Used Cars. Their state of the art Service Workshop offers the expertise of some of the most highly trained BMW Technicians in the country and their fully stocked Parts Department is at your service.
Auric Auto representatives:
ERIC SCOBLE eric.scoble@bmwdealer.co.za 082 8006538
ANTOINETTE WHITEHEAD antoinette.whitehead@bmwdealer.co.za 082 5073928
TEDDY GOVENDER teddy.govender@bmwdealer.co.za
RBHS would like to encourage the Rondebosch parent body to be supportive of the Schools association with Auric Auto and their sponsorship of RBHS 1st XV rugby.
Rugby 2012
U19A 2012
The team’s journey started on top of Lions Head and ended behind a winning scoreboard on the Piley Rees. What happened in between is what made this year so special and difficult; all at the same time. As a team we scaled Mountainous Highs while also leopard crawling through Valleys of Lows. In the end we came together as a team to claim our reward which was sweetened by buckets full of blood, sweat and tears.
The success of our season would hinge on the challenge of meshing together the two age groups. We had a really good pre-season with a big focus on conditioning and an even bigger focus on team ethics, and by the time we excitedly boarded the plane for the UK it all seemed in place.
The proof in the pudding would come on a very tough tour through the rugby mad valleys of Wales and over the rolling hills of Ireland. Our first game against a powerful Bridgend College filled with Welsh Internationals would set the tone for the rest of our season; we didn’t start well and found ourselves trailing 24-8 with 10 minutes to play, the boys then dug deep and showed a lot of character as Justin Nortier headed for the winning try in the right hand corner with time up on the clock. I will forever treasure that victory on the “Old Parish” in the valley of Maesteg. The match against Ballymena Academy on a cold afternoon will serve as a reminder of our watertight defence. “We could have played you for days and not have broken your defence (Irish accent),” their coach complimented the team after a good win against one of Ireland’s best. The tour was also a success on other fronts; in Ireland the parents wanted to adopt the boys, while in Wales the girls wanted to marry them.
We returned home a new team with good momentum and an unsure confidence earned from four good wins abroad; but the big test would come in our first league fixture against a talked-up Wynberg side. The honeymoon was over as we slumped to our first defeat against a team that would end up being one of Wynberg’s best. From there on in the pressure and physicality did not let up as we made our way through a very tough Western Cape Schools League with the added bonus of strong Wynberg and SACS teams. We hit back by picking up good wins at the Wynberg Festival by beating the Saints from Randburg and also Helpmekaar from Johannesburg, but they came at a cost as our injury list started to grow rapidly.
We played some really good rugby through the next couple of weeks against some of the powerhouses of schoolboy rugby, only falling short through our inability to put away good opportunities, or by making unforced errors through a lack of experience. By the time we played Bishops in our “Whites” we were truly in a downward spiral from where nothing but a win could save us; but then with seven minutes to go the Bishops numbero10 chipped over our solid defensive line to take the lead as we slumped to another heartbreaking defeat at the end of round one.
The holiday afforded us some time to regroup before the next round which didn’t read any easier. The extra holiday work paid dividends as we gathered momentum against Bradford before claiming the impressive scalp of Drostdy in the pouring rain – a team that had (by the way) recently beaten Paarl Gym who are ranked number one in the country.
The highlight of our season would come in the final match against the “Old Foe from Across the Road.” The bounce of the ball that has tricked us on a few occasions this season for once bounced straight into the save hands of Alex Mather who scored a memorable try after the ball hit the right hand upright from a Tyren Lee penalty attempt. The performance of the team on the day in difficult conditions was outstanding as they played with great control and belief.
What this team achieved and left as legacy cannot be measured on the scoreboard. They have planted many good seeds like teamwork, commitment and pride which will be harvested by next year’s team and many of the young guns who were present when those seeds received the needed fertilizer on the Piley Rees.
There have been wonderful memories and success stories throughout a challenging season. Graham Geldenhuys and Ebrahiem Titus made the Western Province Academy team that went on to win the tournament in Wellington. The number of young players who matured into seasoned campaigners has been a highlight. Tyren Lee and Steff de Gouvia have grown immensely in their decision-making ability. Out wide players like Nic le Roux and Khanyo displayed their silky running that will make them a threat next year. Up front Kyle Whyte and Brett Paulse developed into a formidable combination that had opposition scrums in reverse. Duncan Geldenhuys was outstanding throughout the season, showing massive commitment while also marshalling a very successful lineout. Bobby “The Dart” Wallace was instrumental in finding his jumpers. Lucky Songca and Levi Calthorpe boxed above their weight in every game toa leave behind big jerseys to fill. Graham in the last match showed why he is so highly rated with a lot more is expected from him. Ronnie Melck’s move to loose forward has been a revelation. Tim Hillock’s gliding runs will be missed and so to the playmaking ability of the side stepping giraffe Alex Mather. Alaric Hobbs was deadly down the left hand touchline while captain Danie Krynauw’s calm presence and physicality was evident whenever he ran out for Bosch.
Thanks go to the rest of the coaching team for all the effort that they ploughed into this season. Forwards coach Rod Labuschange was outstanding in making our pack a force at set piece. As always our conditioning and injury rehabilitation has been expertly done by Div Maritz and Mike van Rheede. Gustaf Pienaar’s administrative skills were highlighted once again in a busy year.
As a team we faced adversity which has strengthened us; we were under fire which has bonded us. The coaching team proud to say that we were part of this sidet hat never gave up.
