Friday, December 30, 2011

US HS All Americans respectable in Bok Country

USA Rugby's year in review had an interesting section about the US HS All-Americans tour of South Africa (copied below, I hope JB doesn't mind!). It seems our boys went 3-1 against the high school teams they played, losing by only 4 points to Glenwood .


Boy’s High School All-Americans - Fifteens
The Boy’s High School All-Americans had a robust schedule in 2011, going 3-1 on their South Africa tour.  A sponsorship from Aircraft Charter Solutions provided funding for the tour, and the players responded well.  A massive start for the HSAAs rang the alarm bells for the teams in South Africa, blanking the Durban Development Under-17s 71-0.  A setback against Glenwood would be the only one of the tour, and the HSAAs would go on to beat Tygerburg and Durbanville to go 3-1.

OpponentScoreVenue
Durban Development71-0Durban, South Africa
Glenwood14-18Glenwood HS
Durban, South Africa
Tygerburg25-15Tygerburg Rugby Club
Cape Town, South Africa
Durbanville H.S.26-16Durbanville High School
Cape Town, South Africa


So I did some digging. Glenwood ended last season ranked #14 in rugby among South African high schools! The number one SA HS team, Grey College of Bloemfontein, defeated Glenwood by 28-6 last season. Grey College has produced 39 Springboks over the years (bottom of page), including 8 of this year's 37 at the RWC (21.6% of the team!). So, Glenwood's not Grey, but they aren't bad either!

Our boys played a fairly good SA HS team close. Promising!

We (the rugby community) have got to do all we can to ensure these boys follow-through with a rugby career to college and beyond.