{"id":41890,"date":"2024-04-18T17:43:20","date_gmt":"2024-04-18T15:43:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=41890"},"modified":"2024-04-18T17:43:20","modified_gmt":"2024-04-18T15:43:20","slug":"exciting-new-chapter-begins-as-paarl-gim-hosts-grey-college","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=41890","title":{"rendered":"Exciting new chapter begins as Paarl Gim hosts Grey College"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo: Frans Lombard\/Actionpix<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Since 2010, two of the powerhouses of South African schoolboy rugby have done battle on neutral ground, often crossing paths at the Absa Wildeklawer Tournament<\/strong>, but that’s about to change.<\/p>\n

Regardless of where they’ve met, matches between Grey College<\/strong> and Paarl Gimnasium<\/strong> have always been a showcase of some of the best schoolboy talent in the country. This year, with the introduction of a new annual Sportsmans Warehouse Premier Interschools<\/strong> fixture between the two juggernauts, Paarl Gimnasium will want to make full use of their home-field advantage to keep their unblemished 2024 record intact when they welcome their great rivals from the Free State.<\/p>\n

Watch live coverage on SuperSport Schools – DStv channel 216<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Gimmies have been an unstoppable force so far this season, although their most recent outing resulted in victory by only one point over Affies in Pretoria last weekend, when a nail-biting clash ended 20-19.<\/p>\n

Exciting winger Immanuel Prinsloo<\/strong>\u00a0was a revelation in that match<\/a> and will be one of the players to keep an eye on this weekend.<\/p>\n

Before that tight victory, they also racked up impressive wins over Monument<\/strong> (38-21), Pretoria Boys High<\/strong> (75-10) and Boland Landbou<\/strong> (47-13), and a win over the challengers from the City of Roses would be a massive highlight in an already impressive season.<\/p>\n

Last weekend, Grey silenced many of their doubters, following their shock defeat to Jeppe<\/strong> at the NMI North-South Tournament,<\/strong> by pummelling Outeniqua 90-3. They’ve been wounded and they’re chomping at the bit with a golden opportunity to reassert their dominance this season.<\/p>\n

Last year, when the sides met in Pretoria, Grey ended a two-year losing streak against the Paarl outfit, outscoring them 33-12. They also claimed the position of the top dogs in the country with a 100 percent winning record, but this year there is no doubt that the competition for the number one spot is much fiercer.<\/p>\n

In 2021 and 2022, however, Paarl Gimnasium achieved back-to-back wins over the Free State giants, with exemplary performances by their flyhalves proving pivotal on both occasions.<\/p>\n

In 2021, Liam Koen<\/strong> was the Gimmie pivot when they beat Grey 18-16 at the Monnas Centenary Festival. The following year, his successor, Kyle Smith<\/strong>, played a key role when they triumphed 22-17 at the Absa Wildeklawer Festival in Kimberley.<\/p>\n

In fact, on the previous four occasions that they’ve beaten the Bloemfontein boys, they’ve had stars in the no. 10 jersey.<\/p>\n

In those others wins, World Cup-winning flyhalf Handr\u00e9 Pollard<\/strong> pulled the strings in a 45-29 victory over Grey at the Kearsney Easter Festival in 2012 and, before that, in 1994, it was none other than Liam Koen’s father, Springbok Louis Koen<\/strong>, who directed Paarl Gim to a 10-0 win.<\/p>\n

Chandler Green<\/strong> will have an opportunity to join that elite list of Gimmie-flyhalves when he takes to the field this weekend.<\/p>\n

The battle between the two packs should also be monumental, with Ely Williams<\/strong>, JJ du Preez<\/strong> and Dawie Stemmet<\/strong> fronting up against Danie Kruger<\/strong>, Dian Venter<\/strong> and Grey captain, Liam van Wyk<\/strong>, in the front row.<\/p>\n

Another interesting clash will be in the midfield where Grey College’s big carrier Ethan Adams<\/strong> and school captain Pieter van der Merwe<\/strong> will come face to face with rising star Markus Muller<\/strong> and his captain Kobus Blanckenberg<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The excitement is palpable as a brand-new chapter in the rivalry between the two South African rugby factories kicks off.<\/p>\n

