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Stellenberg en Oakdale Landbou het ‘n appeltjie met mekaar te skil, en hierdie naweek kry hulle die kans om die sakie op Riversdal af te handel.

Nadat die twee spanne verlede jaar gelykop gespeel het in die Kaap, sal albei oorgehaal wees om hierdie naweek die spogreg vir hul skool te verseker tot volgende jaar.

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In 2023 het Stellenberg in die doodsnikke gedruk om die telling gelyk te laat trek op 13-13, en toe die doelskop misluk het was dit duidelik dat vanjaar se kragmeting ‘n bepalende hoogtepunt op albei spanne se roosters sou wees.

Oakdale was blink uit die blokke hierdie seisoen, met ‘n paar indrukwekkende vroeë seges oor Rondebosch Boys’ High (17-13), Garsfontein (23-17) en Helpmekaar (41-24).

Verlede naweek het die boere egter met 10-19 vasgeval teen die Hoër Jongenskool Paarl , so hulle sal uitsien na die geleentheid om weer terug te keer na die wenpad toe.

Die Jade Brigade het ‘n reeks uiters strawwe bepalings agter die rug en hierdie naweek in Riversdal gaan geensins makliker wees nie.

Verlede Saterdag het hulle naelskraaps met 22-24 teen SACS verloor, maar ‘n goeie vertoning hierdie naweek sal help om daardie nederlaag agter hulle te sit.

Hulle toer egter sonder ster-heelagter, Dehan Neethling, wat in die vorige wedstryd ‘n besering opgedoen het. Marco Staples neem sy plek in die laaste vesting in, terwyl skrumskakel Carl van Eden ook geleentheid kry om in die no. 9-trui te begin.

Die tuisspan sal verlig wees om heelagter, Waylon Kortjie, terug te hê, nadat hy verlede naweek op die reserwebank moes begin.

Dit is die enigste verandering in die span wat teen Boishaai uitgedraf het en die Oakdale-bulle sal uitsien na die kans om te vergoed vir daardie terugslag.

Intussen vind daar ook ‘n derby plaas tussen Langenhoven Gimnasium van Oudtshoorn en Hoërskool Langenhoven in Riversdal, terwyl Montagu en Worcester Gimnasium vir Hoërskool Oudtshoorn en Hoërskool Punt pak.

Oakdale Landbou t. Stellenberg om 13:10:

Oakdale Landbou: 15 Waylon Kortjie, 14 Reinhardt Viljoen, 13 Lee-Winn Pretorius, 12 Kurt Coetzee, 11 Duraan Janse van Rensburg, 10 CT Vosloo, 9 Jandrian Goosen, 8 Erick Steyn, 7 Jannes Snyman, 6 Zack Wessels, 5 Roy Viljoen, 4 Ruan Swart, 3 Tiaan Turck, 2 Gustav van der Merwe, 1 Kai Pratt.

Stellenberg: 15 Marco Staples, 14 Keagan Moses, 13 Luka Tonitz, 12 Ruben Pretorius, 11 Luc Cilliers, 10 Eben Rademan, 9 Carl van Eden, 8 Stefan Visser, 7 Remi September, 6 Alex Schoeman, 5 Dale du Toit, 4 Zian Erasmus, 3 Ryk Groenewald, 2 Almero Keizer, 1 Dean Janse van Rensburg.

Ander bepalings

o. 19: 13:40 –Hoërskool Punt t. Worcester Gimnasium; 12:15 – Montagu t. Oudtshoorn; 12:10 – Langenhoven Gimnasium t. Hoërskool Langenhoven.

Na Diamantveld se suksesvolle sportdag teen Hoërskool Upington verlede naweek in Kimberley, pak die Diamonds Saterdag die Uppies se buurskool, Duineveld, in Upington.

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Die span van Kimberley lyk indrukwekkend vanjaar en kon laas naweek hul spiere bult met ‘n sege van 40-7 oor die besoekers van Upington.

