How Stellenberg used Bok blueprint to become schoolboy giant slayers
EXCLUSIVE: Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus’s unconventional methods have influenced how rugby coaches view and approach the game.
Over the years, many schoolboy coaches have leaned on the Boks’ innovative ways, taking a page from Erasmus’s playbook to strengthen their teams and programmes.
Stellenberg High School is a perfect example of this, after drawing inspiration from the Boks on their way to becoming a force within the schoolboy game.
“The Springboks have had a big influence on us, and how we go about our business,” Head of Sports and first-team defence coach, Andras Molnar, told Rugby365.
“Rassie, Siya [Kolisi] and the guys have given us the belief that we can achieve anything. If you look at Chasing The Sun, you’ll see that it’s more than just about winning, but who you do it for.
“We took from the ‘Springbok book’ that the game is more about the mental side than just being tactically good. We also think, and do stuff outside the box, and that’s helped build our culture.”
What sparked the change
Stellenberg’s rugby programme has made big strides over the past couple of years.
The school in the North of Cape Town was once overlooked but has gone on to topple some big names in recent seasons.
Last year, they defeated the four Southern suburbs’ schools, Wynberg, Bishops, Rondebosch and SACS, and narrowly lost out against Outeniqua.
Just two weeks ago, Stellenberg beat Paarl Gimnasium 20-19 for the first time, and that was a testament to how far they’ve come. It didn’t all happen overnight, though, according to Molnar.
“The change in terms of competing with the best schools in the Western Cape started around 2017,” he explained.
“We wanted to be the best school in the Northern suburbs’, and once we achieved that, we aimed to beat at least one or two of the English schools in a season.
“We also had goals to compete against Boland Landbou and started having a permanent fixture with Outeniqua and Oakdale. It’s been a building phase for years, and now the boys believe we can compete at the highest level.”
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Executing the plan
Molnar, alongside the director of rugby Dupi du Preez and the first team coaching staff, had to make some strategic changes to reshape the direction of the programme.
Instead of solely focusing on the senior side, they prioritised the fringe teams and built the programme from the ground level to the top.
They retained their young talent, acquired the services of good coaches, and received financial backing to aid their cause.
“In terms of getting talent, we had to do things a bit differently because we can’t splash out bursaries.
“We started keeping our primary school kids at home in the Stellenberg system and offered them the same opportunities they would get in Paarl, Stellenbosch and in the southern suburbs.
“We then developed a proper coaching structure from U14E straight to U19A. We now have a specialist forwards and backline coach for every team, and that’s helped us develop our players.
“It’s always easy to appoint an A-team coach, but it’s difficult to appoint an E-team coach. We started putting in more work in the lower teams, and they started performing, and it created a snowball effect, and before we knew it, we had 21 rugby teams.”
Another contributing factor to the school’s rise has been the consistency of its coaching staff over nearly 20 years.
“I think that’s something we’ve also gotten right,” Molnar added.
“Jaco Laubscher, our backline coach, and Divan Batt, the head coach, have been with the U19 group for over 15 years.
“Louw Lombaard, the forwards coach, has been with the school for nine years. These guys have seen it all, and they will tell you first-hand that it took hard work to turn things around.”
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The near future
While continuing their impressive run in the Western Cape, Stellenberg is also focused on producing more Craven Week and SA Schools players.
Last year, they had two Western Province U18 representatives in Ethan van Biljon and Juvan Burden, who went on to play for the SA Schools side.
“We want to give our players the best possible opportunities to play for the Province and even represent South Africa one day.
“It’s not always easy with the level of competition from around the Western Cape, but we’re seeing improvement each season.”
Stellenberg will look to continue their positive start to the season at the North-South Tournament, which takes place at Affies this weekend.
There, they will face Garsfontein on Friday before taking on Grey College on the final day.
Photo credits: Irma Ferreira SPORT & EVENT photography