C van Rensburg
P20 W10 L10 D0
COACHES: C van Rensburg and R Labuschagne MANAGER: G Pienaar TEAM: D Krynauw (c), C Blake, R Blake, L Calthorpe, S de Gouveia, D Geldenhuys, G Geldenhuys, T Hillock, A Hobbs, L Houba, N le Roux, T Lee, M Marais, A Mather, R Melck, J Nortier, B Paulse, L Songca, M Steel, R Stirton, E Titus, D van Rensburg, B Wallace, K Whyte
U16A 2012
Even before the season started most people wrote this team off as their record in U15 and U14 was poor. However, the coaches decided that superior fitness, proper goal-setting and sharpened skills would gradually turn the team into winners.
The first fixture was against a tough physical team from Jan van Riebeeck where a good win (36-7) was recorded, largely due to fitness and defence. This was followed by defeats against Wynberg (3-17), Paarl Boys’ High (10-26), Helpmekaar from Johannesburg who had some massive hulks in their team (6-24) and a narrow loss against St Stithians (12-19) – a game that should never have been lost. Brackenfell were easily beaten (21-8), but then followed a disappointing 10-14 loss against Boland Landbou on the farm. Yet, it was this game that finally lit the flame for the boys to start believing in themselves. Paul Roos was next and were almost beaten (15-22) on their A field. Had the match lasted five minutes longer, the score would have been in our favour. The Stellenbosch coaches even admitted afterwards that they were lucky to get a win.
This kicked off an incredible run off eight games without a loss. SACS (24-14), Tygerberg (30-17), Bishops (25-14), Hamiltons (8-0), and Swartland (18-3) were beaten and Drostdy held to a scoreless draw. The next match was against Paarl Gym. At the beginning of the season the coaches planned to have at least one win against a big Afrikaans school, so it had to be Gym. Saturday 28 June 2012 will stand in the record books as the day the underdogs won 14-12 – the day when Meadow A saw celebrations, tears of joy, heard shouts and screams of delight at achieving what was always seen as impossible. Another win against SACS (8-0) followed but the last two away games against Wynberg (11-20) and Bishops (12-22) were not to be, thereby ensuring that the boys remained humble and learnt to deal with disappointment.
Top scorer was centre Clyde Martch with 76 points (two tries, 12 conversions and 14 penalties), while left-wing Frankie Swart crossed the line six times. Centre Chris Newby was a stalwart on defence and fullback Josh Williams was always looking for work, Scrumhalf Mark Thompson was a quick thinker and saw to it that the ball was distributed without delay. Among the forwards lock Sean Botha, flank Callum Blows, number eight Mike Palframan, hooker Jay Stevens and prop Alessandro Napoli (who captained the side with maturity and distinction) were always in the thick of things.
But all things being said and done, the team played as a unit and played for each other. A big thank you to all the parents who supported us right through the season especially in the earlier part of the when we battled to find our feet. Also to Old Boy Nick Powell who assisted us with the scrums in the third term, and to the headmaster, Mr Shaun Simpson for always being there to support us.
J Gerber
P18 W7 D1 L 7
COACHES: M Lindenberg and N Teubes MANAGER: J Gerber TEAM: A Napoli (c), C Newby (v/c), D Adams, R Barnard, C Blows, S Botha, J Kaplan, E Kille, C Martch, J Naude, M Palframan, T Slootmans, J Stevens, F Swart, M Thompson, S Werge, J Williams.
U15A 2012
The season produced a string of excellent results, probably the greatest, with an 80% success rate and remaining undefeated at home. This is a team that has the ability to rise to the occasion and has plenty of big match temperament. Who will ever forget that unbelievable match against Paarl Gym (a team that was undefeated and who had crushed us comprehensively last year 12-41), when we went over to score in the final minutes of the game to win 25-24? That victory showed everyone what the team was capable of producing. Following this victory we became the scalp that every opposition team wanted. Many of them tried valiantly, but the hard work of many extra practices paid rich dividends. We were the only side in the school to attain Triple Crown status, having defeated Wynberg, Bishops and SACS both at home and away - a feat that was also achieved last year.
Besides the hard work that went into the year, there were a number of players who were prepared to play out of position for the benefit of them. If it were not for this, I am convinced we would have lost a greater number of games. We were also incredibly fortunate to have relatively few major injuries and those B-side players that did play for the A-side always produced stunning performances, giving the coaching staff the dilemma of who to drop the following week.
The team developed into a well-rounded unit and during the course of the season no longer had to rely on the services of one or two great individuals in order to win games. The team had no obvious weak spots, except perhaps lacking the physicality to take on Paarl Boys’ High and Paul Roos. Having said that, we would have relished the opportunity to have played them later in the season.
It would be wrong to mention any individuals as all the players really contributed in their own way to making the season a truly memorable and successful one. The coaching staff - Kallie Pretorius, Egon Seconds and Mikey van Niekerk - are to be congratulated on a job well done!
G Paarman
P15 W12 L3 D0
COACHES: K Pretorius, E Seconds and M van Niekerk MANAGER: G Paarman TEAM: J King (c), A Adams, I Andrews, K Ballakistan, E Bester, J Burt, R Eaby, J Emslie, L Figueira, L Greenhalgh, Y Jacobs, R Klein, N Potgieter, L Pschorn, W Shimmings, P Slabbert, R Thomson, J Waugh
U14A 2012 was a tough season for the under 14A team. Coaches Marc Delreux and Charles Post started with pre-season training at the end of January, but as many players were still fully committed to summer sports, the majority of the players could not attend these sessions. We were therefore underprepared for our first match against Wynberg. Our next match was against a touring side from Dubai which we won comfortably. We then attended the Wynberg Festival where we lost against Helpmekaar and beat St Stithian’s in a very exciting match. It was a mixed start to a season that ultimately proved to be a very difficult one.