Die Velties het self ‘n spogsege behaal, deur vir Hoërskool Kalahari met 38-9 te kasty. Vroeër in die seisoen het die Upington-seuns ook so hittete vir ‘n uiters sterk Noordheuwel-span laat struikel by die Noord/Suid-toernooi, waar hulle naelskraaps met 32-33 verloor het.

Arno Luttig, Alek Andrianatos en Gregon Jansen is drie van die tuisspan se spelers wat verlede jaar reeds aandag getrek het. Luttig het in 2023 Griekwas se Cravenweekspan gehaal, waar hy langs Kyle Taute, Heinrich Nel en FJ de Vries van Diamantveld gespeel het.

Toe die twee spanne mekaar verlede jaar in Kimberley raakgeloop het was die Diamonds met 30-15 baas .

Andrianatos, Jansen en Luttig was natuurlik deel van daardie Duineveld span, saam met Henry Page, Ethan van Zyl, Franco Erasmus, Wihan Liebenberg en Ethan Prins wat almal hierdie naweek weer in aksie is. Hulle sal graag die bordjies wil verhang met behulp van die tuisskare en hul ervare groep kernspelers.

Die besoekers het egter ook van hul spelers van verlede seisoen oorgehou, met Taute, De Vries, Nel, Simon Liversage en Marno Greeff wat oorwinning oor die Velties gesmaak het.

Duineveld t. Diamantveld om 13:30:

Duineveld: 15 Gregon Jansen, 14 Jacquin Jasson, 13 Henry Page, 12 PJ Smit, 11 AJ Burger, 10 Ethan van Zyl, 9 Franco Erasmus, 8 Wihan Liebenberg, 7 Jandries Potgieter, 6 Alek Andrianatos, 5 Jan-Carel Claasens, 4 Arno Luttig, 3 Ethan Prins, 2 Philip van As, 1 Adriaan Botha.

Diamantveld: 15 Kyle Taute, 14 Carel Viljoen, 13 Clinton Brits, 12 Simon Liversage, 11 Jonathan Harding, 10 Marno Greeff, 9 Ethan Manus, 8 Enrique Boshoff, 7 Jayden de Klerk, 6 Paul Cronje, 5 Zuan Rautenbach, 4 Daniël Kühn, 3 Heinrich Nel, 2 De Wet du Plooy, 1 FJ de Vries.

Michaelhouse will host Garsfontein in the inaugural derby between the two schools this weekend.

In previous years, the teams met only if they attended the same festivals and were placed in the same group. Both will be desperate to land the first punch in the nascent years of what promises to be a fascinating rivalry.

The visitors, Garsfontein, will not want their 615km journey to be all for nothing. They’ll be motivated to return to the capital city as proud victors, with the bragging rights for taking down Michaelhouse at Balgowan at the first time of asking.

Garsfontein kicked off their season with a 2-3 loss to Grey College. Instead of dispiriting them, Steve Paulo’s boys were encouraged by that result. It was their first match under Paulo as head coach, and they had gone up against an in-form, strong outfit.

Wayne Coetzee‘s charges scored early goals in the first half and enjoyed a 3-0 lead until the early minutes of the fourth chukka. Instead of being deflated, Garsfontein launched wave after wave of attack and scored two goals in the last quarter and came close to scoring an equaliser. “I was impressed by their fighting spirit,” said Paulo.

That is the kind of outfit he was hoping to build, one that is unrelenting in its pursuit of goals. Paulo, a former Tuks’ hockey player and a member of the SA men’s indoor team, is a naturally attacking player. His style is rubbing off onto his team.

At the Coastal Cup, they produced mixed results, winning two, drawing one and losing one game, but the signs of better days to come were there. A 3-1 win over previously unbeaten Westville on the final day showed they were heading in the right direction.

“The boys played good hockey, positive hockey, and there were small moments that we did not capitalise on in the draw and loss,” Paulo commented.

