Last week, I discovered that St Stithians, the moneyed school in northern Joburg, had appointed a sports scientist.

This is either a sign that the world has gone cuckoo or that a top school has recognised the need for an expert in drawing the very best from its learners. Happily, it is the latter.

The horse has bolted on the idea that school sports are quaintly Corinthian; the move by Saints is designed to ensure sportsmen achieve optimum training, nutrition and rest to produce excellent results. Competition at school level, as we all know, is intense at best, fierce at worst.

“I’m not sure there is a local precedent for such an appointment,” said Tim Nuttall, rector of the school, “but we want to ensure we do the right thing all round.”

[pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]The Saints production line may have a few more pleasant surprises in store.[/pullquote]

Indeed, the school already has a High Performance Centre. Having produced Kevin Anderson and Kagiso Rabada in recent years, the Saints production line may have a few more pleasant surprises in store.

This weekend St Stithians host their annual Easter Sports Festival. I’ve been going since the early 1990s and it’s never been less than great fun. The sheer scale of the 105-hectare campus gives the event a big feel and the rugby is always entertaining. Much depends on which schools attend, but invariably there are some traditional powerhouses and a few “exotics” who add to a healthy mix.

Many Springboks played at the Saints festival in their schoolboy years, among them Joel Stransky (Maritzburg College, 1985), Bakkies Botha (HTS Middelburg, 1997), Bobby Skinstad (Hilton College 1993/4) and Schalk Burger (Paarl Gimnasium, 2000).

The festival has expanded over the years and now includes other sports such as basketball, cross country, netball, hockey, tennis and squash. But it is primarily a gathering of rugby types with 25 000-odd spectators making the trip.

The facilities are outstanding and the add-ons of catering and other activities – including a “chill zone” for teens and live bands – make it an agreeable jaunt over the long weekend, whether for just one match or an entire day.

Now in its 34^th year, the festival logistics are staggering. Over 40 schools (both boys and girls) participate with 1000 competitors involved in over 150 fixtures.

I’ll be popping in and out over the long weekend, especially as a number of the fixtures are must-see.

At just R40 per entry, it’s top rugby (and other sport) at a steal.

The 12 rugby schools competing this weekend:

Clifton College (KZN)
Bishops (Western Cape)
DHS (KZN)
Graeme College (Eastern Cape)
Grey High (Eastern Cape)
Michaelhouse (KZN)
Pretoria Boys (Gauteng)
St Alban’s (Gauteng)
St Andrews (Eastern Cape)
St Stithians (Gauteng)
Westville (KZN)
Wynberg (Western Cape)

FIXTURES

(My daily top picks highlighted)

THURSDAY 24 MARCH
TIME	FIELD	TEAM		TEAM
09h45	Baytopp	Clifton	vs	St Albans
11h00	Baytopp	DHS	vs	Bishops
12h15	Baytopp	St Stithians	vs	Graeme College
13h30	Baytopp	PBHS	vs	St Andrews
14h45	Baytopp	Michaelhouse	vs	Wynberg
16h00	Baytopp	Westville	vs	Grey PE
SATURDAY 26 MARCH
TIME	FIELD	TEAM		TEAM
09h45	Baytopp	Clifton	vs	Graeme College
11h00	Baytopp	St Andrews	vs	St Albans
12h15	Baytopp	Grey PE	vs	Bishops
13h30	Baytopp	PBHS	vs	Michaelhouse
14h45	Baytopp	Wynberg	vs	Westville
16h00	Baytopp	Old Stithian Association 7’s	vs	DHS Old Boys 7’s
16h30	Baytopp	St Stithians	vs	DHS
MONDAY 28 MARCH
TIME	FIELD	TEAM		TEAM
09h45	Baytopp	DHS	vs	St Andrews
11h00	Baytopp	Graeme College	vs	PBHS
12h15	Baytopp	Wynberg	vs	St Albans
13h30	Baytopp	St Stithians	vs	Clifton
14h45	Baytopp	Michaelhouse	vs	Grey PE
16h00	Baytopp	Bishops	vs	Westville

Full details of the festival here: http://events.stithian.com/events/easter2016/

There’s also an on-the-go app: www.saintsfestival.com.