We struggled with size amongst the forwards which made it difficult to control set phases, which in turn put our backs on the back foot. Despite this and the heavy losses we suffered against the Paarl and Stellenbosch schools, the team showed character to come back every time to play some scintillating rugby at times. Here the name of Mike Mavovana must be mentioned. With very little space and “front foot” ball he managed to score some of the most amazing tries that I have seen. Some of the players showed a lot of guts and worked very hard every practice and match.
We lost the remainder of our matches except for a draw against Brackenfell. The highlight of the season was undoubtedly the return fixture against Bishops. After some heavy losses and a loss to Bishops at home earlier in the season, the team displayed the type of determination and courage that was lacking for large parts of the season. On this day they became men. Despite losing by one point, the team played exceptional rugby and defended for their lives, to come within a whisker of winning.
Big thanks must go to all the boys who stayed loyal to the team and played their hearts out every Saturday. Thank you to the coaches Marc Delreux and Charles Post for all the time and effort they put into this team and to the parents who supported us throughout the season.
L Erasmus
P15 W1 L13 D1
COACHES: M Delreux and C Post MANAGER: L Erasmus TEAM: B Tshasilanye (c), D Arendse, M Basson, K Collier, E Cousins, S Cragg, T De Rosenwerth, K Fredericks, I Grant, M Grobler, J Janse van Rensburgh, M Mavovana, L Napoli, K Smith, L Stammers, D Stevens, C Stidworthy, R van Schoor, D White and L Wrightson
SARU Schools Rugby Age Banding Regulations
Hockey 2012
U19A 2012
The 2012 team emerged as one of the more successful Rondebosch sides in recent years. The season started with two tough back-to-back tours to Durban and Johannesburg respectively. It was here that the early characteristics of the side began to take shape and after beating some of the top schools in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu Natal and Gauteng. It was evident that Rondebosch were always going to be competitive against the top schools in the country. After a hectic 11 matches in 10 days, losing only two tight games against KES and Northwood, Rondebosch were ready for the local season.
A complete performance against Wynberg saw Rondebosch winning 3-1 to end Wynberg’s early season unbeaten run. Rondebosch carried this winning form deep into the second term dominating most sides. Paul Roos were the only side that managed to snatch a draw but the boys came back from a disappointing draw to play some magical hockey to trounce SACS 6-1. The climax of the season saw a shell-shocked Rondebosch side down 2-0 to Bishops in the first 20 minutes but credit must go to the character of the side to come back and dominated the second half, being unlucky not to salvage a draw, eventually going down 2-1.
The third term saw the boys being re-introduced to the Brothers tournament in the first week of term. An unexpected loss against Paarl Gym was the only one of the tournament. This resulted in Rondebosch having to play in the Plate final, where we won against Pinelands. A week later Rondebosch set the record straight by beating Paarl Gym 5-0.
The team went on to play patches of brilliant hockey but at times lacked the consistency needed to beat Wynberg and Bishops. A highlight was the 6-1 drubbing of SACS. In-between the scheduled fixtures, Rondebosch played in the knock-out matches, and in a tough draw played some good hockey but were shaded by Bishops in the semi-final.
The talent of the team was reflected by Mathew Williams, Jason Giger, Dean Rutherford, Kay Schovgaard-Petersen and Zubayr Hamza being selected for the WP “A” side. Ross Compton was selected for the “B” side and the rest of the team represented Western Province Disas. Zubayr Hamza further distinguished himself by being selected for the SA U18 side.
It has been a memorable season with some incredible moments by the team. Adrian Schwellnus led the team well with his incredible positivity in all situations. The forwards worked well together and the combination of Riaz Sader, Zubayr Hamza and Kieryn Thompson, provided the bulk of the goals. Thompson showed great attitude to move from a defender/link to become a natural forward. The link line of Ross Compton, Justin Prins and Mathew Williams showed incredible creativity and provided some memorable moments. Kay Schovgaard-Petersen hardly put a foot wrong the whole season and added together with Adrian Schwellnus as defender, gave the side stability in defence. Damien Hewitt was always passionate and injected some valuable distribution skills in the midfield and Dean Rutherford showed up his attacking kills from the back. Michael Cursons and Bjorn Sorensen continued to impress from the back and Kyle Herring highlighted his value to the team with his hard-running and defensive skills. Jason Giger in goals provided some brilliant saves, especially in the air. Shaun Henshilwood forced his way into the first team after some sterling performances for the seconds.
We wish the eight matrics in this side all he best for the future and will remember the year of hockey especially for the character building and life-long friendships that were formed. Thanks also go to Mr Harris as manager, and to Mr Bowley as head of hockey, for their immense passion and professionalism, that helped this team to be so successful. 
L Nel
P33 W23 L7 D3
COACH: L Nel MANAGER: S Harris TEAM: A Schwellnus (c), R Compton, M Cursons, J Giger (GK), Z Hamza, K Herring, S Henshilwood, D Hewitt, J Prins, D Rutherford, R Sader, K Scovgaard-Petersen, B, Sorensen, K Thompson, M Williams (v/c).
