An old and storied rivalry

 

I learnt in my days as a journalist not to deal in absolutes, especially when it comes to reporting on school sport. The early histories of schools are generally shrouded in the mists of time, they don’t always make logical sense and statistics are often a bit subjective - schools can have their own versions of events sometimes.

So, I’ve found, if you use terms like the oldest, the first, the biggest, the best etc, you will inevitably get someone telling you that you got it wrong.

In light of that, when I was told that the 1^st team rugby match between Jeppe and KES on August 2^nd – the second leg of their annual double-header derby fixture - is the 100th meeting between the two, my first question was, is it really?

So, I did a bit of research and, importantly, I spoke to the statisticians at KES and it is true that this game will be the 100^th meeting. The schools have been playing for 90 years, but in some years, including the last six in a row, they met twice in the same year.

KES are Jeppe’s oldest rivals, along with Parktown and Pretoria Boys’ High. The two schools met for the first time in 1935 and since then there have been 99 encounters. KES has won 63, Jeppe 30 and there have been six draws.

During the 1970s, 80s, 90s and 2000s, KES pretty much dominated the first rugby team results. Jeppe have clawed their way back in recent times. Jeppe won seven and lost four times in the years between 2010 and 2019.

It’s been honours even – five victories each – in the last 10 encounters.

Last 10 results

2018  Jeppe 40 KES 25
2019  KES 49 Jeppe 31
2019  Jeppe 25 KES 7
2022  KES 27 Jeppe 26
2022  KES 19 Jeppe 16
2023  KES 23 Jeppe 20
2023  Jeppe 41 KES 31
2024  KES 38 Jeppe 28
2024 Jeppe 25 KES 13
2025 Jeppe 37 KES 28

And it’s a proper derby game. It’s become common, in these days of festivals and tournaments, to call the traditional, one-on-one fixtures between schools, derbies. They are not.

A real derby is between neighbours and it’s a clash that goes beyond a routine traditional fixture.

It’s in the origin of the term. The original derby game was on Merseyside: Liverpool vs Everton. Look at Google Maps and you’ll see that Anfield and Goodison Park are less than 1km apart and separated by Stanley Park. The two grounds are actually both located on what used to be the Stanley Estate which was the property of the Earl of Derby. That’s why when they play each other it’s called the Derby game.

It’s not just about distance, though. I’ve never been to a Merseyside derby, but I’ve watched a couple of them on TV, and I’ve spoken to people who have been there – it’s definitely not just another Premier League fixture.

The biggest proper school derby in South Africa – in the world, the people down there claim – is the Paarl Gim vs Paarl Boys’ High game. I have been to that one. There is simply nothing like it. The town is split in half and the buildup to the game runs for weeks beforehand. Things have changed over the years and schools no longer draw pupils from their immediate surroundings, but the Paarl schools, in the past, were referred to as “onder-dorp” and “bo-dorp”: upper and lower town, the wine farmers vs the townsfolk. There’s a social and economic conflict there that adds spice to the encounter.

KES and Jeppe are just 5km apart by road, so they are also close neighbours, and The KES vs Jeppe game is similar to the Paarl game in terms of the contrast between the historical and socio-economic status of the communities involved. It’s Houghton vs Jeppestown, Northern vs Southern Joburg. The fact that the boys now come from all over town, and many of the rugby players from all over the country, notwithstanding, that difference in origins is something the old boys like to shout about – in a nice way – and it makes for a great occasion.

When the two teams met earlier this year, over 50% of the starting lineups were black, which speaks volumes about transformation and inclusivity at the two schools.

A few years ago one of the school sport websites ran a poll asking its readers to name what they saw as the biggest schoolboy rugby derbies in the country. Not surprisingly, the Paarl derby came out tops. Second was K-Day, the Grahamstown clash between St Andrew’s College and Kingswood, Jeppe vs King Edward was third.

Paarl Gim and Paarl Boys’ High first played each other in 1915, but the oldest derby rivalry on record is SACS vs Bishops (1873); Graeme College vs St Andrew’s is next oldest (1886), followed by Dale vs Queens (1891).

The Jeppe-KES game is a bit younger, but it qualifies as an old and storied rivalry.

There won’t be room for a mouse at game number 100, it’s going to be a ripper!