A Tribute to Paul Roos.
The school Paul Roos has always been synonymous with rugby.
The school was founded in 1866 as Stellenbosch Gymnasium and was renamed in 1941 after the former student, teacher and school rector Paul Roos.
Paul Johannes Roos (30 Oct 1880 – 22 Sep 1948) also known as Oom Polla, was one of the first South African Springbok captains and led the first Springbok team to tour overseas to Britain in 1906.
Paul Roos was a popular rugby player and was chosen by his own teammates to captain the 1906 overseas tour.
It was during this tour that the South African national rugby union team’s nickname, Springboks was first used. Roos told the newspaper reporters that they were to be called “De Springbokken”, Daily Mail then printed an article referring to the ‘Springboks’.
For 30 years (1910 – 1940) Paul Roos directed the school. Education was his life and rugby his first love.