16A 2012
The Rondebosch U16 A side showed great development in their hockey skills and character since the Rondebosch Festival in March. Our team started the season very slowly. Their basic skills were lacking, fitness was not 100% and players did not understand the coaching philosophy. Being the coach’s my first season at Rondebosch, there would be many challenges during the year. The Rondebosch Festival worked wonders for our team, as it showed us where our strengths and weaknesses were. Our players were starting to understand our team’s dynamics and we were starting to play as a unified team. We worked wonders with this team. We worked on their basics, their strengths and weaknesses, and as the season progressed, we all could see that their fitness improved tremendously. We also had sufficient time to work on the team’s technical skills, tactical aspects, set pieces, mental preparation, team spirit and most importantly, the life skills component of the game: respect, punctuality, discipline, to be humble in victory and defeat and to be good ambassadors for the school. We took one game at a time and enjoyed every game.
When the season finally got under way, the side had got some experience under its belt and were ready to take on the Cape Town schools, under the leadership of Matthew Swart. Every game was a learning curve for our team, especially our two defeats in the first round against Wynberg and Paul Roos. After these two defeats our team progressed phenomenally and never looked back. The side grew in maturity and there was never a hint of being complacent. The aim for this season was to play attractive hockey, to do our basics extraordinary well, to respect all opponents, to give 100% effort at all times, to play with passion and enthusiasm, to play as a unit and most all to have fun and enjoy the game of hockey as a happy team is a successful team.
With the start of the second round, all players came back positively, they were very energetic, in the zone and had great desire to win. We really put them through intense sessions and the team improved phenomenally. They believed in themselves, defenders, midfielders and strikers started finding each other wonderfully on the field, and our players became mentally tough. All credit must go to all the players for superb results and performances in the second round. Our team spirit and players’ attitudes paved the way for our amazing success in the second round and knock-out matches. We firmly believed that the more you sweat in practice, the less you bleed in battle. In the second round we had some excellent victories beating Sacs 1-0, Fairmont 3-0, Wynberg 3-1 and Bishops 3-1.
The final game and the culmination of the season was the Knock-Out Final against Wynberg. It was a typical final where both sides offered very little in the way of scoring opportunities. However, the Bosch U16’s played a well-structured game, tight in defence, and when scoring opportunities presented they made full use of them, winning 2-1. This result ended off a very successful season with an 83% winning record.
Various players were selected to represent WP at the various tournaments:
- Tayo Walbrugh, Chad Muller and James Donald: WP U16A IPT
- Matthew Swart, Andrew Olivier and Cullen Wright: WP U16 B IPT
- Nathan Rens, Marc van der Merwe and Ross Reid: WP Disas Zonal Team.
- Azhar Dawood: WP Invitational team
What an achievement for team 2012!! To crown it all Walbrugh, Muller and Donald were part of the victorious WP U16A team who won the National IP Tournament in Pietermaritzburg. Walbrugh further distinguished himself by being selected for the U16 South African team. This was a well-deserved selection for this lad who has the potential to go to greater heights.
This has been an amazing and unforgettable season for the coaching staff. The boys were all amazing and phenomenal. Thanks for believing in us as coaches A special thanks to Miguel Edwards, for his assistance. We definitely benefited from your expertise and would not have had such a successful season without your help. To Mr. Rob Bowley, many thanks for all your support and assistance. Thank you Matthew for your calming and inspirational leadership. It is much appreciated! We also thank all the parents for their support at all matches. It was an awesome opportunity to coach this wonderful team.
S Hendricks
P18 W15 L2 D1
COACHES: S Hendricks and M Edwards MANAGER: R Bowley TEAM: M Swart (c ), T Walbrugh (v/c), N Rens (GK), C Muller M van der Merwe, A Olivier, M Williams, S Sorour, R Reid, B Smith, J Donald,, A Dawood, E Rist, C Wright.
N Eagles, G Wagner, S van der Berg and J Da Costa were part of the team in the first round of matches.
U15A 2012
Participation in an U16 pre-season hockey festival during the April school holidays at WPCC served as a baptism of fire for the team. They had 27 goals scored against them in five games! However this served as a fruitful experience as they developed with every game throughout the rest of the season, perhaps only failing at the final hurdle against Bishops.
A sound midfield combination made up of the ever hardworking Matthew Visser, mobile and versatile Skye Buchanan, Craig Souter with immaculate distribution skills and Anthony Cartwright with flair and pace, laid the foundation for many exciting and well executed phases throughout the season.
Any team with pace in the striking department is a dream for the tactical procedures for a coach. This team certainly had the pace. The trick was to get Stephen van der Berg, Dylan Amos, Tashreeq Toefy and Dennis Chung in the correct space, using the appropriate skills to put the team in a favourable scoring position. These players trained hard during practice, delivering thousands of shots at goal to hone their skills. The result was a total of 43 goals scored throughout the league games. (The team only scored two goals from short corners in 13 games).
The final line of defence plied their trade with total commitment and dedication. The likable ‘Russian’, Daniel Denissov, is arguably the most improved player in the team despite his total playing time being limited. The captain, Brad Eaton was a tower of strength, putting in good performances on a weekly basis. The silent and effective trio of James Tully, Murray Hiscock and Bradley Warren kept the planned defensive structure intact. Players on the periphery, Yaseen Allie, Matthew Twigg and Matthew Wood were valuable at given times during the season.
