[imagesource:here]

I can vividly recall the long drive out to Paarl for an early morning schoolboy rugby fixture, only to receive a hiding, watch the First XV take a hiding, before piling into the car for the long drive home and tending to the aches and pains.

It’s a struggle that many who were schooled in the Southern Suburbs can relate to, but I don’t know anyone who has ever been on the receiving end of scores like those from the Grey College (Bloemfontein) and Glenwood matches this past weekend.

SA Rugby Mag with these ridiculous scorelines:

The U15D team beat Glenwood 221-0, while Grey’s seventh and sixth teams in the same age category won 164-0 and 152-0 respectively; and in the U16 age group the C-team hammered Glenwood 150-0 and the fourth team clinched a 147-0 victory.

Overall, Grey chalked up nine 100-plus scores and the one 200-plus score. Additionally, Grey’s 1st XV inflicted an 83-10 defeat on their Glenwood counterparts.

Average score across the 19 matches? 105-6.

Double centuries and racking up 150s as well – I think that’s taking a things a little too far.

Many in the rugby fraternity agree:

Outspoken Diamantveld High coach Jaco Dames openly criticised the referee and the organisers for allowing the games to continue after the Grey scores reached triple figures. Dames says one-sided matches which result in humiliating defeats will discourage youngsters from playing rugby again.

Grey College’s director of rugby, Wessel du Plessis, echoed Dames’ sentiments, saying if he was close to the field where the 221 points were scored, he’d have stopped the match.

‘I definitely would have stopped that 200-point game had I been in close proximity to the field where they played. After a while, the Glenwood players just stood there and refused to play further. It must have been so humiliating for them and their supporters,’ Du Plessis told Netwerk24.com.

If the kids are just standing around and letting the opposition run riot, the referee is a fool for allowing the match to continue.

I’m sure a few Grey dads on the sideline were loving it, but that’s not what schoolboy rugby is supposed to be about.

[source:sarugbymag]