Schools Top 20 - 2016

Grey College who played a dominant role in the Top 20 over the past decade are in second position.

The final Top 20 of the past decade are:

2007: Grey College

2008: Grey College & Paarl Gim

2009: Grey College

2010: Grey College

2011: Grey College

2012: Paarl Boys' High

2013: Paarl Gim

2014: Grey College

2015: Paarl Boys' High

2016: Paarl Boys' High

This final Top 20 takes a great deal of thought. The weekly ones are much easier as we react to what has happened in that week though not without taking context into consideration.

For the final Top 20 we start afresh, going through each school team's performance over the season, taking into account the degree of success and the calibre of the opposition.

We are fully aware, but wish to say again, that no absolute ranking is possible and that it should not, as a result, be taken too seriously. But it does give an indication of the teams that have been performing outstandingly well – which is true of all teams that make the Top 20. It is a task that we take seriously and do with careful preparation, thought and discussion.

During the year, the following schools have been ranked on the Top 20 at some stage: Affies, Ben Vorster, Boland Landbou, Dale, Diamantveld, Dr EG Jansen, Eldoraigne, Garsfontein, Glenwood, Grey Bloem, Grey PE, HTS Middelburg, Helpmekaar, Jeppe, Kearsney, Kingswood, Marlow, Monument, Nelspruit, Oakdale, Outeniqua, Paarl Boys' High, Paarl Gim, Paul Roos, Queen's College, Selborne, Waterkloof and Welkom Gimnasium – 28 schools in all, and that does not include the schools who have formed the pressure group just under the Top 20.

Schools Top 20 – 2016

1. Paarl Boys' High

2. Grey College

3. Affies

4. Paarl Gim

5. Boland Landbou

6. Helpmekaar

7. Dr EG Jansen

8. Monument

9. Oakdale

10. Glenwood

11. Garsfontein

12. Paul Roos

13. Outeniqua

14. Selborne

15. Dale

16. Diamantveld

17. Nelspruit

18. Grey PE

19. Jeppe

20. Welkom Gimnasium

The pressure group just below: Ben Vorster, Kingswood, HTS Middelburg and SACS.

FINAL WORD: We should be grateful for all the joy that our schoolboys bring us on the rugby field – their innocent enthusiasm, their sense of excitement and their good manners. It seems that the best of the soul of the game is in the schools.

If you want a happy experience, go and watch the Under-9s play. South Africa and especially its rugby owe a huge debt of gratitude to the enthusiastic school teachers who make all this happen.