Rugby at Michaelhouse

In 1896, in Loop Street, Canon Todd, Rector of Michaelhouse, and an enthusiastic supporter of rugby football, ruled that rugby would be the major winter sport. He appointed a Cambridge Blue, J.C.A. Rigby, to coach the boys. The Chronicle of 1897 states that: “Brain power had to be exercised and that by setting the blood freely in motion, rugby especially was beneficial to the brain.” By the end of the first season: “the game had been thoroughly ground into every Michaelhouse boy.”

Hilton and ‘Maritzburg College were the only schools that provided competition for Michaelhouse at that time; and these schools provided the nursery for Natal ruby in later years. Masters played in the sides in the early years, as there were, initially, only fifteen boys to choose from. One of the teachers, Jock Rigby, later played for Blackheath and England. In 1897, the first match against College was lost 0-3, followed by a league defeat, 3-11. In 1904, the side was unbeaten, apart from a defeat against Hilton. This game was played in the old Town Square in Pietermaritzburg – other games were played against civilian sides and army units. The 1906 side was unbeaten, captained by C.G. Roach and bolstered by three masters. Pryce-Moor was the star of the side, was picked for Natal, but couldn’t play. His son, Myles, was a Springbok Trialist in 1951.

In 1908, 7 Old Boys played for Natal, followed by 5 in 1910. In these sides was Herbie Taylor, later to become one of South Africa’s greatest batsmen, in his or any other era in South Africa’s cricket. He could well have been Natal’s first rugby Springbok, and was selected for the Springbok Trials to choose a side to tour Britain in 1912. The years 1921 and 1922 were vintage years, with 7 players in the Natal Schools side in 1921 and an unbeaten season in 1922, (the draw with Hilton being the only stain on the record). In 1929, 5 Old Boys played for Natal, and in 1928, Michaelhouse pioneered the 3-4-1 formation – heartily disapproved of by The Natal Mercury. Durban High School was the opposition in this instance. 1932 saw the first win over Hilton since 1925, and the 1934 side won all of its schools’ matches, with 7 Natal Schools' players. In 1936, the school drew one game, winning the others. This period before the war is sometimes thought of as one of unrivalled glory for Michaelhouse rugby.

There have been no unbeaten sides since the ‘golden age’, but a number of good sides have emerged since.

L. Chabana was the first black boy to captain Michaelhouse, and N. Zungu the first to captain Natal Schools, 1991. Both of these boys played for the South African Nampak teams.

A number of Michaelhouse Old Boys have made their mark in rugby during the post-war years. ‘Chick’ Henderson, Chairman of the South African Barbarians, played for and captained Transvaal, was a Springbok Trialist, and represented Scotland and the Barbarians. Kim Elgie, Michaelhouse’s only double international, played rugby for Scotland, and cricket for South Africa. He and ‘Chick” Henderson played together in the same Scottish side. Peter Quested, Natal 1963-66, pioneered the adventurous type of full-back play, now so evident today. Peter Taylor, regarded as one of the top provincial captains, was extremely unlucky never to have been selected for South Africa. In 1958 he captained the Junior Springboks to victory against the French – the Springboks lost their game against the same French side. Robin Standing captained Natal in 1951, and also represented S.A. at yachting in the 1960 Olympics. Walter Butcher, on his return from Oxford, was picked for the Springbok Trials in 1956, before he had played for Natal. Rob Ferguson played for Natal against the British Lions in 1974, and the French in 1975. Bruce Robertson toured South America in 1975 with the South African Oribi side. Richard Tomlinson, Simon Francis, Ian Lambie and Brett Lambert also represented Natal; while Simon Norwood and Laurie Stewart played for Transvaal as did Bruce Sutherland, and Tim Seymour captained Oxford. Finally, Rob Harkinson, stands high in the list of Natal’s most-capped players, having represented the Province in 110 games (1981-88). Rob was Natal player of the year in 1984, and also represented South African Schools and South African U/19 sides and was a Springbok trialist.

Representatives are recorded as follows:

Provincial

H Taylor (Natal)

B Harvey (Natal)

P Quested (Natal)

P Taylor

R Standing (Natal)

C Pearson (Natal)

R Fergusson (Natal)

R Tomlinson (Natal)

S Francis (Natal)

I Lambie (Natal)

B Lambert (Natal)

H Kruger (Natal)

R Bates (Natal)

T Harkinson (Natal)

B Edwards (KZN)

P Celliers (KZN)

C Henderson (Transvaal)

A Ireland (Transvaal)

S Norwood (Transvaal)

L Stewart (Transvaal)

B Sutherland (Transvaal)

D Raw (South Western Districts)

A Pienaar (Falcons)

R Diack (Western Province)

P Lambie (Sharks)

G Cronje (Sharks)

R Cronje (Sharks)

P Howard (Western Province)

M Richards (Lions)

C Lindsay (Kings)

L Albertse (Bulls)

R Combrinck (Lions)

Provincial 7’s

N Jackson (Cheetahs)

Springboks

P Lambie

P Cilliers

R Combrinck

R Cronje

Springbok 7’s

M Richards