After that, Garsfontein went up against Affies, with whom they drew 1-1, in a match full of missed opportunities. They did not make the same mistake when they met Eldoraigne on Wednesday night. They triumphed 4-1 and Paulo is keen to use that momentum in their two matches against Michaelhouse.

The test posed by Michaelhouse will give Paulo a good reading on how far his team has come as they work their way towards their ultimate goal of winning the Hibbert Shield.

“To achieve that, we need to create a winning culture. It will be a tough match; [Michaelhouse coach] Nick [Bérichon]was our coach last year. He knows me and he knows the boys. The tactics will also be somewhat similar,” reckoned Paulo.

Before switching to Michaelhouse, Nick Bérichon spent six years with Garsfontein. He also played with Paulo at Tuks. His tenure at Michaelhouse is in its early days and the results have been mixed, but they’re trending in the right direction.

They went 0-2 down to Westville in their season opener and then lost to Bishops in their first outing at their 175 Festival opener. “Some of the boys play summer sports, so the first seven weeks were a little disjointed,” Bérichon explained.

Michaelhouse followed that loss with two draws and another defeat before they picked up and won two in a row to finish the Bishops Hockey Festival with a 2-2-2 split after six matches. But the important thing is they finished strongly. They held St Benedict’s, who are enjoying a good season, to a draw, then beat the Langa Hockey Club and St Andrew’s College, who had suffered their first loss of the season only a day earlier.

The most evident thing Bérichon noticed as his team gained momentum at the showcase was that his playing philosophy was taking root in his players.

“I prefer a structured approach, one that is easy to read as you watch, one that even a parent can decipher and see what we are trying to accomplish. It makes it easy for us to review after the game as we give the boys feedback,” he said.

That approach makes it easy for Bérichon’s charges to execute set pieces and reduce the chances of leaving goals on the field. However, the Michaelhouse coach does not want the structure to restrict his players’ creativity. Rather, he wants it to be the foundation from which they can express themselves.

He is keen to use the double-header derby as preparation for a tough campaign of KZN derbies, which he knows are going to be tough to navigate. “We are expecting a tough challenge from Garsfontein. They will give us a good run for our money. They won’t be backing down, and neither will we,” he said.

In his quest, Bérichon will have the benefit of the talents of his captain Pat Lambert, a hardworking young man, who enjoys attacking. Lambert will have the support of Murray Hall-Jones, a constant threat from the back, Basti Hofmeyr’s abilities in the midfield, and Michaelhouse’s X-factor player, Gordon Deutscher.

“This match will have the feel of an internal match. It will be a contest of identical philosophies. In a way, it will be Nick vs Nick, and I am just the middleman,” Paulo said.

While Bérichon agrees that the styles will be identical, with two attacking teams going head-to-head, having known Paulo for a long time, the Michaelhouse coach is expecting a few surprises from him. “He will have a couple tricks up his sleeve,” he said.

Surprises or not, the one thing the Michaelhouse-Garsfontein derbies promise is an intense, high-octane encounter.

Fixtures

Saturday, 17:00 – Michaelhouse vs Garsfontein, Sunday, 10:00 – Michaelhouse vs Garsfontein.

Bergsig Akademie brand om hul giftige agterlyn op Hoërskool Driehoek los te laat wanneer dié twee spanne Saterdag in Rustenburg kragte meet.

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Die span van Rustenburg geniet tot dusver ‘n uiters voorspoedige seisoen, en het nog slegs een keer verloor, met ‘n skamele twee punte teen Hoërskool Frikkie Meyer in Thabazimbi. Bergsig se  indrukwekkendste vertoning was hul oorwinning met 17-14 oor Hoërskool Lichtenburg.

Hul kookwater-losskakel, Simeon Botha, het tot dusver ‘n aansienlike aandeel in sy span se sukses gehad, met sy vermoë om spel te dikteer en oog vir ‘n gaping wat ‘n taamlike bedreiging inhou vir die besoekers.

