Three back line speedsters from the Grey College rugby factory in City of Roses have been included in the South African Under 18 team who will contest the Capricorn Group Sevens tournament for Under 19 teams in Windhoek, Namibia this weekend.
The three Grey boys in the team, Janco van Heyningen, Ricus Pretorius and Henk Cilliers resulted in Grey scoring the distinction of being the school producing the most representatives in the mentioned green and gold. The closest another school could get to this distinction is Durban High Schools with two members in the team.
Van Heyningen (centre), Pretorius (centre) and Cilliers (right wing) already made their presence felt in top rugby schools clashes at national level in 2016 when they played for the Grey 1st XV in their Under 17 (Grade 11) year.
Van Heyningen must be rate as one of the fastest school rugby players in the country. He proved this by scoring some quick victories early in the 2017 athletics season with several victories and quick times in the 100m and 200m events.
And, the 100m and 200m is not even his specialist event. He cemented himself into South African athletics statistic books in 2016 when he clocked a world class 13,74 in the 110m hurdles in the youth age group. This performance ranks him under the top 10 hurdlers South Africa has ever produced in this event and age group. The mentioned time ranked him among the top 30 performances in the world for 2016, as well.
Van Heyningen also represented the South African schools  in the 15-man code last year.
Yet another Free Stater, Andrew Kota (Welkom Gimnasium ) has been selected to travel to Windhoek for the mentioned South African sevens team. Kota’s, who is a hotshot right winger, speed should come in handy for the South African team, who must be considered favourites to reign victorious in Windhoek.
However, the South Africans will first have to see off the likes of the hosts Namibia, Germany, Botswana and a South African All Stars team before they return to South Africa with the winners’ trophy in hand.
The rest of the South African team is:
Phedulani Buthelezi and Senele Nohamba (Durban High School), Mark Snyman (Helpmekaar), Muzi Nyakane (Ben Vorster), Angelo Davids (Stellenberg), Ruben Beytell (EG Jansen), Henco Martins (Paarl Gimnasium), Marnus Potgieter (Afrikaans Hoërskool Pretoria), Sebastiaan Jobb (Duineveld). – RUFUS BOTHA
