Because I'm a 'rugby nerd' I have devised a system to determine the Champion ISA Rugby School. Points for 1st, 2nd and 3rd goes like this:
1st XV - 9,8,7
2nd XV - 6,5,4
3rd XV - 3,2,1
Age Group As - 6,5,4
Age Group Bs - 3,2,1
Based on this points system (and doing a bit shared points for ties) I come up with this:
Auggies 42.5
Stannies 32
Oakhill 24
St Pats 13.5
St Greg's 10
Pius 4
Kinross 3
The above seems to pass the pub test and feels right - so Auggies the Champion ISA Rugby School for 2019.
Some observations:
Auggies - finished top 3 in all but 3rd XV - depth is still good.
Stannies - finished Top 3 in all but 13s - depth still good and the 13s will be fine as they get older and the Stannies rugby culture permeates their being and the boarding school food bulks them up.
St Gregs - apart from 1st XV and 14B did not finish top 3 in any other competition - serious lack of depth.
Oakhill - whilst not as strong as recent years in the opens, there is still depth in the age groups.
St Pats - 1st XV winless but 2nd XV runners up, younger age groups struggled apart from 14As - lack of depth.
Kinross - 3rd XV premiers, all the rest must be good at something but it's not rugby - serious lack of depth.
Pius - 13s did well but the rest, as they say, made up the numbers.
Looks to me that Auggies and Stannies will dominate for the foreseeable future, with Oakhill providing resistance on occasions. St Gregs appear to be a "one hit wonder" and St Pats, Kinross and Pius need to have a serious look at their rugby programs otherwise they are destined for ongoing poor performances. The biggest concern for me is the numbers start to drop off at Gregs, St Pats, Kinross and Pius, with the competition dwindling away to a 7s comp in the next 10 years (parents concerns about concussion isn't going to help either). The rugby heavyweights at Daceyville need to take control and do away with the GPS, CAS and ISA comps and bring in a Divisional structure that provides even competition to all participants so that a 15-a-side comp remains.
Any how, well done Auggies - looking forward to 2020!!!