The final analysis would reflect a successful season, which it indeed was. The most outstanding display of skill came in the game against SACS in the second term, despite the 2-0 loss. The worst, the lack of team cohesion in the final match against Bishops, where a hard lesson was learnt - disregard the game plan and the team faulters. Individualism in a team game is never the winner.
The future of RBHS hockey is bright with the talent in this team. Hopefully they can make their mark within the structures next year, registering a win against Paul Roos!
M Kershaw
P13 W9 L3 D2
COACH: M Kershaw TEAM: B Eaton (c) Y Allie, D Amos, S Buchanan, A Cartwright, D Chung, D Denissov (GK), M Hiscock, C Souter, T Toefy, J Tully, M Twigg, S van der Berg, M Visser, S Warren, M Wood
U14A 2012
The 14A team had a very successful season in terms of their standard of hockey and development as a team. The season started off with the annual tour to Northwood High School for the Ken Florens Festival. The results didn’t quite go our way, but the boys showed some real fighting determination and nearly turned a few games in our favour. The tour really helped the team to bond pre-season, which certainly helped them play some awesome hockey when the season started.
The main focus for the season was to score as many goals as possible and play as a team. The way the boys played throughout the season is testament to the fact that we achieved our goals. Their ability to make use of the space available, beating the opposition with a few good passes and score goals when necessary proved that they were the team to beat in the Cape Town area.
The highlight of the season was winning all our games against our big rivals, Bishops, SACS and Wynberg.
Paskal Wolski had a very good season in goal and it was comforting to know that a player with his ability was our last line of defense. Mitchell Theron had a very solid debut season at sweeper and adapted to the position very well. Suhail White was the general in defence and certainly added some calmness when under pressure and some variation in attack. Jonathan Rogers played equally well as a half on both sides of the field and also showed some keen attacking abilities. Thulani Lewin was very solid as a left half where he kept many opposition players out of our ‘D’. Shaun Gird played most of the season at right half and in the links. He attacks and defends extremely well and possesses some very slick stick work. Joshua Viljoen was very influential as a link often making use of the opportunity to get us into goal scoring positions. Alexander Luyt has a very good season in the links and showed that he too possesses some very good stick work. Max Pike was instrumental throughout the season at centre link. He is just a natural player with some very impressive all round skills. He did a fantastic job in leading the team when Tom was injured. Tom Groom led this team extremely well. He had a very good season in the links and possesses a very high work rate. Miguel Robinson played very well as a forward. He worked very hard up front and was rewarded by scoring a few goals. Aidan Hewitt grew as a player this year and really showed that he has what it takes to be a good striker. Sohail Haffajee was instrumental as a forward, using his pace and skill to good effect. He ended the season as our top goal scorer.
The following boys must be congratulated for making the u14 Disa Zonal team:
Max Pike, Suhail White, Sohail Haffajee, Joshua Viljoen, Alexander Luyt, Paskal Wolski, Aidan Hewitt and Shaun Gird.
A very big thank you to Miss Ghignone for all the hard work that she put in as team manager, we definitely benefited from your expertise and would not have had such a successful season without your help.
Thank you to all the boys for such an amazing season - remember to always play as a team. A very big thank you to all the parents for their wonderful support!
G Peacock
P24 W17 L6 D1
COACH: G Peacock MANAGER: P Ghignone TEAM: T Groom (c), S Gird, S Haffajee, A Hewitt, T Lewin, A Luyt, M Pike (v/c), M Robinson, J Rogers, M Theron, J Viljoen, S White, P Wolski (GK)
Squash 2012
RBHS entered five teams in the senior and five in the junior league. We unfortunately lost a few key squash players, who had made WP Teams in previous years, due to commitments to other winter sports that took place on the same days as squash. This resulted in drop of our overall winning percentage compared to previous years. Despite that, RBHS was still the top school in Western Cape squash for the fifth consecutive year and number two in South Africa for the third consecutive year.
Highlights for this season were as follows:
- Nine RBHS squash players represented Western Province at the Interprovincial Tournament:
- U19: Cole Zweistra, Matthew Kane, Matthew Rist and Michael Klopper.
- U16: Murray Commins, JP van der Merwe.
- U14: Gavin Kaplan, Joffvre Duminy and Dayyaan Galiem.
- RBHS won the Western Province Top Schools for the fifth consecutive year.
- RBHS represented Western Province at the SA Top Schools” Tournament and won the silver medal. The team consisted of Murray Commins, JP van der Merwe, Cole Zweistra, Matthew Rist, Gavin Kaplan and Matthew Kane.
Both Murray Commins and JP van der Merwe finished the squash season off on a high note. Murray achieved a number 2 ranking and JP achieved a number 5 ranking for SA u16.
Murray Commins, JP van der Merwe, Cole Zweistra and Matthew Kane won their 2nd silver medal at SA Top Schools.
Murray Commins and JP van der Merwe were rewarded Distinction while Cole Zweistra, Matthew Rist and Matthew Kane received Full Colours
Geldenhuys
SUPER LEAGUE.
U19A 2012
This team played in the Super League. The year started with the St Andrews Festival where they won three matches, drew one and lost one. This was very successful as we did not have Murray Commins with us.
Our next tournament was the WP Top Schools” tournament where we played the winner of the Wynberg/Bishops semi final. We won 4/1. At SA Top Schools we were confident we could finish top four, and at the airport one parent told me that one never knows, miracles can happen. The boys were fantastic and progressed to the finals against St Michael’s beating our nemesis Selborne College along the way. We beat St Michaels in our pool but the matches had been very close and could have gone either way. In the final the matches were hard fought many going to five sets but we had to settle for silver as St Michael’s piped us at the winning post.
