Swellendam High end unbeaten
Wed, 25 Aug 2010 10:27
Swellendam\'s Tiaan Lourens goes on the charge against Langenhoven High
There must be very few First XVs that can boast an achievement that ranks up there with those of the undisputed kings of SA schools rugby, Grey College. Swellendam can - they have just finished their 2010 campaign unbeaten.
This historic little town, probably better known for its bontebok reserve, is ecstatic about the performance of a team drawn from 156 male learners, some 70 of whom compete for places in the Under-15s, Under-19Bs and Under-19As.
This should mean that they face only opposition with much the same enrolment, right? Not entirely true. After a hiatus of several years, they reinstated their fixture against Caledon's Overberg, a considerably larger school, and confounded the doomsayers by beating them back in April.
The season started early for the Swellies when they filled in as late replacements for the March festival at President in Goodwood. To avoid the hassle of looking for accommodation at a fairly late stage, the decision was taken that the team would commute in and out on each of the three days - a total of around 1,350 km!
Ironically, the squad points to those hours spent on the bus as integral to the establishment of their indomitable team spirit. Needless to say, although they have already accepted an invitation to next year's event, they have made it quite clear that they intend to travel in and out daily again.
Captain Izak Bester is lavish in his praise for coaches, Pieter Jansen van Rensburg and Wouter Groenewald, hard taskmasters but wily tacticians both. In seventeen matches they crossed their opponents' trylines 69 times, while conceding only a miserly 12 tries.
While it isn't really fair to single out individual players' contributions, the placekicking of rangy centre Marcel Theunissen (144 points) and nuggety prop Morné Vry's seventeen tries have been major factors.
Your correspondent was fortunate enough to experience the marvellous atmosphere at their beautifully maintained grounds in the heart of the residential part of town for the match against neighbours Bonnievale in August. It really did seem as if the whole town had turned out, a fairly regular occurrence this year, according to acting principal Chris van Zyl.
Everybody concerned is realistic: the chances of another such season in the immediate future are fairly slim, but the players can rest assured that the team of 2010 has provided the school's alumni, which include Sharks star Stefan Terblanché, with a source of immense pride and given future generations of Swellies rugby players not only a topic of conversation, but something to which to aspire.
Results:
vs Scottsdene, 55-12
vs JG Meiring, 33-0
vs Table View, 47-6
vs Stellenbosch, 29-6
vs Overberg, 24-5
vs Barrydale, 39-3
vs Montana, 3-0
vs
Langeberg, 25-15
vs Knysna, 28-0
vs Swellendam Secondary, 42-3
vs Charlie Hofmeyr, 20-13
vs Bredasdorp, 29-5
vs Montagu, 24-24
vs Ashton Secondary, 33-0
vs Bonnievale, 19-3
vs Robertson, 15-10
vs Langenhoven High, 10-9
By Tony Stoops
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