The Golden Lions selectors have cast the net a little wider this time

 

My sporting highlight of the week? ….. The Golden Lions rugby teams for the upcoming Youth Weeks were announced and I was delighted to see that the net was spread a little wider this time around.

Last year this time I bemoaned the fact that of the 115 boys named in the five squads of 23, 93 percent came from five schools - Monument (25), Helpmekaar (23), Noordheuwel (20), KES (19) and Jeppe (19). That’s out 40 rugby-playing schools in the province.

There’s still an imbalance in the Craven and Grant Khomo teams, which you’d expect, but in the Welpies (U17 and U16B) teams, the selectors have resisted the temptation to pick the rest of the boys from the top five who were at the trials – like they did last year – and have given some others a look-in.

So, this year 73 percent of the 115 selections are from five schools – Helpmekaar (22), Noordheuwel (19), KES (19), Jeppe (16) and Monument (14). Parktown (1), Linden (1), Allen Glen (1), Dinamika (2), St Stithians (2), St David’s (1), Marais Viloen (6), Northcliff (6) and St John’s (4), all have representatives as well this year.

You can work out from that list, I guess, the schools that some of the selectors are at – I’ve been on those panels and that’s how it works. That’s not accusing them of bias, rather it’s a case of their players having someone to nominate them in the first instance, and then to speak up for them and not meekly allow the big schools to steamroller their way in every position that’s discussed.

The game is in trouble at schools. That number of 40 rugby-playing schools I mentioned earlier used to be over 100 back when I was in the game, and some of them are just clinging on. For schools like that to be able to announce in assembly that they have a provincial player is very important. It may just keep the game alive there for another year. That’s more important that swelling the tally of the big five schools, allowing them to recruit more talented players next year.   

Not that I don’t have a problem with the composition of those top teams. Monument has eight in the Craven Week side. Jeppe, who beat them, has two. In the U16 Grant Khomo team there are eight from Helpmekaar, who have a very good team this year, I hear. But so do KES. They only have three representatives and I can tell you there are many more very good players than that in their team.

 Still, there seems to be a realisation that there are more than just five rugby schools in the region, and that’s a good thing.