The Bishops Rugby Team of 1992

The 1992 Bishops team were indeed a truly memorable squad, packed with talent and coached by a legend.

Will this team go down as one of the best of all time? In some circles the answer is yes, but when one looks at their results they likely just fall short to walk in the steps of some of our most revered schools teams of the past.

Yes they did best traditional powerhouses of the time and yes they were ranked by SA rugby magazine as the joint 1^st placed team in the country (sharing with Paarl Boys) but they also did have a loss to Stellenberg. So why then do we include this team that splits opinions amongst our TBT moments?

Simply put, they likely will go down as one of the most entertaining if not most entertaining squads of all time. The rugby played was simply sublime, to say it was easy on the eye just may be the understatement of the century.

PLAYERS

Selborne Boome was immense at lock, he provided the steel needed in the forwards that gave their backline which was the talk of the town the front foot ball they needed to dazzle. Boome would go on to represent the Springboks.

The backline is where it gets very interesting. Robbie Fleck is probably better known as a coach to the younger generation but he was a very handy centre to say the least. He went on to become a legend for Western Province and the Stormers as well as playing alongside Boome as a Springbok.

The halfback combination could very go down as one of the best in the history of school rugby. At scrum-half was Dave Von Hoesslin who would go on to form a formidable half-back pairing with Gaffie du Toit at Griquas and was eventually awarded a Springbok cap. Then we move onto his partner, and wow was this kid exceptional – we think you may of heard of him.

Herchelle Gibbs is known as a South African cricket legend, one of the most naturally gifted cricketers to ever grace the field. But before he was Gibbs the Protea legend he was one of the best if not the best high school fly-half in school rugby history.

Naas Botha one of the all time greats was a known admirer, he called Gibbs the best fly-half he had ever seen play at school level and that says a lot coming from Botha. Gibbs could do it all, his accuracy with the boot, his ability to tear open opposition defenses and his sheering pace left all opponents scratching their heads. He was simply put a genius, a once in a generation sort of player that one feels privileged just to have seen play.

INTERNATIONALS

Robbie Fleck – Springbok

Selborne Boome – Springbok

Dave von Hoesslin – Springbok

Herchelle Gibbs – SA Schools

THE STATS

Average Score = 40 – 9

THE RESULTS