Paul Roos coach: Culture key to unbeaten run in 2024

02/13/2025 05:30 AM

INTERVIEW: Paul Roos coach Corné Uys reveals how the foundations were laid for a 15-game winning streak and how South Africa's leading schoolboy side is shaping up ahead of the 2025 season.

Paul Roos thrashed Grey College 36-3 in the final fixture of the 2024 season, and in doing so, extended their winning run to 15 matches.

Having beaten all of the major contenders during a landmark campaign, the Stellenbosch-based side finished the year at the top of the unofficial schoolboy rankings.

What made that group so special?

When Rugby365com put this question to Uys, the former Stormers and Cheetahs centre took his time before delivering a considered response.

"Relationships are more important than anything else," Uys said.

"Before you look at the Xs and Os and all the technical analysis, before you run any drills on the training field, you have to look at the relationships within the side and what you stand for as a team.

"That was the first piece of the puzzle for us: to build that culture, that trust.

"You could be the greatest coach with all the technical knowledge in the world, but as the old adage about the coach-player relationship suggests, they won't care about how much you know if they don't know how much you care.

"Relationships are essential. The other rugby stuff comes later."

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Preparations for the 2025 season are already at an advanced stage.

Once more, Uys and his coaching staff have placed an emphasis on culture, and feel that the team's experience at the 2024 World Schools Festival in Abu Dhabi this December could set the tone for the year to come.

"The World Schools Festival was a great experience for us on several levels," said Uys.

"For starters, it gave the Grade 10s and 11s [who are now Grade 11s and 12s] a chance to come together and lay the foundations for the 2025 season.

"You can't underestimate how important that is, as we had a similar experience on the tour to Ireland in late 2023, and that tour allowed us to build a strong culture for 2024.

"Those tours give us as coaches a chance to see who is up for the fight in tough situations, how the respective combos are working, and how the culture is taking shape.

"We're very happy with how the World Schools Festival panned out [despite a loss to Kelston Boys' High from New Zealand in the final], as it's given us a good base for the 2025 season."

In schoolboy rugby, relatively few teams maintain their momentum from year to year, especially after a large number of First XV players graduate at the same time.

Can Paul Roos buck the trend, despite losing most of their senior stars in 2024?

"We've lost a fair bit of that team," admits Uys.

"Eight players who featured in the final match of the regular season were Grade 12s – and we were already without four other Grade 12s for that game, who were away with SA Schools.

"We've kept four or five of the regular starters, though, and that is encouraging.

"You want to have a good balance between older and younger players at the start of the season, and we still have some quality senior players such as hooker Altus Rabie and lock Truspe Schoeman.

"That's key for our set piece, as we won't be starting from scratch."

Uys chuckles when he's asked whether he'll be using the same game plan and management strategies as last year, given that they yielded 15 consecutive victories.

"You know, if there was a definitive formula for success out there, then every coach would be using it in an attempt to get results.

"There are so many factors that contribute to an unbeaten season.

"As I've said, getting the culture right, and building that trust between the players, and between the coaches and the players, is essential.

"Then it's about executing on the field, and to be honest, hoping that a few balls bounce your way.

"We were fortunate to have so many excellent leaders within that culture last season.

"Riley Norton [who was recently selected by the Junior Boks for the tour to Georgia] was an excellent captain, and he had a lot of good leaders under him. They were men of character who led by example, but they also had a deep understanding of the game.

"Then we had quite a big talent pool, and were able to call on players throughout a long season.

"So there's no short or definitive answer… you have to consider all of the above, and as I've said, you also need a bit of luck."

Grey College, Paarl Gymnasium and Affies were among the top-performing teams in 2024, and will have a point to prove when meeting Paul Roos later this season.

Paarl Boys, Monument and other burgeoning teams might consider a showdown with Paul Roos slightly less daunting than last year – given the latter side's loss of personnel.

But as was the case in 2024, Uys and his team will look to adapt to the unique challenges of the schoolboy season.

"It may have been a dream to finish the season unbeaten, but we never made the mistake of thinking too far ahead," he confirmed.

"We divided the season into blocks, and attacked each set of matches with everything we had.

"It sounds like a cliché, but that's what it means to take everything week by week. After every block, we'd take a look at our squad and the injury situation, and reassess.

"The challenge was different, for example, in the period before the players went off to Craven Week. And then in the third term, it was a whole new ball game.

"We've taken a similar approach in 2025, and if we look at the first block of the season, everything is building towards the Noord Suid festival in late March. That's our Mount Everest, for this first block of matches.

"There are a lot of boxes that we need to tick along the way, but by the time that festival arrives, we want to be at our best."

The Noord Suid festival will be staged at the Markotter fields in Stellenbosch this season, with heavy hitters such as Grey College, Affies, Paarl Boys, Paarl Gym, Monument, Rondebosch, Jeppe, Boland Landbou, EG Jansen and Waterkloof in attendance.

Paul Roos, the hosts, will face Garsfontein and Noordeheuwel over the course of the tournament.

"It's really going to be special to have that festival in Stellenbosch," said Uys.

"Rugby is massive in this region, and there's all the romance of Danie Craven and the stadium up the road at Maties.

"We've got new lights at the Markotter this year, and we're hoping that people turn out in their numbers and create a vibe like the Varsity Cup."

While some school teams are more well resourced than others, Paul Roos would do well to treat each of their opponents with respect.

Last year, Jeppe stunned Grey College, while Milnerton claimed historic wins against Rondebosch and Bishops.

Uys feels that every schoolboy team in the country should take note of those results.

"I'd say that the gap between the so-called bigger and smaller schools is closing.

"More schools are investing energy and resources into their rugby programmes, and are reaping the rewards.

"You look at Bobby [Heinrich Martin] from Milnerton, who is the current SA Schools coach. For me, that shows how strong the depth is in South African coaching.

"In terms of the schools schedule, we know that we can take nothing for granted.

"Anyone can beat anyone else on the day, and if you lose concentration, you will catch a hiding."