Grey Bloem: ‘We don’t import players’
30 Jun 2009
First-team coach Dries van der Wal insists Grey College do not buy players from other provinces.
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Grey College are currently on a 12-game winning streak, having defeated the likes of Paarl Boys’ (50-8), Outeniqua (41-0), Marlow (26-10) and Affies (30-13). They have scored 522 points in total, which could have been more considering that school games in Free State are stopped if one side gains a 30-point lead in the first half or a 50-point lead in the second.
There has been plenty of public criticism on rugby blogs about the success of Grey College, with many believing it’s because of their ‘imports’ from Johannesberg and Welkom.
‘That’s far from the truth,’ Van der Wal told keo.co.za. ‘The boys apply to be at this school and decide to play rugby here. Grey College doesn’t award bursaries, so we can’t just go out and buy players.’
Van der Wal believes his team’s success is due to the strong gees (spirit) and camaraderie that exists among the players.
‘I’m lucky to have nine guys still playing from last year. So I have a good, passionate side,’ said Van der Wal.
While 15 Grey boys have been selected for the Free State Craven Week squad this year, Van der Wal believes the 1st XV are strong because of how they play together as a team and not because of individual talent.
‘Time to time, you will get a great side that plays well together. So well, that you choose team combinations instead of individuals,’ said Van der Wal. ‘Of course you’re going to have moments where individuals stand out, but mostly credit is given to the team and not to one or two players.’
When asked about the various South African school rugby rankings, Van der Wal said that Grey College does not take note of them, even though they are ranked No 1.
‘I think it’s unfair. How can you be No 1 if you do not play all the schools?’ he asked.
Van der Wal suggested if they want to rank school rugby, then a super league should be created. But he admitted that even such a development would be difficult considering the academic commitments of the players in the classroom. He rather supports the inter-school format, where rivalries are created.
With five games left in the season, Grey College are set to continue their unbeaten run. However, they have a tough schedule ahead of them with matches against Grey High (1 August), Glenwood (15 August) and Paul Roos (22 August).
‘Paul Roos and Grey High are both good rugby schools and Glenwood is the top KwaZulu-Natal rugby school, so those will be difficult games to win,’ said Van der Wal.
What could help Grey College achieve a perfect season is their great rugby tradition that is so special and unique. This has proved to be an inspiration to the players.
‘The 1st XV players are also blessed with a good gym, a conditioning coach, a skills coach, a backline coach and a forwards coach,’ said Van der Wal. ‘They are inspired by this and the fact that Springboks such as Ruben Kruger, Frans Steyn and Heinrich Brüssow all sat where they are today.’
By Gareth Duncan
46 Comments
30 Jun 2009, 10:27 am
Muppits,
Please give Gareth Duncan (who wrote this) a very warm welcome. He has joined the keo.co.za team.
30 Jun 2009, 10:30 am
Welcome Gareth.
I’m not sure about players being ‘bought’ from other provinces, but they definitely do it with players from other schools in the Free State. They DO give bursaries… heck, most of the bigger schools does it nowadays.
30 Jun 2009, 10:35 am
‘Not buying them’ is no smart feat… how about ‘keeping them after matriculating’…
30 Jun 2009, 10:36 am
#1 Simon: Howzit Gareth, welcome aboard. Hang on tight, it’s a crazy ride
30 Jun 2009, 10:40 am
Grey has the 3rd most players overall selected for the Boks, Bishops & Paul Roos (Cape Based schools) leads the marginaly
Taking that stat into context, Grey leads since WWII, Like the old N-TVL, Blue Bulls have the most CC wins since the joined the unions….. Bishops last bok was Fleck, and Paul Roos Andries Bekker
Some useless info!
And by the way…. they do give “bursaries” from the Grey old boy club
30 Jun 2009, 10:41 am
Welcome Gareth!
Simon, give the muppits thing a rest will ye! We (for the most part) are all intelligent people, who like to share a comment or two every now and again!
30 Jun 2009, 10:44 am
whoever says grey imports are just haters.
grey is to SA high school rugby as de la salle is to US high school football.
30 Jun 2009, 10:46 am
Lekker Gareth man, welkom!
Enjoy bru… and if any of these bloggers give you ‘grieves’ on here, just call upon uncle Pietman, okay, lol…have a good one, and don’t hold back, speak your mind.