Dit is egter nie slegs Botha wat lekker op dreef is nie. Aan sy binnekant skep skrumskakel, Paulo dos Santos, se effektiewe verspreiding die nodige ruimte vir Botha en die res van die agterlyn om vinnig op die voorvoet te kom.

Voorlangs sal die besoekers vir loskopstut, Tjaart Bernard, fyn moet dophou. Bernard, saam met sy kollega aan die vaskopkant van die krum, Dewald Potgieter, deins beslis nie terug vir die fisieke sy van sake nie.

Driehoek betree die stryd nietemin met heelwat selfvertroue, na ‘n goeie sege van 20-15 oor Hoërskool Alberton verlede naweek.

Agsteman, Enrico Farinha, sal nes verlede naweek die pap dik wil aanmaak onder die groot manne voor, en is ook geen vreemdeling vir die doellyn nie. Die Vanderbijlpark-span se skrumskakel, Zane Marais, hou ook gevaar in met sy vlymskerp breekslae na aan die doellyn.

As buitesenter, Juandre Hugo, boonop sy skopskoen aan het, kan Driehoek die lewe moeilik maak vir die tuisspan.

Hans Moore se strukture sal behoorlik getoets word wanneer hy, op tuisbodem, met Hoërskool Secunda swaarde te kruis. Die span van Mpumalanga beleef tot dusver ‘n wipplank seisoen en hul breier, Tiaan Moore, sal hoop dat sy span die nodige momentum kan begin opbou voordat die SDC Noordvaal Beker oor ‘n bietjie minder as twee weke afskop.

In Limpopo, ontvang Hoërskool Nylstroom vir die Ligbloues van Merensky Landbou Akademie. Die Plasies, nes Secunda, sal dit sien as finale voorbereiding vir wanneer hulle hul Noordvaal Bowl-veldtog teen Hoërskool Alberton afskop.

Die spanne: 

Bergsig Akademie t. Hoërskool Driehoek om 12:45 in Rustenburg

Bergsig Akademie: 15 Siya Butelezi, 14 Lundro Scheepers, 13 MJ Pretorius, 12 TK Bagwase, 1 Alzandro dos Santos, 10 Simeon Botha, 9 Paulo dos Santos, 8 Jacques du Plooy, 7 Dewald Potgieter, 6 Christian de Abreu, 5 Taffa Luyanda, 4 Caleb Kihoro, 3 Henno du Preez, 2 Johandre Steyl, 1 Tjaart Bernard.

Driehoek: 15 Kyle Jordaan, 14 Alec Viljoen, 13 Juandre Hugo, 12 Franco Layer, 11 Guillaume Vermeulen, 10 AJ Viljoen, 9 Zane Marais, 8 Enrico Farinha, 7 Ettienne Crafford, 6 CJ Nel, 5 Jonathan Thomas, 4 Raymando Ferreira-Ramos, 3 Armand Greyling, 2 Thabang Diliwa, 1 Donovan Coetzee.

Hoërskool Secunda t. Hoërskool Hans Moore

Secunda: 15 Damian de Beer, 14 Nkanyiso Mashiteng, 13 Brink la Grange, 12 Bismarck Jansen, 11 Divan Mulder, 10 EJ Venter, 9 Jarno Haarhoff, 8 Bakkies Bezuidenhout, 7 Zander Scheepers, 6 Zander van der Merwe, 5 Franko Rossouw, 4 Zac Loock, 3 Jean Janse van Nuwenhuizen, 2 Rico Schoeman, 1 Stefan Bezuidenhout.

