There is no doubt that the country’s school system is the foundation for the success of South African rugby and the Springboks.
That point is evident in the annual interschools showdown between Paul Roos Gimnasium (PRG), of Stellenbosch, and Grey College, from Bloemfontein.
Catch all the action live on SuperSport Schools (www.supersportschools.com) or on DStv Channel 216.
The two schools have produced the most and second most Springboks since South Africa played its first Test in 1891. On Saturday, at the Markötter Stadium in Stellenbosch, they will once again face each other in an end of the season clash which will determine which team was South Africa’s premier schoolboy rugby side in 2024 season.
Nothing illustrates the magnitude of their traditional derby more than the fact that all the seated tickets for the match were sold out within minutes almost a month ago when they were released to the public. Paul Roos, then, decided to add another 2 500 seats by bringing in more stands for the day. The additional seating was also gobbled up within minutes of the tickets going on sale.
The good news is that walk-in tickets are still available for supporters who would like to attend and are content with finding a place around the field from which to watch the two heavyweights battle it out. “Even the secret stash of tickets we kept aside has been claimed,” said one administrator from Paul Roos.
The fact that this interschools clash has been affected by SA Rugby’s u18 programme since 2009 is a sad affair. Both schools have regularly contributed players to the Springboks and their annual clash, which often has so much at stake, such as the status of number one this year, deserves more respect from SA Rugby.
This year, three players from Grey College – AJ Meyer (lock), Ethan Adams and Pieter van der Merwe (both centres) will miss out on their final school game in front of a sold-out crowd.
The hosts, meanwhile, will be without their influential captain, Riley Norton (lock), as well as Reuben Kruger (flank) and Adeeb Boraine (scrumhalf).
All six players will represent South Africa’s u18-side against Ireland in Paarl on Friday.
France withdrew from the u18 International Series due to a tragic incident in which one of their players, Medhi Narjissi, was swept out to sea by a rip current at Diaz Beach in Cape Town. That caused the series to be shortened for the South Africa u18A side.
SA u18A played only one match against Georgia, which the local boys won 20-3, and that also featured a good number of players from Grey College and Paul Roos. Liam van Wyk (captain and hooker), Alzeadon Felix (flyhalf) and Philip McLaren (scrumhalf) were released back to the Bloemfontein powerhouse earlier this week, while Paul Roos was also strengthened by the return of Oliver Reid (prop) and Sam Badenhorst (centre).
The schools don’t seem to be able to move their annual clash to an earlier date. It has been almost 15 years since the national u18 programme started, but it appears that no one is interested enough in finding a solution to give the big interschools clash the respect it deserves.
Paul Roos is still unbeaten in 2024 and a victory over Grey would cement the PRG squad’s legacy in the annals of the school’s illustrious rugby history. Grey College has suffered only one defeat this season, which happened at the NMI Toyota Noord/Suid Tournament in Pretoria, where Jeppe High School for Boys scoring a stunning 22-19 upset victory.
A win for the home side would also give them their first unbeaten side since 1991. Interestingly, that’s the year that the annual interschools fixtures between the two giants started. That year, Paul Roos beat Grey College 20-3.
The PRG lineup in 1991 included two future Springboks – Justin Swart (fullback) and Cobus Visagie (tighthead prop) – while the Grey College ranks included future Boks, André-Henri “Ollie” le Roux (loosehead prop) and Werner Swanepoel (scrumhalf).