30 Jun 2009, 10:52 am
Grey has produced 32 Springboks in their history:
Here’s the list with some great names in (DOB at back):
Broekie van Broekhuizen 17 Jun 1872
Boetie McHardy 11 Jun 1890
Sarel Strauss 24 Nov 1891
Kalfie Martin 6 Oct 1910
Louis Babrow 24 Apr 1915
Piet de Wet 12 Mar 1917
Popeye Strydom 20 Jan 1932
Gert Cilliers 28 Jul 1940
Johan Spies 8 May 1945
Jackie Snyman 14 Apr 1948
Dawie Snyman 7 May 1949
Morné du Plessis 21 Oct 1949
Robbie Blair 3 Jun 1953
Theuns Stofberg 6 Jun 1955
Jaco Reinach 1 Jan 1962
Johan Styger 31 Jan 1962
Helgard Muller 1 Jun 1963
Pieter Muller 5 May 1969
Ruben Kruger 30 Mar 1970
Charl Marais 2 Sep 1970
Heinrich Füls 8 Mar 1971
Naka Drotské 15 Mar 1971
Werner Swanepoel 15 Apr 1973
Ollie le Roux 10 May 1973
Gerrie Britz 14 Apr 1978
CJ van der Linde 27 Aug 1980
Jannie du Plessis 16 Nov 1982
Bismarck du Plessis 22 May 1984
Ruan Pienaar 3 Oct 1984
Adriaan Strauss 18 Nov 1985
Heinrich Brüssow 21 Jul 1986
Francois Steyn 14 May 1987
30 Jun 2009, 10:54 am
I wouldn’t say Grey imports all their players. Actually there are very few, but they definitely do. Most of these players are earmarked in primary school. Not just for Rugby, but almost every type of sport.
But it has been fewer the last few years since they know that parents prefers to send their kids here in order to get that extra lift. Unfortunately it sometimes a big mistake, because selections are mostly done via favoritism and size of parents’ wallets.
30 Jun 2009, 11:02 am
#9 Limerick-Bok: lol, ‘popeye’ strydom
30 Jun 2009, 11:03 am
Steroid abuse probably rife there!
30 Jun 2009, 11:12 am
If you have a son thats got Rugby talent you send him to Grey Bloem cause you know its best for your son , its not fair and they need to do something about it but they don’t need to buy players they are they lost like 5 games in 10 years so now I will send my son to Grey if he has talent
30 Jun 2009, 11:51 am
Well I played Grey 1st team, Cheetahs, SAu21, Portugal in world cup, Montferrand in Heineken and french premier league… My parents paid all my school fees, even the tuckshop i had to pay the same price for a pie or hotdog
what i must say is that when u know u standing in line to have the honor of playing for Grey College 1st team, u know that since 1855 the old boys set high standards and to keep this standards high and to achieve these goals, I trained like a dog, Gym, run, extra skills training, because its the biggest honor to play for this prestigious school and team, and the world is watching!
why the other school dont beat us is because they dont have the same commitment from nr1 to nr 15 to be in his ultimate shape and condition, tons of strength & ultimate fitness levels, the best hand and ball skills and deliver the best performance… If only this bursary thing was true, then guys like me, CJ vd Linde, Frans Steyn, Ruan Pienaar, Bismarck du Plessis, Ruben Kruger, Ollie le Roux, etc etc… would’ve been so greatfull to have bursaries so our parents dont need to pay the expensive school fees which would allow our families to afford nice school holidays!
unfortunately its a South African thing that people like to break down something thats amazing, instead of showing of to the world what amazing school we have in South Africa with Grey College…
Its a SOuth African culture to be negative about good things and always find fault in good things, like u wont find people praising Peter De Villiers for the amazing wins he had, the wins is just not enough, we need more, we need to find fault and we need to break the poor bugger into pieces, no matter if he wins, we cannot see someone else or institution doing well in SA, we always need to find fault, amazing how people finding fault in this school.
Go speak to the boys thats been playing for Grey and ask them about their bursaries, they will laugh at u!
ciao
Nelio de Sa
30 Jun 2009, 11:58 am
hahahaha…. and steroids, thats the best one ever!
we all believe in ***** as our strength and He is our steroid, every single Grey Boy on that Field stands humble to Him and honor Him for every success we have achieved!