Hans Moore (moontlik): 15 Vincent Labuschagne, 14 Wikus Rossouw, 13 Warren Minnaar, 12 Stephan Kellerman, 11 Timothy Henstock, 10 Ruben van den Berg, 9 Dian Britz, 8 Keagen van Zyl, 7 Slade Mowbray, 6 Divan Stander, 5 Liam Diedericks, 4 Marnus van der Walt, 3 Jayden van Heerden, 2 Hanrique Cronje, 1 Liam Beukes

Hoërskool Nylstroom t. Merensky Lanbou Akademie om 13:20 in Nylstroom

Nylstroom: 15 Neo Seabi, 14 Junior Venter, 13 Thabang Mashaba, 12 Willie Kruger, 11 Shalom Molelekwa, 10 Franco Steenkamp, 9 Martiens Joubert, 8 Walter Pretorius, 7 Ryno Roux, 6 JP Putter, 5 Henru Botha, 4 Hendry van Staden, 3 Phenyo Tshisevhe, 2 MJ Botha, 1 Diederik Labuschagne.

Merensky:  15 Maritz Meintjies, 14 Andreas Honiball, 13 Ulrich Mare, 12 Jens Bezuidenhout, 11 Leon de Lange, 10 Byron Hendricks, 9 JD Boshoff, 8 Hardus Terblanche, 7 PG Botes, 6 Corne Swanepoel, 5 Lukas Pieterse, 4 Craig Walker, 3 Tirelo Mashapa, 2 Ruan Marcos,1 Ethan Maritz.

The South African Schools Closed Squash Championships take place at the Barrow Squash Centre at St John’s College and at Roedean School, in Johannesburg, from Friday, 12 April to Sunday, 14 April, bringing together the cream of the crop from across the country.

The event is an invitation-only tournament and features the top players in each age group – u19, u16, and u14 – from around the country.

It is also the second of three SA Schools qualifiers for top 10 national rankings. The others are the Technifibre Bloemfontein Junior Open, which was played from 29 February to 3 March, and the forthcoming Inter-provincial Tournament, which will be played in June.

Each of the tournaments also serves as a selection event for the national u16 team’s tour of Malaysia in December, which will include six girls and six boys.

In addition, the SA Schools Closed Squash Championships is a qualifying event for the annual Inter-Provincial Tournament, which takes place in June.

Top Four Seeds

Boys’ u19

1 Luhann Groenewald (Northerns, Hoërskool Zwartkop), 2 Judah Phillips (Northerns, home school), 3 Devon Osborne (Boland, Parel Vallei), 4 Juan-Corné Brand (Northerns, Hoërskool Zwartkop)

Girls’ u19

1 Chanté Leppan (Northerns, Hoërskool Zwartkop), 2 Elzandri Janse van Rensburg (Northerns, Midstream College), 3 Bianke Pienaar (North-West, Potchefstroom Gimnasium), 4 Cara Knott (Border, Clarendon)

Boys’ u16

1 Benji Newman (Eastern Province, Grey High School), 2 Joel Rix (Boland, Hoërskool Swartland), 3 Thero Motshubi (Gauteng, St John’s College), 4 Aiden McNeill (KZN, Kings Interhigh Online School)

Girls’ u16

1 Makayla Naidoo (KZN, St John’s DSG), 2 Brianna Robinson (Eastern Gauteng, home school), 3 Kate van Biljon (Border, Clarendon), 4. Starla Phillips (Northerns, home school)

Boys’ u14

1 Déwan Borstlap (Northerns, Hoërskool Waterkloof), 2 Daniel Tarr (Border, Selborne College), 3 Liam Hart (Boland, Laerskool Lochnerhof), 4 Nathan Hall (Eastern Province, Hoërskool Framesby)

Girls’ u14

1 Rylee Howells (KZN, Epworth), 2 Rebecca Scheckter (Eastern Province, Diocesan School for Girls), 3 Gemma Clark (Eastern Province, Kingswood College), 4 Lily Strydom (KZN, The Wykeham Collegiate)

After a shock defeat to Milnerton High School last weekend, Rondebosch Boys’ High will be eager for a strong bounce-back performance this weekend when they host Paul Roos Gimnasium.

