The biggest derby was bigger than ever this year

 

Someone told me at the Jeppe vs KES game on Saturday that he was looking forward to reading my blog on the nature of proper derby games, and how this one met the requirements.

I realised that I’m a bit predictable  – I looked in my laptop folders and I found I’ve written the same thing three times before. Not that the KES Jeppe derby doesn’t fit the bill: near neighbours, longstanding fierce rivalry, massive spectator interest etc.

Instead, I’d like to reflect on the day itself. It was remarkable. That’s got to have been the biggest crowd at this match ever.  It’s an occasion that has always attracted the most spectators at a school game in this part of the country, but this year was at a different level.

There are no ticket sales, and therefore no official numbers, but we did do a pretty careful guestimate two years ago and came to around 7 000. The seating capacity was increased by about 1 200 for this year and there were people on hillsides and far away places craning to see. So, while it was nowhere near the 20 000 that some estimated on social media, I’d put it at between nine and 10 thousand.

And, apart from some unsatisfactory behaviour by a few Jeppe old boys – more on that later – there wasn’t an incident that I heard of. That’s due to the healthy relationship between the schools, and it hasn’t always been that way, but also to an extraordinary amount of thought and planning that went into staging the day. Those temporary stands (brought in at considerable cost) are part of that. There have been meetings going back to last year, culminating in a seven-page long running order for the day.

And all of that so that 40-odd schoolboys can play a 70-minute game. The pressure on them was enormous and the way they handled it was incredible. Anyone who points out an error made by one of them in that cauldron as something significant, is just crazy.

KES won by 10 points in the end, and they were good value for it. Jeppe threw everything at them and they stood firm, and struck back with precision. I’ve seen their victory described as an upset, probably based on Jeppe’s win over Grey College. That victory was an outlier, however. I along with many others I’m sure, knew it was going to be close, with KES probably having the edge. The Reds came into the season with a vital “spine” in place – last year’s SA Schools hooker is still there, as is the 2023 Craven Week eighthman (wasn’t he good on Saturday?) and the flyhalf, and no-one outside of Krugersdorp knows why he didn’t go the the Craven Week last year, is still there, controlling the game with his intelligent (and long) kicking.

Against that, Jeppe had some big and powerful forwards and backs that are full of flair. KES were up to stopping those forward drives, and they weren’t fooled by the trickery in the backs. They did that enough times to end up the winners. It made for a great contest.

As for those pesky old boys. Again, no surprises. Misbehaviour by them is universal, it’s happened at this particular game before, sure, but don’t believe you don’t get some of it at St Patrick’s road too. I generally sit on the dead-ball line by the medical centre there - it’s a good spot to take pictures - and you don’t only get polite applause and shouts of “go school” from the old boys sitting in that corner. Ask anyone who was in that area at the Bishops game over Easter.

I’ve seen some real old boy misbehaviour in my 40 years of going to school rugby matches, and it usually happens at local derbies. I’ve seen running battles that have had to be stopped by the cops, I’ve seen pitch invasions, and after one derby between the English and Afrikaans schools in a small town, the fighting was so bad that there was a snap debate in parliament to discuss it. And we’ve all seen the YouTube clips of players and officials getting assaulted by spectators.

That there was never any fear or possibility that those sorts of things could happen at this game, shows the quality of the schools involved.

The behaviour of some Jeppe old boys was never-the-less unacceptable, no question. It's one of those things that is impossible to control by the host school, however. At least the Jeppe headmaster tried - he didn't turn a blind eye,  I've seen that happen too.

So, while condemning those happenings let's also celebrate the spirit on the day as a whole. And congratulate the players for the way they handled the situation. And applaud the Reds' victory, and look forward to seeing it all  again on the 20th of July.