SO being a Christian is = to steroids, then i say yes, but no needle stuff there, if u give Grey Boys steroids as well, oh my words, then they will have to play against International teams, not schools…
hahaha cant wait to read the next stupid remark! i sometimes wonder if people that make stupid remarks like this are unhappy with their lives? looking at blogs to comment negative things…
30 Jun 2009, 12:04 pm
#15 nelio: The steroids comment was definately a joke.
30 Jun 2009, 12:10 pm
Nelio
Well said . Grey College is an institution where boys will reach their full potential on and off the field . True Grey Gentleman .
30 Jun 2009, 12:13 pm
#16 dr dre: hahaha… u know people read that joke and think its true, but i understand u just joking around
30 Jun 2009, 12:13 pm
#14 nelio: #15 nelio:
Thank you for that Nelio!
Great posts.
And congrats on your achievements as a Grey old boy.
You did good my man!
Where are you now,btw, still playing?
30 Jun 2009, 12:25 pm
Jy is reg Nelio.
Grey koop nie spelers nie – spelers gaan na Grey toe omdat hulle die beste wil wees. In die selfde manier verlaat so baie van die Grey spelers die Vrystaat en gaan na Natal en Blou Bulle omdat hulle die beste wil wees. Hulle wil saam met die beste speel, teen die beste speel, en die beste coaching kry.
Grey is n trotse skool, met n trotse tradisie. Ek verstaan nie hoekom Suid Afrikaners n wen skool afbreek nie? Jake White het onlangs op Boots and All gese dat SA die beste rugby skool in die wereld het – Grey College, en ook die beste “co-ed” rugby skool – Paarl Gim (wel, miskien, dink daar is tans beter).
Ek was nie op Grey nie, maar het elke jaar sleg teen hulle verloor
, maar was altyd moerse impressed met hulle sport man gees. Ek is nou na skool n trotse Grey ondersteuner – omdat hulle die beste is, en die mooiste rugby in SA speel.
30 Jun 2009, 12:26 pm
#14 nelio: Viva la Grey. A beacon of hope in South Africa – long may they continue. Just a not, more than 2/3 of scholars are day scholars and the ratio in the first team is probably the same, so the whole argument around the wide-spread importing of players become a mute point. Welcome Gareth.
30 Jun 2009, 12:27 pm
Oh, and welcome Gareth. Keep the schoolboy rugby articles coming. It is now the most discussed topic on 365.
30 Jun 2009, 12:30 pm
There might be bursaries awarded to students at the other strong rugby schools but Dries Van der Wal told me there aren’t any busaries for rugby at Grey College.
(as you can see from Nelio’s comment)
THANX 4 the welcome everybody!
Glad 2 b aboard!
30 Jun 2009, 12:37 pm
How is this for a Grey side made up of players currently still playing. I am sure i am missing some names.
15- Frans Steyn
14- Alwyn Hollenbach
13- Phillip Snyman (Andries Strauss)
12- Robert Ebersohn
11- Joe Petersen
10- Sias Ebersohn
9 – Ruaan Pienaar
8 – Deon Stegman
7 – Heinz Brussouw
6 – Richardt Strauss (where he played at school)
5 – Francois vd Merwe
4 – Gerrie Britz
3 – Jannie du Plessis / Daan Human
2 – Bismarck du Plessis / Adriaan Strauss
1 – Wian du Preez
My loosetrio actually played together as a loosetrio in school. What a site they were !
30 Jun 2009, 12:49 pm
#24 Cheetha Champs: Grey is amazing, just this huge juggernaut that pumps out wins and quality players. Have they ever played in the high school world cup? If so how many times? And how many times have they won it?
30 Jun 2009, 12:53 pm
That’s a very good side . . . .pity most of them are lost to the cheetahs
30 Jun 2009, 12:58 pm
#25 superbowljoel: Think Nelio can answer that one. If memory serves they did – but Glenwood has been representing SA for some or other bizarre reason.
30 Jun 2009, 12:58 pm
#26 SamM: exactly ! See my point @ 20
30 Jun 2009, 12:59 pm
Hansie
30 Jun 2009, 13:00 pm
#24 Cheetha Champs: A lot of young guns in there. Obvious how their dominance at school level over the past 5 years is now translating into top honours at provincial/national level. The Ebersohn bothers, definitely Sprinboks of the future. I think you’re making a mistake with Daan Human though.