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The Maroon Machine has been unstoppable so far this season and will be aiming for more of the same as they seek to ride the early season momentum they’ve built up. Two very impressive wins at the NMI North-South Tournament in Pretoria against Waterkloof (47-20) and the hosts, Affies (30-25), have put the Stellenbosch side firmly among the frontrunners this season.

Their fine run of form began at the end of last year, when a large Paul Roos touring group visited Ireland, where they performed well and produced a perfect record.

With their dual SA Schools’ star, Riley Norton, who captains the side, and dangermen, like Samuel Badenhorst, Keenan Stoffels and Gert Kemp, offering a myriad of attacking options, Paul Roos is primed for a special season.

‘Bosch, on the other hand, has already faced some tough challenges in 2024. They came up short against a fired-up Oakdale squad at the Wynberg Rugby Festival, going down by just four points, 13-17, and last weekend they let slip a 33-3 lead against Milnerton in the final 15 minutes to lose by one point.

They have, however, also shown that they have ample firepower, too, with a strong showing at the Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival, where they were unbeaten, defeating Westville Boys’ High (31-10), Kearsney College (22-8) and Hoërskool Rustenburg (22-13) in their three matches.

Alutha Wesi, who regularly runs out as a loose-forward, will start at inside centre this weekend. He takes on a massive defensive role trying to contain Badenhorst and Matthew Kleyn in the visitors’ midfield.

The hosts will be in no doubt that they have a massive challenge ahead of them. They’ve only bested the Stellenbosch side twice before, with their match in 2011 ending in a 17-17 draw. However, the last time Paul Roos visited the Tinkie Heyns Field, in 2022, the hosts were victorious by 24 points to 12.

Paul Roos turned the tables last year, scoring a comfortable 24-7 victory, but they’ll be looking to avenge that aforementioned loss in ‘Bosch’s backyard this weekend.

Badenhorst, Keenan Stoffels, Reuben Kruger, Jesse Stegehuis, Truspe Schoeman and Oliver Reid were all in the team that beat Rondebosch last year on the Markötter Field in Stellenbosch.

In Rondebosch’s squad for the weekend, David Simon and Dylan Miller switch places from last year’s match, when Simon ran out as fullback and Miller started in the no. 10 jersey. Apart from them, only Wesi, Tom Barnard and Justin Amos remain from the team that faced Paul Roos in 2023.

Rondebosch Boys’ High vs Paul Roos Gimnasium at 12:10

Rondebosch Boys’ High: 15 Dylan Miller, 14 David Kadima, 13 Randall-John Davids, 12 Alutha Wesi, 11 Shakeel Abrahams, 10 David Simon, 9 Caleb Belelie, 8 Joshua Neill, 7 Danil-Nicolas Oosthuizen, 6 Matthys du Plooy, 5 Tom Barnard, 4 Carl Geddie, 3 Matthew van der Merwe, 2 Justin Amos, 1 Luke Pretorius.

Paul Roos Gimnasium: 15 Matthew Seymore, 14 Hugo Coetzee, 13 Matthew Kleyn, 12 Samuel Badenhorst, 11 Keenan Stoffels, 10 Joshua Dampies, 9 Adeeb Boraine, 8 Reuben Kruger, 7 Riley Norton, 6 Gert Kemp, 5 Jesse Stegehuis, 4 Truspe Schoeman, 3 Luchwayito Mbaliswana, 2 Altus Rabe, 1 Oliver Reid.

After finishing in 11^th place at last weekend’s St Mary’s Hockey Festival, Rhenish Girls’ High School will be seeking to recreate the momentum they produced over the first two days of the event when they welcome DF Malan to Stellenbosch on Friday evening.

The clash is one of a number of big matches taking place in the Western Cape this weekend.

Rhenish, led by coach Chris Gerber, made a rip-roaring start to their season.

