As competing schools embraced high performance over the past decade, Bishops was slow to recognise what success in the ultra-competitive Western Cape schoolboy rugby environment required. Our results have reflected this. Furthermore, our culture has suffered because of these results. Both our approach to rugby and the culture that surrounds it – players, coaches, supporters – require rejuvenation.
For multiple reasons, the College has fewer masters able or willing to coach rugby, and as such, the rugby programme actually cannot operate without third party coaches. Rugby is also very different to other school sports in that it is an incredibly physical game that requires an excellent base level of strength and conditioning to ensure not only the enjoyment of this great team sport, but also secure the basic safety of our boys. This requires time, equipment, and skilled coaches.
Having lost our competitiveness, and indeed, relevance, in 2023 the School co-opted a High Performance Rugby Committee (HPRC) to implement and oversee the Bishops rugby programme, focusing primarily on our “This is Bishops” game model, together with 3rd party coach acquisition and development, and our coaching infrastructure.
The Bishops Way
Bishops Rugby has an important place in rugby. Our style embodies the flair and expression that rugby needs, particularly given the more conservative approaches that have become popular as the game has evolved. While we sacrifice neither physicality nor toughness, we privilege space, passing, and movement above all else. We aspire to and intend to win, but we insist on winning the Bishops Way.
The Way Forward
The response has been to task the HPRC with restoring Bishops to its former status as a top-tier rugby school. Over 3 years, we are implementing various initiatives that, together, create the preconditions for future success.
Our approach is highly integrated with the Bishops’ educating philosophy, recognising that rugby, together with other school sports, is part of an education mix that includes culture, academics and spiritual growth. Our outlook as a committee is that private school education implies excellence across the board and that rugby should strive for and be held to these standards of excellence in line with all other aspects of the school.
High-Performance Rugby Committee Personnel
The committee consists of the following members:
- Rob Fleck
- Rich Evans
- Andrew “Tank” Lanning
- Rowan Belchers
- Wes Chetty (1st XV coach)
- Ronald Jacobs (TIC College Rugby)
- Brendan Fogerty (TIC Prep Rugby)
High Performance Committee Portfolios
- Mental fitness
- Coach development
- Game Model
- Parent & OD engagement
- Bishops Rugby Supporters Club
- Measurement/data
- School policy alignment
- Funding & engaging with the Fund Committee
- Recruiting
- Culture
- Leadership/captaincy
- Communication
Three-year Plan
A 3-year plan has been created that sets up a pathway to future rugby success.
Year 1 (2024): Stabilisation
- Recruitment focus
- Financial facilities in place
- Bishops Rugby culture re-established
Year 2 (2025): Momentum
- Game Model established
- Traction through portfolios
- Improved competitiveness
Year 3 (2026): High-performance
- Reputation restored
- Bishops widely known for success through running rugby
- Recruits seeking Bishops out of their own volition
Rugby Programme
The HPRC is tasked with installing and managing a curriculum-based rugby programme and culture, which we have called “This is Bishops”. Through the HPRC, it is implemented by skilled and respected coaching, conditioning and medical staff, using the latest equipment and digital support systems. More on Bishops rugby vision and programme in a future article.
Agreement governing our collaboration with the school
The school, including Headmaster Tony Reeler, fully supports the HPC, with the collaborative relationship between the parties outlined in a Mutual Cooperation Agreement (MCA), giving the HPRC a stable platform to build future momentum.
Momentum that will require funding, hence the primary “Outside the white lines” project for the HPRC and School being the rejuvenation of the Bishops Rugby Development Fund. More on that in a future article.
A message from the HPRC …
As a committee we intend to be outward-facing and communicative about our progress. We appreciate the need to provide a reason to believe in the rejuvenation process and that no information gaps exist in which false narratives can find a home. Bishops Rugby has excellent DNA stretching back over decades, and we see no reason these past successes cannot become future successes.
Rejuvenating a rugby program is analogous to the concept of ‘ant work’: micro-contributions over time that eventually result in a significant outcome. Implementing this plan will require patience, resolve, positivity and support. Everyone involved with Bishops Rugby will be asked to play a role and we, as the committee, request your positive support – both financially and otherwise. Whilst the general condition of Bishops Rugby is currently not meeting expectations, there is a detailed and well considered plan in place, and it is being implemented by excellent people.