Grey College vs Monument High School Historic Overview

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A new fixture comes to the Supa Quick Premier Interschools roster on Saturday 28 May. Grey College welcome Krugersdorp side, Monument High School (Monnas).

The two schools played their first encounter in 1984, and that initial match ended in a draw. Subsequently they have not played regularly, only meeting during festivals and one-off games over a period of 38 years. The result being that they have only met 18 times since that very first game.

Monnas have an impressive run against the mighty Grey, in the last 18 matches the Krugersdorp side have won six times with two matches ending in draws. During 1991-1994, Monnas had solid run of victories, recording four consecutive wins, no mean feat against a school that have produced 46 senior South Africa rugby players.

Scores Through the Years

Grey College 2022 Season

Grey College is currently ranked as the second-best school in the country, with Paarl Gimnasium in pole position, the only side that beat Grey this year. They did draw with Oakdale in Riversdale, but besides these two hiccups in their season, the Grey rugby team is still steaming ahead for a possible number one spot finish at the end of the season.

Monnas 2022 Season

Contrary to Grey, Monnas had a very up and down 2022 season. They started off well with a convincing win over Welkom Gimnasium, but then suffered to massive loss against Paarl Gimnasium, only to bounce back against Oakdale again and steady the ship for a six-match winning streak but suffering two back-to-back matches before getting back to winning ways with a 43-19 victory against a very strong Garsfontein side, who was unbeaten at that stage. Expectation is high ahead of Saturday’s Premier Interschools fixture, it will surely prove to be a memorable one.

Rugby at Grey College

Grey College has served Bloemfontein, the Free State, South Africa, and the world well over the past 150 years. Grey has been able to adjust and remain relevant in an ever-changing environment. The brand is known and revered throughout South Africa, internationally even, and the products of the school make a positive difference wherever they are. Parallel medium education, tolerance, respect for others and loyalty to the school are not only traditions, but firm foundations in a global village. Grey is structured on these foundations, and it is constantly adapting to new developments. The wave of change washing over our country confirms the value of Grey’s traditions.

Grey has produced 46 Springbok rugby players. Since WWII it has produced more Springbok players than any other school in SA, their latest being centre Francois Venter.

List of Grey Springboks

Rugby at Monnas

When the school opened in 1921 ML Brink held a meeting of boys to find out what games they wanted to play.  They all opted for soccer, as was the custom on the bare fields of the Highveld at the time, and he then democratically decided that they would play rugby! The school played its first match on 1 April 1921 and drew 3-3 with Krugersdorp High School.

Since then, the school has had many great sides – as in 1924, 1953, 1979, 1980, 1984 and 1993 when the team scored 143 tries in 28 matches.

Monument first won the Administrator’s Cup in 1953.  It won again in 1973 and then again in 1992 and for the seven years which followed. In 2003 they were Media 24 National Schools champions. These are all huge achievements given the number and quality of the competing schools. After Brink famous coaches have been Jan Lange (1936-53), Pa Pelser, the famous Transvaal loose forward and coach, Hans Coetzee and currently Wynand Moolman.

List of Monnas Springboks

GENERAL

• Monnas celebrated their 90^th Birthday in 2011
• Monnas represented RSA in the Sanix Youth Rugby International Tournament in Fukuoko, Japan in 2012
• Paul Willemse and Marais Schmidt were part of the victorious 2012 SA Under 20 team that won the Under 20 World Cup
• FW De Klerk was a pupil at Monnas
• In 2011 both the SA Schools and SA Academy u/18 teams captains came from Monnas: Ruan Steenkamp (SA Schools) and Christopher Newman (SA Academy)
• Biggest recent achievement was when three old boys – Willem Alberts, Jaco Taute and Heinke van der Merwe – represented Souh Africa against Ireland on the end-of-year tour in 2012
• In April 2013 Ruan Steenkamp was appointed captain of SA u/20 World Cup squad            

The game will be broadcast live on Saturday, 28 May from 13h55 on SuperSport Variety 4.