Glory stolen from matrics
Rugby-playing Grade 12s might repeat the year
One must spare a thought for the class of
2020, whose dreams and ambitions have literally evaporated in front of their eyes.
It is like a never-ending nightmare for young hopefuls.
Most young rugby players have grown up watching their peers rise from the Under 12,
U13, Grant Khomo U16 Week and eventually U18 Craven Week on their way to reaching their full potential and being snatched by the bigger unions on a junior contract.
With that in hand, it opens doors to bigger and better things in a rugby career.
However, with the Covid-19 pandemic having wrecked the schools season and with SA Rugby announcing that all junior tournaments are cancelled for this year, some boys in matric will never have the opportunity to play first XV rugby.
The highest accolade for any school rugby player is to run on to the field in front of your schoolmates, family and community.
With that comes the added incentive that you might be selected for your province s ’ Craven Week team, with the ultimate goal to be selected for the SA Schools sides.
That, unfortunately, will not happen this year and many young dreams will be shattered and the game of rugby hard hit as well.
After the euphoria that gripped the country when the Springboks won the 2019 Rugby World Cup, 2020 was expected to be a year of plenty.
Grade 11pupils work extra hard to get into pole position for first team spots in Grade 12.
Matric is a very special year for any school pupil and it comes with a lot of privileges due to all the hard work of the previous year.
These pupils will not have a second crack at playing for the first XV again, unless of course some of them return to repeat matric.
It has been speculated that some rugby-playing matriculants could return to school and repeat Grade 12 just to play 1st XV.
It is and has always been the norm for many rugby players to do post-matric.
Most rugby players would do anything to play first team rugby again, albeit while repeating the same grade.
Should matrics repeat Grade
12 for rugby reasons? Some will say no, life goes on, and who knows, better opportunities might be on the horizon.
People are quick to point to a host of players such as Makazole Mapimpi who never played Craven Week but became a Springbok.
Others might argue that it will also take opportunities away from next year s Grade 12s
’ who would have played in the
1st XV.
Coaches would also be under pressure to field those post-matric players.
Despite all these developments, there has been an upsurge in junior recruitment at most SA rugby franchises with the Blue Bulls, Stormers, Lions and Sharks at the forefront in signing players.
So all is not lost for those junior players who aspire to a long-term future in the game.