Updated: Apr 24, 2021 12:45 am
In what has been great news for many aspiring young South African Rugby players, SuperSport has announced that they will be investing in South African schools sports. In South Africa, school sports are seen as the ideal platform for South African rugby. The South African school rugby rivalry dates back to 1862 when the first-ever school rugby match took place. South Africa’s major sports broadcaster, SuperSport, plans to provide young athletes with the perfect platform for their sporting talents to be exposed while broadcasting live coverage of numerous school sports fixtures across the country.
“This initiative is a natural extension of our mission to play our part to grow the pipeline for South Africa’s future sporting heroes. Schools Sport is the foundation from which great sporting nations are built. The stronger the foundation, the brighter our future sporting stars can shine.” (Marc Jury, SuperSport Chief Executive)
SuperSport Schools Top 5 Rugby Rivalries To Watch:
Due to school sports currently unable to host spectators at their venues, SuperSport intends to launch an app so that anyone will be able to watch their televised school sports matches live, wherever they are. This amazing initiative will defiantly make up for last season, which saw all school sports cancelled in South Africa, due to COVID-19’s global pandemic.
ALSO READ: England RFU Backs Eddie Jones As Head Coach
Paarl Gimnasium v Paarl Boys High School
The small town just outside of Cape Town, Paarl hosts one of South Africa’s biggest schoolboy rugby annual fixture. The contest dates back to 1915, where the town of Paarl was separated between these two schools. The last time these teams played was in 2019 at Paarl Gimnasium, who ended a four year losing streak against their main rivals, winning 18-17.
Paarl Gimnasium Notable Alumni: Jean de Villiers, Schalk Burger and Handré Pollard
Paarl Boys High Notable Alumni: Corne Krige, Gurthro Steenkamp and Francois Malherbe
Grey College v Grey High School
These two brother schools bring great entertaining rugby for all to witness. Based in separate cities, these two schools make the long distance between the two and are electric to watch on the field. The last time these two sides met, Grey College humbled Grey High, beating them 58-0. Will Grey High be able to overcome their previous loss?
Grey College Notable Alumni: Cobus Reinach, Jan Serfontein and Francois Steyn
Grey High Notable Alumni: Siya Kolisi, Curwin Bosch and JJ Engelbrecht
Hilton College v Michaelhouse
Known for being one of the biggest school contests in South Africa, Hilton and Michaelhouse make for an entertaining rugby rivalry. These two prestigious schools make headlines for the annual home and away derbies. Hilton and Michaelhouse are two of the most expensive schools in South Africa and the fixtures always ignite the crowd when they play their expansive running rugby. The last time these two sides played, Hilton College were victorious by 28-8. Will 2021 see Michaelhouse get one up over their cross-town rivals?
Hilton College Notable Alumni: Gary Teichmann, Bobby Skinstad and Sebastian Negri
Michaelhouse Notable Alumni: Michael Rhodes, Ross Cronje and Pat Lambie
Pretoria Boys High v Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool (Affies)
The capital city of South Africa brings another epic school rugby encounter that dates back to 1923. The rivalry saw plenty of talking points as Pretoria Boys High has a ten-game losing streak against their rivals. In 2019, a brilliant moment in high school rugby saw Pretoria Boys High accomplish the inevitable, winning 38-21. Will we witness another historic encounter live on SuperSport Schools next live broadcast?
Pretoria Boys High Notable Alumni: John Smit and Chiliboy Ralepelle
Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool Notable Alumni: RG Snyman, Fourie Du Preez and Pierre Spies
ALSO READ: Lions Tour 2021: Updates On Dates and Fixtures
St Andrews College v Kingswood College
The traditional rivalry famously known as K-Day has always brought plenty of camaraderie from these two rugby-rich schools. The two schools first rugby encounter dates back to 1898 with St Andrews winning their inaugural fixture. In the small town of Makhanda, previously known as Grahamstown, the town comes to a standstill when these two sides contest for superiority. A must watch for any rugby fan, so look out for when SuperSport Schools will broadcast live coverage of these two old rivals!
St Andrews College Notable Alumni: Ryan Kankowski and Nick Mallett
Kingswood College Notable Alumni: Rosko Specman and David Denton
SuperSport Schools Future For South African Sport:
Sports broadcaster, SuperSport, have said they plan to make the majority of schools available for the world to witness. Other major sports such as Netball, Hockey, Cricket and Waterpolo, to name a few, will also have full access for their supporters to witness. This kind of broadcasting is a gamechanger for youth sports and it would be brilliant to see this notion implemented across the world. Due to the pandemic’s viewing restrictions, there is no better time to expose the talents of our young sportspeople than now.
Imagine watching Sedbergh School versus Wellington College live on SkySports; Wouldn’t that be something?
Would you like to see top high school rugby broadcasted for schools in the UK? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
For the best sports news, follow @WorldInSport on Twitter or like the Facebook page @WorldInSport
