Affies, Garsfontein, Menlopark and Waterkloof will play each other for the "unofficial" "Pretoria Cup" in 2022. This will be the first time since 1996 that these schools all played each other in one year.
The 1996 1stXV of Affies is widely accepted as one of the best in the history of Affies rugby. They played 28 games losing only one match against Gisborne College (05-10). They also played to a 3 all draw against Eldoraigne.
They won 3-0 against Waterkloof, 50-06 against Menlopark and 62-07 against Garsfontein.
However, a lot has changed in Pretoria since 1996. Garsfontein and Menlopark were not considered at that stage as rugby schools. Waterkloof was the only "worthy" opponent in Pretoria.
The rise of Garsfontein and Menlopark is well documented and they might just be the two favourites for the 2022 "Pretoria Cup".
We take a look at the four schools' u/14 and u/15 teams' performance during 2019. These two age groups should form the core of the 1stXV squad for 2022. 2019 was the last "normal" rugby year since the arrival of the Covid19 virus.
Waterkloof is in a "rebuilding" phase. Their u/14A team was placed 7th and their u/15A was placed 6th in the VirSeker Cup in 2019. However, with Lukas Holtzhauzen (Director of Rugby) in charge, expect a Waterkloof side that will not stop playing until the last second of a match. Expect one or two upsets in 2022.
Garsfontein u/15 team was placed 4th and their u/14 team placed 5th in the VirSeker Cup in 2019. However, the "bus" from Garsfontein is well known by their opponents and any shortcomings would have been addressed since 2019. The quiet confidence by the school does not bode well for their opponents in 2022.
Menlopark's u/15's was placed 2nd and their u/14's placed 4th in the VirSeker Cup competition in 2019. This team is the "favourites" if the pundits are to be believed, with a massive pack of forwards apparently the big danger. Menlopark will look to defend its 2019 VirSeker Cup 1stXV title with success.
Affies' u/14A and u/15A teams did not have a good year in 2019. The u/14's lost 6 from 16 matches while the u/15's lost 7 from 16 games. Against Waterkloof, the u/15A team lost 17-19 while the 14A won 34-05. Add to this a new 1stXV coach and maybe not a good year for Affies to return to the "Pretoria Cup".
Fixtures:
09 April 2022 - Garsfontein vs Affies
14 May 2022 - Menlopark vs Waterkloof
21 May 2022 - Garsfontein vs Menlopark
04 June 2022 - Waterkloof vs Garsfontein
04 June 2022 - Affies vs Menlopark
30 July 2022 - Affies vs Waterkloof