Teams<\/strong><\/p>\n

Paarl Gimnasium vs Grey College at 12:15<\/strong><\/p>\n

Paarl Gimnasium:\u00a0<\/strong>15 Freek de Kock, 14 Immanuel Prinsloo, 13 Markus Muller, 12 Kobus Blanckenberg, 11 Markus Moolman, 10 Chandler Green, 9 Melt Viljoen, 8 Quintin Potgieter, 7 Wihan Kotze, 6 Jan Koegelenberg, 5 Marinus Daling, 4 Stiaan de Goede, 3 Ely Williams, 2 Dawie Stemmet, 1 JJ du Preez.<\/p>\n

Grey College:\u00a0<\/strong>15 Heinz Stockenstr\u00f6m, 14 Siyabonga Kenny, 13 Ethan Adams, 12 Pieter van der Merwe, 11 Ruben Cilliers, 10 Alzeadon Felix, 9 Philip McLaren, 8 Liam Santos, 7 Juliun Cosmo, 6 Xander Smit, 5 AJ Meyer, 4 Heinrich Theron, 3 Danie Kruger, 2 Liam van Wyk, 1 Dian Venter.<\/p>\n

Fixtures<\/strong><\/p>\n

JA Kriel: 08:30 –\u00a0<\/strong>Paarl Gimnasium u16 A vs Grey College u16 A;\u00a009:45 –\u00a0<\/strong>Paarl Gimnasium III vs Grey College III;\u00a011:00 –\u00a0<\/strong>Paarl Gimnasium II vs Grey College II;\u00a012:15 –\u00a0<\/strong>Paarl Gimnasium 1st XV vs Grey College 1st XV.<\/p>\n

Stofberg: 08:30 –\u00a0<\/strong>Paarl Gimnasium u14 A vs Grey College u14 A;\u00a009:30 –<\/strong> Paarl Gimnasium u15 A vs Grey College u15 A;\u00a011:00 –<\/strong> Paarl Gimnasium IV vs Grey College IV.<\/p>\n

Oukraal: 08:15-<\/strong> Paarl Gimnasium V vs Grey College V;\u00a009:30<\/strong> –<\/strong> Paarl Gimnasium VII vs Grey College VII;\u00a010:45 –\u00a0<\/strong>Paarl Gimnasium VI vs Grey College VI.<\/p>\n

Lemoenkloof: 08:15 –\u00a0<\/strong>Paarl Gimnasium u16 D vs Grey College u16 D;\u00a009:30 –\u00a0<\/strong>Paarl Gimnasium u16 C vs Grey College u16 C;\u00a010:45 –\u00a0<\/strong>Paarl Gimnasium u16 B vs Grey College u16 B.<\/p>\n

Fonteintjie: 08:00 –\u00a0<\/strong>Paarl Gimnasium u15 B vs Grey College u15 B; 09:00 –\u00a0<\/strong>Paarl Gimnasium u15 D vs Grey College u15 D;\u00a010:00 –<\/strong> Paarl Gimnasium u15 C vs Grey College u15 C.<\/p>\n

Dammetjie: 08:00 –\u00a0<\/strong>Paarl Gimnasium u14 D vs Grey College u14 D;\u00a009:00 –\u00a0<\/strong>Paarl Gimnasium u14 C vs Grey College u14 C;\u00a010:00 –\u00a0<\/strong>Paarl Gimnasium u14 E vs Grey College u14 E;\u00a011:00 –\u00a0<\/strong>Paarl Gimnasium u14 B vs Grey College u14 B.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Since 2010, two of the powerhouses of South African schoolboy rugby have done battle on neutral ground, often crossing paths at the Absa Wildeklawer Tournament, but that’s about to change. Regardless of where they’ve met, matches between Grey College and Paarl Gimnasium have always been a showcase of some of the best schoolboy talent in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":42053,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=41890"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41890\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=41890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=41890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=41890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}