I was at a proper derby on Saturday

 

Were you at the game on Saturday? I was, along with, I’d guess about 12 000 others. You couldn’t get a mouse in at Jeppe. The stands, the koppie, the surrounding trees, every bit of grass around the field held spectators dressed in red or black and white, and there must have been another 1000 or so who were behind them, without a view of the field, but happy to be part of the atmosphere.

It was a special edition of one of Joburg’s oldest schoolboy rugby derbies – KES and Jeppe have been playing each other since 1935 and Saturday’s 27-26 win for the Reds was their 60^th against Jeppe’s 27. It was special, for me anyway, because it was back after the two-year Covid gap and that was enough. The size of the crowd, and the good cheer and civility on display make me think many others felt the same way.

On their records going in, not many would have expected Jeppe to win, but after conceding two tries early on, they lifted themselves and sheer passion, bravery and determination almost earned them victory. The KES boys were as brave and passionate, they refused to accept that they were going to lose and they duly got the last gasp try that brought a victory that will stand out among those 60.

It was everything you’d expect from a derby – a proper one.

Reviewing the other school rugby action around the country I was amused at how many of the other big games were called derbies. The Jeppe vs KES game was the only one on. A real derby is between neighbours and it’s a clash that goes beyond a routine traditional fixture.

It’s in the origin of the term. The original derby game was on Merseyside: Liverpool vs Everton. Look at Google Maps and you’ll see that Anfield and Goodison Park are less than 1km apart and separated by Stanley Park. The two grounds are actually both on the Stanley Estate which was the property of the Earl of Derby. That’s why when they play each other it’s called the Derby game.

It’s not just about distance, though. I’ve never been to a Merseyside derby, but I’ve watched a couple of them on TV, and I’ve spoken to people who have been there – it’s definitely not just another Premier League fixture.

The biggest proper derby in South Africa – in the world, the people down there claim – is the Paarl Gim vs Paarl Boys’ High game. There is simply nothing like it. The town is split in half and the buildup to the game runs for weeks beforehand. Things have changed over the years and schools no longer draw pupils from their immediate surroundings, but the Paarl schools, in the past, were referred to as “onder-dorp” and “bo-dorp”: upper and lower town, the wine farmers vs the townsfolk. There’s a conflict there that adds spice to the encounter.

KES and Jeppe are 5km apart by road, so they are also close neighbours, and The KES vs Jeppe game is similar to the Paarl game in terms of the contrast between the traditional socio-economic status of the communities involved. It’s Houghton vs Jeppestown, Northern vs Southern Joburg. The fact that the boys now come from all over town, and many of the rugby players from all over the country, notwithstanding, that difference in origins is something the old boys like to shout about – in a nice way – and it makes for a great occasion.

This year, there were some 22 black boys out of the 30 in the starting lineups of the KES and Jeppe teams which speaks volumes about transformation and inclusivity. I wonder if those boys found the massed pipe bands that preceded their game as moving as I did. Mind you, all of them have grown up on campuses where the skirl of the pipers practicing is always there somewhere in the background, every day, so it wouldn't have been strange to them. Incidentally, there were quite a few black faces, and some girls, among the pipers and drummers – another well done to the schools.

A few years ago one of the school sport websites ran a poll asking its readers to name what they saw as the biggest schoolboy rugby derbies in the country. Not surprisingly, the Paarl derby came out tops. Second was K-Day, the Grahamstown clash between St Andrew’s College and Kingswood, and third was Jeppe vs King Edward.

The Pretoria Boys’ High vs Affies game never made the top five. In my experience it’s one of the biggest, maybe it wasn’t voted in because the website didn’t have too many Afrikaans-speaking readers to go for it.  It’s another derby in the purest form of the term – between schools that share a fence line. There’s a tribal intensity to it and the results down the years have shown that playing records going into the game are not necessarily an indicator of what’s going to happen on the day.

 The top five derbies listed in that poll were: 1 Paarl Gimnasium vs Paarl Boys High, 2 Kingswood College vs St Andrew’s College, 3 KES vs Jeppe, 4 Bishops vs Rondebosch, 5 Hilton vs Michaelhouse.

None of the other “derbies” last Saturday qualify. Paul Roos vs Paarl Gim comes close, but Gimmies’ derby is against Booishaai. SACS and Bishops are close neighbours, but SACS regards Wynberg as their big one. Westville and Glenwood are in the same town, but Glenwood’s real rival is DHS. That game’s not being played this year, which is something for another blog.

I was fortunate to be at the Jeppe vs KES derby on Saturday, and it was something special.