Over the course of the year, besides all the tournaments and Men’s League matches that these boys played, they also each played between 20 and 25 matches for the school, winning an incredible number of these matches. Commi was the number one and performed his duties well winning all his matches in fantastic style, although adding to grey hairs along the way with three extremely tight five set matches and achieving his second silver Top Schools medal. JP van der Merwe comes in at number two and is an incredible asset to the team. He has not lost a match this entire year. His dogged determination to win makes it impossible for his opponent to beat him. When Van der Merwe goes onto court, we can depend on him. He now also has two Top Schools’ silver medals to his name.
Cole Zweistra started this year on a slow note but has improved and kicked his game up a couple of notches. He plays a brilliant game of squash and if he believes in himself his squash can only improve. He too owns two2silver medals for SA Top Schools’. Matthew Kane ended last year on an incredible high and I believed he would continue in that vein, but unfortunately reverted to his old self: slow, steady, lazy and yet incredibly talented. At SA Top Schools’ we witnessed some of the best squash from Kane seen in a long time, as well as a second silver medal. He has had an incredible five years at Rondebosch and has achieved brilliant results in both WP and Bosch Squash.
Matthew Rist was our Duracell battery bunny. Nobody plays with such intensity. He too has two silver Top schools’ medals. Rist has been a source of joy over the past couple of years as he always makes us laugh on or off the court. Both Kane and Rist will be sorely missed next year. 
Riley Louw started the year with the team going to St Andrews and winning all his matches with ease but sadly due to injuries his squash for 2012 had to be put on the back burner. At the end of the second term a new talent was discovered in the under 15’s - Gavin Kaplan. He challenged into the top squad winning both his challenge matches and then accompanied the team to Top Schools’. There he won four of his five matches and definitely deserved his silver medal. He is young and needs to mature more but he is definitely an uncoming star with incredible potential. He will be an amazing asset for the school. It has been an awesome experience to be with these boys; coaching and managing them has been a dream.
L Abrahams
P7 W6 L1 D0
COACH: Z Abrahams MANAGER: L Abrahams TEAM: C Zweistra (c), M Commins, M Kane, M Rist, JP van der Merwe.
Reserves: G Kaplan, R Louw.
U15A 2012
This was a young team that performed well during the course of the season. They were ably led by their captain Gavin Kaplan who is one of the top U14 players in the country. Overall the team was made up of at least two and sometimes three U14 players which bodes well for Rondebosch squash in the future.
The season started with a wake-up call when SACS (who have quite some depth in their team with WP players down to three of four) beat us 3 - 1, with only Gavin Kaplan winning. From there on it was pleasing to see the consistent improvement of all the boys which was testament to their commitment in training. So much so, that when we played SACS in the second round, we beat them convincingly.
Besides our stalwart captain Kaplan, others in the team were Dayaan Galiem who was a bit rusty at the beginning of the season, but soon got into the swing of things. We tried to persuade him that there is a far better future for him in squash, than cricket, but somehow he did not buy that one! Joffre Duminy did well for us at number three and he should mature into a really good player. John van Blerk at number four4was the most improved player as evidenced by convincing wins and close losses to the strong Paarl opponents at the end of the season. Milo Ewan helped out whilst Galiem was unavailable during the fast. Ewan found it tough going in the A’s as there is quite a jump from the B league. However, with another year in U15, and if he remains committed, he will be more competitive in the top bracket.
Besides the hiccup against SACS at the start, the only side that were our nemisis, was Paarl Boys’, who had a very experienced and well drilled, strong team. Our results against them did improve with individual game scores being much closer. During the season we played Paarl Boys’ three times. The only player to win his last two matches was Gavin Kaplan. All other league encounters besides the first one against SACS were well won by Bosch U15A.
A Naude
P11 W7 L4 D0
COACH: A Naude TEAM: G Kaplan (c), J Duminy, D Galiem, J van Blerk
Table Tennis
U19A 2012
The U19 table tennis league was contested between five schools, with a total of seven teams participating. Rondebosch, Pinelands, Camps Bay entered one team, whereas Westerford and Bergvliet entered two teams each in the U19 league. Each school played every other school twice for the season. Many of our games were competitive and of good quality, with the Rondebosch team going down only to the Pinelands team. This was the final season for the team’s captain, Naasir Bawa, who had been the captain of the team since he started playing. Naasir is admired for his exceptional skills and his calm nature under pressure. The other team members looked up to him and definitely benefitted from his leadership. Thank you Naasir for the years you have lead the U19A table tennis team and for the many team victories that you have been instrumental in achieving. Well done to Naasir and to the U19 team for an excellent 2012 season.
S Ebrahim
P10 W8 D1 L1
COACH: S Ebrahim
TEAM: N Bawa (c), R Kagee (v-c), J Davids, T Gallant
CHESS 2012
Rondebosch Chess participated in the Cape Peninsula Chess League. The interest in chess has grown and we have now have four teams participating. It has been gratifying to see the interest in school chess grow.
Our A-team and B-team participated in the A-league, the C-team progressed from the C-league to the B-league in the 3rd term, and the D-league progressed from the E-league to the D-league. A synopsis of the results per player is illustrated below. Players are positioned according to their rank.