30 Jun 2009, 13:04 pm
#24 Cheetha Champs: That is quite amazing…
I also went to a school that didn’t offer bursaries or buy players! We weren’t that great, in fact, we weren’t that good for most of the years I was there! We did however have a strong tradition and it was always an honour to be able to represent the First 15! Its schools like this that nuture boys into fine young men!
Grey College is amazing! I remember watching Hansie’s funeral broadcast from Grey College. It was something really nice to see, the boys, the school…
I would want my son to attend Grey College… only problem is, I love the Cape too much and can’t see myseld moving up north.
Go GREY COLLEGE!!!
30 Jun 2009, 13:06 pm
#25 superbowljoel:Yes… why is Glenwood representing SA at these World High School tournaments when Grey College is obviously the team to beat??
30 Jun 2009, 13:10 pm
#27 Cheetha Champs: i just checked on the net now, they won it in 2001. Boland Agri won it the next year. Glenwood came 3rd this year, looks like they won it last year tho.
30 Jun 2009, 13:13 pm
i remember when i was a young lightie of 15 yrs old and i knew 2 guys who were “poached” to play for Grey Bloem, 1 from my team in Durban and 1 from a school up north. So they definately used to steal players because of there reputation i dont think theres much buying involved. Its an honour.
30 Jun 2009, 14:50 pm
#14 nelio: very true.
30 Jun 2009, 15:00 pm
#27 Cheetha Champs: it’s an invitational and since there is no official SA schools ranking they pretty much choose who they like. presumably glenwood was invited back to defend their title. as far as a world cup goes, it can hardly be called that since half the teams are from japan, some nations have more teams than others and some nations (Ireland for example) are missing all together.
30 Jun 2009, 15:04 pm
I have travelled in the past month to rugby schools around the country and very aware of facilities at most of the Cape schools & UK/NZ. Grey College is the most amazing school I have seen! The grounds, facilities and staff are amazing! Even the groundsman gave us a tour of the 1st XV field and underwater irrigation systems.
I think the success of this school is the professionalism of the coaches, which is taught to the boys. The rugby teams we used for practices were respectful and ‘on-the-ball’ (excuse the pun) and really made other teams I have seen both here and overseas look quite silly. If my boy spoke even the faintest bit of Afrikaans I would have him up there!
Oh, and the meat must be good up there cause some of those 15 year-olds looked like they were 21! That and the fresh air.
30 Jun 2009, 15:31 pm
#37 kara: agreed. and the more kids that get to play under those conditions, the better for SA rugby in general.
30 Jun 2009, 16:27 pm
Junior Springboks……..
30 Jun 2009, 19:15 pm
#14 nelio:
great post
30 Jun 2009, 23:23 pm
thanx vir die perspektief nelio. vive la grey!!
1 Jul 2009, 11:36 am
If Grey don’t “buy” players with a bursary system, then what they achieve is amazing.
I can confirm that a school like Monnas does offer bursaries to young Rugby kids to attend the school.
1 Jul 2009, 21:00 pm
#14 nelio: Great Post and well done on your success,
I was enrolled in Grey the day my birth certificate was issued and the same with my brother and having played for the 3rd team was great honour for me, what Nelio says is 100% correct that at Grey you just work that much harder ,be it in Chess, Rugby or in the classroom.
Go boys keep the record going but more importantly stay true to yourselves and make us proud.
6 Jul 2009, 08:55 am
Well what has been written here is absolute bollocks. Our best friends whose son has just returned from the Junior Craven Week showed me the paperwork given to him by a representative from Grey College. If thats not a bursary then I cannot read. So dont come with the attitude that Grey College do not buy their players, they do, they make so many offers to kids at the Junior Craven Week its actually shocking. I wonder how many boys who play Grey U/13A ever make it through to the Grey First XV?
10 Jul 2009, 11:56 am
#44 shunter66: In matric year, we had 9 guys from town (living in bloem) the other 6 were from different cities. All the other guys from u/13 played for the cherries( 2nd side)
I live in Cape Town now and if one day my kid plays a bit of rugby and wants to pursue that in future then I would definitely try to get him into Grey. If you want to be a doctor when you grow up you try to get into the university with the best medical faculty – if you want play rugby you try to get to the place where you can get the best possible training and competition – logical.
Don’t blame Grey for setting a standard that kids strive for!
Vive la grey!
11 Jul 2009, 02:56 am
# 10 Mate looking at that impressive list above #9 they definitely doing a bl eerie good job, lol.
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