Pretoria Boys High School will celebrate its 125th anniversary in 2026 and one of the sports projects with which this milestone will be celebrated, is a spectacular Easter Rugby Festival on 4 and 6 April.

With this festival the school is bringing together some of the finest schoolboy rugby teams in the country.

Set on the historic Brooks Field, the festival promises two days of outstanding competition, sportsmanship and tradition.

Rugby supporters can look forward to an exceptional line-up of schools competing at this landmark event.

Participating schools are: Pretoria Boys High School, Parktown Boys High School, Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool (Affies), Grey High School, Michaelhouse, South African College High School (SACS), Selborne College, Jeppe High School for Boys, Rondebosch Boys’ High School and Maritzburg College.

“The festival is a fitting way to mark the school’s milestone year. It is with great pleasure that Pretoria Boys High welcomes the many schools and visitors to this Easter Rugby Festival in the same year that we celebrate our school’s 125th anniversary. It is a wonderful occasion as we celebrate everything great about our school, and at the same time, everything that is great about healthy schoolboy sporting rivalry,” said Greg Hassenkamp, headmaster of the school.

He also highlighted the strong historical ties between the participating schools, noting that five of them – Affies, Jeppe, Parktown, Maritzburg College and Michaelhouse – also took part in the PBHS Centenary Rugby Festival 25 years ago, reinforcing long-standing relationships built through schoolboy sport.

Director of Rugby, Paul Anthony, said it is a privilege to welcome such respected rugby schools to the festival.

“It is on this hallowed ground of Brooks Field that the school will host its 125 Celebration Rugby Festival. What a privilege it is to have these great schools with us, and we look forward to a weekend of schoolboy rugby in its purest form,” he remarked.

Beyond the action on the field, the festival offers a lively atmosphere for families, Old Boys and the wider

community. Visitors can expect a festive environment with hospitality areas, food stalls and activations that make the day enjoyable for both rugby supporters and casual spectators.

With ten leading rugby schools gathering in Pretoria, the PBHS Easter Rugby Festival promises a memorable showcase of schoolboy rugby at its best.

* From the beginning of the school’s existence, rugby was one of the sports played to a particularly high standard at Pretoria Boys High and the school boasts a rich rugby history.

Although Pretoria Boys High has not been part of any official league for years, the school’s rugby teams – like other schools with the same profile – annually play in derbies nationwide against schools similar to those participating in this weekend’s Easter Rugby Festival.  

However, for many years this school was a force in the league that is now known as the Noordvaal Cup. This league officially started in 1920 as the Inter High Schools Cup, but two years later it was renamed the AG Robertson Cup. After that, from 1934 onwards, it was known as the Administrators Cup for decades and later it was known by names such as the Director’s Trophy, Beeld Trophy and VirSeker Cup.

Pretoria Boys High dominated this tournament in the first 10 years of its existence. They won the AG Robertson Cup three years in a row (1922-24) and again twice in 1927 and 1928.

* Between 1924 and 2006, Pretoria Boys High produced four Springboks. The first was Nico Bosman, who made his debut as a Springbok against Ronald Cove-Smith’s British Lions team in 1924.

The school then had to wait 71 years for their second Springbok, Robbie Brink, who was part of the Springbok squad that would win South Africa’s first World Cup in 1995.

Another World Cup winner, and still South Africa’s most experienced Test captain, John Smit, was the school’s third Springbok. He made his Test debut in 2000 and captained the team in 83 of his eventual 111 Tests.

Pretoria Boys High’s last Springbok was Chilliboy Ralepelle, who played the first of his 25 Tests in 2006.

* The action at the weekend’s Easter Rugby Festival kicks off on Saturday 6 April at 09:00 when the clash between Parktown Boys High School from Johannesburg and Grey High School from the Eastern Cape will begin proceedings. The main match on day one is between Pretoria Boys High School and South African College High School (SACS) from the Western Cape. This match kicks off at 15:00.

On Monday 6 April, another of the Eastern Cape’s schools rugby giants, Selborne College, will be in action against Parktown Boys High School when the day’s action kicks off at 09:00.  

Pretoria Boys High School will then play against Rondebosch Boys’ High School from Cape Town in the final match of the festival at 15:00 on Monday.

See the full program for the two days on the poster above.

For more information, visit the festival’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/events/2481138338997586/?active_tab=discussion

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