Player |
Games played |
Games won |
Games lost |
Games drawn |
1. Jonathan Biggs |
8 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
2. Andrew McInnes |
8 |
6 |
0 |
2 |
3. Yaaseen Gallant |
8 |
7 |
1 |
0 |
4. Evren Turan |
7 |
4 |
3 |
0 |
5. Sacha Brandt |
8 |
3 |
5 |
0 |
6. Steven Whiteboy |
8 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
7. Ihsaan Bassier |
5 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
8. Imran Solwa |
7 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
9. Adam Herman |
8 |
7 |
1 |
0 |
10. Nathan Parker |
7 |
6 |
1 |
0 |
11. Daniel van der Walt |
7 |
6 |
1 |
0 |
12. Sebastiano Parenti |
7 |
1 |
4 |
2 |
13. David Brooke |
5 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
14. Matthew Faber |
6 |
1 |
5 |
0 |
15. Andrew McGregor |
6 |
1 |
5 |
0 |
16. Matthew Lavengood |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
17. Altay Turan |
6 |
2 |
4 |
0 |
Teacher-in charge: F Allie-Ebrahim
Coach: A Solomon
Annual Grey High School Chess Festival
Two teams of 4 players were entered in the Annual Grey College Chess Festival was hosted on 17th and 18th February in Bloemfontein:
The participating teams were:
A Team: 1. Andrew McInnes
2. Steven Whiteboy
3. Evren Turan
4. Alexander Brandt
B Team: 1. Adam Herman
2. Imran Solwa
3. Nathan Parker
4. Daniel van der Walt
The teams participating produced the best results in 3 years with excellent performances by Evren Turan and Daniel van der Walt who each won 4 games and drew 1 game.
The B-team performed very well in the final round winning all their games. The B-team came 4th overall in B-division, an impressive achievement for a developing team. The A-team were ranked 9th overall.
Chess Blitz Festival 2012
The Annual Chess Doubles Blitz Festival was hosted on the 20th July in the Centenary Pavilion with 6 other participating schools with two teams per school. Our A-team played against our B-team in the first round. Only our A-team could maintain their performance. The A-team played five rounds, losing only once to Wynberg Boys’ High. We emerged alongside Wynberg Boys’, Pinelands High and Alexander Sinton High School in the semi-final. Our boys were pitched against Pinelands and emerged victorious. Sadly, in the finals we lost to Alexander Sinton High School. Our A-team, Andrew McInnes and Ihsaan Bassier, came second overall.
Jamie Tindall Tournament:
The invitational Jamie Tindall ChessTournament hosted from 31 August – 7 September is a two-day tournament held in July is a fierce competition held annually at Wynberg Boys’ High School in memory of Jamie Tindall. The schools competing this year were: RBHS, Settlers, Herzlia, Pinelands, Alexander Sinton, Wynberg, Oude Molen and SACS. This year was quite an upset with Rondebosch finishing in second place to highly ranked Settlers High. The final two rounds were very exciting since key players were not available. Two points were scored against Settlers in the last two rounds. Special mention must be made of Jonathan Biggs who skilfully drew to Settlers Board 1 player. We managed to successfully defeat Herzlia 11-5. This crushing victory put us into the finals where we were once again defeated by Settlers. We were no match for them with a few key players missing in action from our side as well.
GOLF 2012
In many respects it was one of the closest seasons in the Super A league with the sides being very evenly matched and most of the matches being decided by the narrowest of margins – with a few more putts going in the league position of 5th would have been greatly improved. Zack van der Schyff was the standout golfer of the season, recording some impressive scalps playing at number one and the rest of the team all scored some good individual victories although consistency was generally a problem. The 1st team attended both the Dainfern College tournament in Johannesburg as well as the Cape Schools’ Week held in Plettenberg Bay and achieved good results.
The B and C sides also had good results in spite of being frustrated by injuries and unavailability. There were a number of junior players who had good seasons, and in the light of this golf at Rondebosch is healthy and that it won’t be long before we regain the heights of previous years.
A big thank you must go to Mrs Geyer who joined golf this year for her enthusiasm and lifting to all the matches.
R Dalrymple
COACHES: R Dalrymple and N Geyer TEAM: Z van der Schyff (c), R Corder, C Davis, S Filippi, A Hegie, M Worthington-Smith, L Wynn-Smith
Soccer 2012
St. Joseph’s Marist College 5-a-side Soccer Tournament
The St. Joseph’s Marist College 5-a-side soccer tournament took place sooner than expected, the first Saturday after the end of the rugby season, with none of our players having played a single match as yet. We had to enter an under-strength U15 and U19 sides due to the absence of many of the selected players; many of them had club commitments and some were still participating in the 7’s rugby tournament.
This then served as an ideal way to give players who were not selected the opportunity to show-case their talents and to give them some game-time. The U15 side did not fair too well, but the boys enjoyed playing soccer. This was not always going to be about winning but to broaden the participation base.
However, as this tournament was about giving boys an opportunity to play soccer, our U19 sides were made up of one team of players who did not make the regular side and another U19 side who were composed of matriculants only, given that matriculants are not allowed to play sport at the end of the third term.
The matric side had the opportunity to play soccer albeit only for a day’s tournament. Again, the boys came together with lots of talent on show, the majority of whom had played in the U19 team of the previous year. In the round robin stages, they beat Constantia Waldorf 4-2, won the game against St. Joseph’s Marist College 3-1, and beat CBC Parklands 4-1, to proceed to the quarter-finals. They beat Grootte Schuur High School by one goal to nil. In the semi-finals against St. Joseph’s Marist College, they came from behind to make the score 3-4. But a late equalizer by Jessie Davids was disallowed in the dying seconds of the game, a goal claimed to have been scored within the penalty box, an incorrectly taken goal according to the rules of the tournament. This then denied them a possible place in the finals and also possibly becoming champions of the U19 side in this tournament.
