Bishops rugby sets sights higher
Bishops is widely regarded as one of the top schools in the country. They’re strong academically and on the sports’ fields. However, in recent years, their rugby has not reached the vaunted heights it has previously attained.
A committee of passionate old boys has been formed to help the school climb to the very top tier again. Old boy, Nik Augoustatos, sat down for a discussion with two other old boys to share the vision for the school’s rugby future.
Former Springbok centre, Robbie Fleck, will be overseeing the ground operations, including the recruitment and development of players.
Another old boy, Martin Versfeld, will lead the fund procurement and distribution side of the high-performance rugby committee.
Fleck has two sons at the school and was disappointed that Bishops didn’t appear to be progressing at the speed of their southern suburbs‘ counterparts, Wynberg, Rondebosch, and SACS.
It won’t be a quick fix. It will be multi-year project aimed at developing Bishops’ rugby. Starting from the beginning of the new financial year, Bishops will appoint a Director of Rugby to oversee the entire programme, with the main focus being on recruitment.
When asked about how the rugby programme will change, Fleck assured Augoustatos: “This is not a reinventing of the wheel. Bishops already has a rugby identity that has been shaped over time.”
He also noted how attractive South African schoolboy rugby is to investors. “It really has become professional. There’s a billion rand floating around in South African schoolboy rugby at the moment.”
When asked about the potential of the rugby programme, Versfeld answered: “We are trying to beef up our rugby sides to be competitive. That’s it. We’re not trying to run rugby academies, like Paul Roos or Paarl Gim. We’re an all-round school. In this respect, the ball was dropped. Now we are working on fixing that.”
Fleck reiterated the importance of effective recruitment. He believes that Bishops is too reliant on local prep schools to deliver potential stars. However, both he and Versfeld acknowledged that whoever is recruited needs to be a good fit for the school as a whole, not just be a rugby player.
“It’s not about the school, it’s about the boy”, stated Fleck. He emphasised the importance of the newcomers being comfortable with the environment at Bishops and not just arriving to play rugby.
While the rugby committee is a separate entity from the school, they have the school’s full support. Starting from 2027 onwards, eight of their 15 grade eight legacy bursaries will be set aside for rugby. In the past, it was more evenly spread between the different sporting and academic codes.
Potentially, three or four more boys will receive bursaries in Grade 10. The reason that would happen then is that it is challenging to identify a player’s potential when they are younger.
Bishops is renowned for its flowing, inventive, running rugby. The schools’ old boys will be eager to see it executed to its potential, and the Bishops’ community is all-in on making it happen.
Original video link: Bishops Rugby | What does the future look like?
