Middies will belong in the Noordvaal Cup. This is the motto for the 2026 season.
According to newly appointed Director of Rugby, Christiaan Gouws, the school is going to fight for its continued inclusion in the prestigous Cup division.
“Belong, is the theme I am working hard to instill within the group. So far the buy in from everyone has been positive,” Gouws said.
It will be a tough task for the newly promoted Middelburg Hoërskool as they will be up against established programmes such Garsfontein, Waterkloof, Noordheuwel, Helpmekaar and Monument. Transvalia and Nelspruit were the teams that were relegated to the Plate, two strong programmes in their own right.
According to Gouws, the B and C teams are the decisive factor in the cup. “Our biggest challenge will be to deliver every weekend, with all our teams. I think we have the numbers, but our depth will be tested,” he said. When other competitions, tournaments and festivals are taken into account all teams are in for a long and gruelling season.
“Our environment has to be healthy, if players, coaches and the wider community believe in something then we are creating a legacy,” Gouws muses.
On the tactical and technical side, gouws wants Middies to be able to play an axciting, attacking brand of rugby.
“You need to be able to score more than 30 points in cup games. Then you also need to concede less than 30 points. So we will attack but our defence will back that up,” he said.
Middelburg will want to avoid only having one season in the Noordvaal Cup, all their teams will need to be firing on all cylinders when the season starts. As was evidenced by Transvalia this year having only a few teams doing well isn’t enough.
