Eton College leave victorious, development of SA rugby overall winner

Eton College’s overseas tour to South Africa saw the prestigious school visiting from the United Kingdom winning two out of two matches against both of their opponents.

Rewatch all the action on SuperSport Schools (www.supersportschools.com).

Playing up against St Alban’s College late last Thursday afternoon saw the away team winning impressively 45-22 and kicking off the start of the tour with some sensational attacking play.

At the halfway mark the away team were sitting comfortably in front with the score reading 26-5. The Hoops managed to claw their way back into the game scoring 17 points but were never in a position to win it.

Although St Alban’s lost the match, the coaching staff walked away from the game having had a chance to look at what is currently in their pantry for next year and key areas which might need some refining. Fortunately, there is plenty of time before the first kick-off of next season.

In Eton’s second match of their Highveld trip, the team came up against St John’s College on a typical South African winter Saturday afternoon, where the hosts put up more of a fight narrowly losing the match 19-17.

The matches were played on Gaudy Day, in addition to St John’s College celebrating its 125 years, the first gathering took place in 1912.

Assistant coach Graham Hill from St John’s College stated that ”Having seen Eton’s impressive performance against St Alban’s College we knew we had our work cut out.” He further went on to say ”What stood out for us was their physicality, especially at the breakdown (which is a Northern Hampshire trend) and their speed in the backs.”

The Blues have shown during the past season that their more defensive style of play has often put them in strong counter-attacking positions which could have well paid off in this match. The u17 stayers side showed some fightback coming from 19-5 down at halftime.

The side would have felt that a win would have been well within their grasp as they held the majority of the possession in Eton’s half in the final 10 minutes of the match.

However, the visiting team were strong in defence not giving away any potential penalty opportunities showing the value of keeping it tidy in the dying minutes of a match.

Joshua Shannon and Gerald Van Wyk stood out during the St John’s fixture and will be players to look out for during next season.

Eton College faces Woodridge College from the Eastern Cape this Saturday on the 15 July 2023. Woodridge will be hoping to bounce back from a recent narrow loss against Kingswood College (22-19).

Rugby has been an integral part of Eton’s sporting traditions for many decades, it has been an in important part of Eton’s schooling much like many of the schools in South Africa, where rugby remains a popular sport in the rainbow nation.

International tours like these play a crucial role in the development of the boys, exposing them to different styles of play as well as the enjoyment of meeting and hosting foreign players. For many of the players, this would have been their first taste of playing against someone from another country.

Many an international career has stemmed from these sorts of tours where players are left feeling inspired and hungry for more. These tours regardless of the overall results contribute to the development and globalization of sports while fostering international cooperation and understanding.

This firsthand experience complements academic learning and enriches a student’s overall education. In 1907 The Education Times quoted Ralph Waldo Emerson stating that ”Education is that which remains behind when all we have learned at school is forgotten.”

”The experience gained, and the lessons learnt by our boys are greater than the end result” exclaimed assistant coach Hill. ”These matches are extremely valuable, to give the stayers an opportunity to play together and for the coaches to look at various combinations.”

Long may international sporting school tours continue as they nurture future players and grow the fantastic game of rugby.