Usually we just list the rankings and provide a link to our scoring methodology which can be found by clicking here.

This week we thought we would provide some context and maybe give the reader an idea on the why and the how in terms of certain movements. Despite providing links on our Facebook posts there at times seems confusion or outrage at our rankings.

WARNING, this could get boring so if you don’t want to read through all of this just skip to the rankings below.

Paarl Boys leapfrogged Garsfontein although both enjoyed good wins over the weekend, the difference here was the quality of opposition where HJS played a category “B” team in Bishops and won by over 20 points while Garsies achieved the same margin but played Marais Viljoen which is deemed a “Category D” team.

Outeniqua suffered a 10-0 loss to Oakdale but dropped 1 place, again we are looking at quality of opposition – the fact that Oakdale are a category “A” team and the margin of loss means the Kwaggas still scored 51 points for this fixture. We try and reward teams for playing against tough opposition, so although the Kwaggas scored 51 points with a loss it is worth more than Bishops win over Strand (Category E) in which they secured a 12-7 win netting them a total of only 35 points ( 10 for a win over a Category E team, 10 for a home win and 15 for their 5 point margin of victory). Had Bishops beaten Strand by more than 20 points they would have secured a total of 55 points with their win margin in this case being 35 points. So although some schools may play weaker opposition at times if they secure a runaway win they and away from home they can still go above 60 points for example.

We must also remember that the season is dynamic, and people look generally at recent form and forget about other fixtures. The fact that Oakdale beat Outeniqua and drew with Grey College suggests they belong in the Top 10 logically, but people forget about losses such as Monnas (18-41) and Affies (7-25) that count against them, further Oakdale have had tough fixtures but we are confident they will eventually get into the Top 10 with more favourable fixtures.

Wynberg are another controversial omission from the Top 10, beating Bishops and Rondebosch once again makes one think they deserve a place – we do not work off what is deserved or not deserved we simply punch numbers in so as to avoid any emotional attachment it should be understood. Wynberg have certainly packed a punch but where they have lost points along the season were their fixtures against St Stithians (D), Soweto (E), Clifton (E) and Parel Vallei (E) which account for more than a third of their fixtures thus far. However if we were to look at their last 4 fixtures they would then they would rank among the top 5 in the country.

Anyway, enough with the ranting and raving. Exciting news it that we are working with a developer on a web app that will allow schools/volunteers to enter scores from across the country and thus give us a full national ranking with every school involved. We are trying to do this across the age groups and maybe this will help. We are also looking at the formula and see if any tweaks can be made.

Remember this is just for a bit of fun, I know that things can be pretty serious in school rugby but it should all be taken within the right spirit. Below your latest Top 30 rankings.