School of origin
The age-old debate of ‘home grown’ players versus ‘imports’ continue to rage on, even after the Currie Cup Final – won in such emphatic fashion by the Lions.
A glance at the 44 players in the Final leads one to wonder how many are the ‘products’ of the province they represented.
Birth is not always a good criterion as babies do not have control over their wanderings but schools do suggest a good point of origin for what happens afterwards.
We look at the schools each of the 44 players attended.
Of the Golden Lions, the following were schooled in that part of Gauteng where the Golden Lions are based: Jaco Taute, Elton Jantjies, Derick Minnie and Cobus Grobbelaar. That is four in all. Three were in the starting XV.
Of the Sharks, the following were schooled in KwaZulu-Natal where the Sharks rule – Patrick Lambie, Craig Burden, Alistair Hargreaves, Marcell Coetzee and Ross Cronjé. That is five out of the 22. Only Lambie was in the starting XV,
The Golden Lions had more from KwaZulu-Natal in their starting XV than the Sharks had from KwaZulu-Natal in their starting XV – Doppies la Grange, Michael Rhodes and Patric Cilliers. And they had Warren Whitely of Glenwood amongst their replacements. They had as many schooled in KwaZulu-Natal as they had schooled in their own province.
The schools with most players in the Final are, unsurprisingly, Grey College and, surprisingly, Michaelhouse. Each of those schools had four players in the Final, two in each side.
Monument had a player in each starting XV – Jaco Taute for the Golden Lions and Willem Alberts for the Sharks. The same is true for Dale College of King William’s Town – Bandise Maku for the Golden Lions and Keegan Daniels captaining the Sharks. Maritzburg College have a player on each bench – Butch James for the Golden Lions and Craig Burden for the Sharks. Hoërskool Port Natal have a player starting for the Golden Lions and one on the bench for the Sharks. Both were born on the Highveld. Paarl Gymnasium have a player on the Golden Lions bench and a player starting for the Sharks.
Ten of the 44 players were schooled in the Western Cape – Joshua Strauss, JC Janse van Rensburg, Dylan Des Fountain. Stefan Terblanche, Marius Joubert, JP Pietersen of Stellenbosch before he moved to Generaal Hertzog, Conrad Hoffman, Ross Skeate, Eugene van Staden and Adi Jacobs.
Neither captain (Josh Strauss for the Golden Lions and Keegan Daniel for the Sharks) was captaining the province where he was born and bred. Strauss was born in Bellville, Daniel in Humansdorp.
We look at the schools of the players in the Final!
Golden Lions
Jaco Taute: Monument in Krugersdorp
Deon van Rensburg: HTS Potchefstroom
Doppies la Grange: Port Natal in Durban
Alwyn Hollenbach: Grey College of Bloemfontein
Michael Killian: Muir College of Uitenhage
Elton Jantjies: Florida
Michael Bondesio: HS Lichtenburg
Joshua Strauss: Paul Roos in Stellenbosch
Michael Rhodes: Michaelhouse
Derick Minnie: Marais Viljoen in Alberton
Franco van der Merwe: HS Hartswater in Northern Cape
Wikus van Heerden: Waterkloof in Pretoria
Patric Cilliers: Michaelhouse
Bandise Maku: Dale in King William’s Town
CJ van der Linde: Grey College of Bloemfontein
Replacements
Martin Bezuidenhout: HS Klerksdorp
JC Janse van Rensburg: Oakdale in Riversdale
Warren Whiteley: Glenwood in Durban
Cobus Grobbelaar: HS Jan Viljoen in Randfontein
Butch James: Maritzburg College
Dylan Des Fountain: Paarl Gymnasium
James Kamana: New Zealand born and bred
Sharks
Patrick Lambie: Michaelhouse
Odwa Ndungane: Hudson Park in East London
Stefan Terblanche: Hoërskool Swellendam
Marius Joubert: Paarl Gymnasium
JP Pietersen: Generaal Hertzog in Witbank
Frederic Michalak: France born and bred
Conrad Hoffmann: Paarl Boys’ High
Ryan Kankowski: St Andrew’s in Grahamstown
Willem Alberts: Monument in Krugersdorp
Keegan Daniel: Dale in King William’s Town
Ross Skeate: SACS in Cape Town
Jean Deysel: Hentie Cilliers in Virginia
Jannie du Plessis: Grey College of Bloemfontein
Bismarck du Plessis: Grey College of Bloemfontein
Tendai Mtawarira: Peterhouse in Zimbabwe
Replacements
Craig Burden: Maritzburg College
Eugene van Staden: Bredasdorp High School
Alistair Hargreaves: Durban High School
Marcell Coetzee: Port Natal in Durban
Ross Cronjé: Michaelhouse
Adrian Jacobs: Scottsville SS in Kraaifontein
Lwazi Mvovo: Maria Louw High School in Queenstown
By Paul Dobson