Our brave performance by our matric side again highlights the depth of soccer talent at RBHS. This also highlights the loyalty of our boys to our school, a team put together on the last minute. We salute these boys who served their school well. Amongst others we salute the talents of Naasir Bawa, Wasim Amien, Moegamat Alli Parker, Keagan Shaw, Kieryn Thompson, Jessie Davids but to mention a few. May you go safely and reach for your dreams.
B. Halday
U19A 2012
This season was one of the great successes for the U19 soccer team. Many skilful and talented players showed up for the trials for a chance to be part of the 2012 U19 squad. This proved an arduous task for the coaches and managers in selecting a team. After the selection took place, the U19 team faced their first opposition- Wynberg Boys’ High, a traditional rival. This was a match played in true spirit and lived up to the expectations for the gents, RBHS winning this encounter convincingly with fantastic goals scored by “super subs” Dean Palmer and Zachary Sonday.
However, the team was faced with a more challenging fixture against Windsor High School. Not knowing our opponents’ abilities, were stunned with the first half ending in 2-0 to Windsor. True Bosch spirit prevailed with our team pulling through to draw the match 5-all. Of course, this would not have been possible without some crucial decisions made by the head coach, Matthew Brache.
The team was faced with another crucial encounter later that week against Grootte Schuur High School. This required enormous mental preparation as the players’ bodies were still tired from their previous great comeback against Windsor. We managed to win this encounter by 3 goals to 1. The boys showed tremendous character as another great comeback was achieved with Dean Tucker scoring what some may say was undoubtedly the goal of the season, striking the ball outside the box into the top corner! I’m sure everyone would agree that this encounter was by far one of the best performances by the solid defensive structure, distributive midfield and clinical strikers.
Brimming with confidence, we were set to face Alexander Sinton High School, possibly the strongest opposition the lads had faced thus far. Unfortunately, due to some critical errors made by the away referee, we lost this encounter 2-3, with outstanding performances from each and every player in the squad.
With the unfortunate controversial loss behind us, we again showed tremendous character when we were faced with traditional rivals Wynberg Boys’ High School for the second time this season. This time however, it was a home fixture and the gents were confident to end the great season on a high. The first half did not live up to the expectations of supporters as it ended in a 0-0 draw. However, the second half saw our boys stringing some great passes together, accompanied by great vision from the midfielders. The final score was 3-1 to RBHS.
Excellent goalkeeping by Phillipe Lothaller, supported by the ever-solid defence of Blake Renecke, Umar-Farouk Kagee, Dale Cornell, Dean Tucker, Josh Williams and Kizito Mukasa, made it extremely difficult for the oppositions strikers.
A dynamic midfield ensemble of Kyle Drury, Dean Palmer, Luke Erikson, Clyde March and Keegan Nesbitt created plentiful opportunities due to their great natural talent and vision which led to goals being scored by our clinical strikers: Zac Sonday, Naeem Ismail and Josh Kaplan.
K Drury
P5 W3 L1 D1
COACH: M Brache MANAGER: B Halday TEAM: K Drury (c), D Cornell, L Erikson, N Ismail, U Kagee, J Kaplan, P Lothaller, C Martch, K Mukasa, K Nesbitt, D Palmer, B Renecke, Z Sonday, D Tucker, J Williams
U15A 2012
We started off the season with our annual football trials held on Lower Desert. Interest shown was high as always, with over sixty boys attending. This proved to be a challenge for our coach Mr Halday and assistant coach Naeem to choose a squad of 15 players.
With the squad finally announced, there was a great deal of anticipation in the air, trying to better the performance of our previous U15 squads. Our first league game kicked off against Wynberg Boys’ High School, a game that was going to prove a difficult one, given the fact that they played together as a team since the winter sports season started, playing concurrently with their rugby teams. We started off slowly, this being our first ever 2012 game. We came back strongly in the second half and won the match 5-1, an outstanding performance from our team. This was an ideal start to our soccer campaign, a very strong team with a solid back-four, a very good midfield who put our strikers away more often than none, and the strikers who put the ball in the back of the net with a sniper’s precision.
As the season went on the confidence within a strong squad of players grew. The ‘vibe’ in the team was on an all-time high as this showed in the results week in and week out: victories over Grootte Schuur (5-2), Livingstone (6 - 1), and Windsor (5 - 0). However, a sub-standard performance gave us a draw against local school Westerford (2-2). A draw against a very strong Islamia team was a game we could have won, but poor finishing resulted in a 2-all draw. The stats for the season read as follows: a total of 6 games played, 4 games won, 2 draws and no losses, a total of 25 goals for, and only 8 goals against.
It was a memorable season, and we all look forward to next year where most of us will be competing for first team places.
N Potgieter and E Bester
P6 W4 L0 D2
COACH: N Ismail MANAGER: Z Nongqotho TEAM: N Potgieter (c), E Bester, C Daya, M Haffejee, J Harrison, R Klein, C Louw, M Mboji, A Minani, M Mosia, A Ntese, S Samson, C Senior, C Stevenson, S Van der Berg
ALL YEAR
Chess
Golf |
Winter Sport
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