They were first in action was in East London at the Greg Beling Festival. There, they swept the floor with their opponents, beating Clarendon (4-1), DSG Makhanda (3-0), Eunice (5-1), Pearson High School (4-0) and Affies (4-0).

At St Mary’s, Gerber’s team played some of their best hockey over the first two days of the festival.

On day one, they defeated St John’s DSG (4-0), before drawing with Waterkloof (0-0), and Garsfontein (1-1) respectively.

Rhenish upped the ante on day two, winning all four of their matches. They downed Somerset College (2-0), St Andrew’s School for Girls (1-0), Oranje (1-0), and Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High (4-0). The defeat they inflicted on Oranje was the Bloemfontein powerhouse’s first loss of 2024.

Maybe playing four tough matches on day two took a lot out of them, however, because they couldn’t replicate that form on the final two days and had to settle for 11^th place after beating Affies (1-0) in their last play-off match.

DF Malan will have their work cut out for them when they visit Stellenbosch.

Another massive clash on Friday will see Parel Vallei taking on Paarl Girls’ High on home soil.

To start their season, Parel Vallei enjoyed a successful tour of the Netherlands and will be brimming with confidence about the strides they’ve made.

Paarl Girls’ High, on the other hand, was also in action at the St Mary’s Festival, where they finished 19th.

The in-form Fairmont High School will take on Rustenburg Girls’ High in another Cape Town clash, which has a late start.

In their opening match of the season, last weekend, Fairmont picked up an impressive 2-1 win over Durbanville.

In that game, three of their players, Tatum O’Brien, Sarah Swanepoel, and Leah Buckley achieved their 50th caps for the first team. Meanwhile, Sienna Graser and Kaylin Bastard reached 100 caps.

Saturday’s action starts bright and early with a derby between HTS Drostdy and Framesby, at 09:00.

After going down last weekend, Durbanville will be aiming for a win against Westerford, while Wynberg Girls’ High welcomes Curro Durbanville, before La Rochelle battles it out with Springfield Convent.

Friday, 12 April 

18:40 – Rhenish vs DF Malan
18:45 – Parel Vallei vs Paarl Girls High
18:45 – Fairmont High vs Rustenburg Girls High

Saturday, 13 April

09:00 – HTS Drostdy vs Framesby
09:25 – Durbanville vs Westerford
10:10 – Wynberg Girls High vs Curro Durbanville
12:30 – La Rochelle vs Springfield

Maritzburg College is primed and ready to host Pretoria Boys High School (PBHS) in the first leg of their annual two-leg derby on Saturday.

The College-PBHS derby has been a permanent fixture for the two schools for more than a decade and it seldom fails to deliver pyrotechnics.

“Boys High always seem to find an extra gear when they play against us,” remarked Kyle Emerson, the Maritzburg College head coach.

While the KwaZulu-Natal team has a better head-to-head record overall, PBHS has fought back in the past couple of years. In 2022, Jacques Klopper’s charges completed a double over College, beating them home and away. Last year, they shared the spoils, playing to two draws.

PBHS has had a slow start to the 2024 season. They lost 0-1 to Jeppe in their first pre-season match, and that set the tone for a few games that followed, in which they suffered narrow defeats.

“It has taken the boys a little bit of time to find themselves. We have a few new guys in the side, and the unit has taken a while to gel,” said Klopper.

In their most recent encounter, PHBS triumphed 2-1 over St Alban’s. In that match, the Ruard Booysen-captained side played in line with Klopper’s fundamentals. Booysen was part of the SA u17 side that toured Malaysia last year and is one of the mainstays of the team.

Their goalkeeper, Owen McMenamin, was named in the SA u16 squad in 2023, while Marco Upton represented the Northerns U18 side.

While those three had good outings against St Alban’s, the team did not show a heavy reliance on their individual skills. They produced an all-round performance, executing a well-structured pressing game. Klopper hopes they can keep reproduce that in their clash with Maritzburg College.

“College has created a fortress at home. The goal is to breach it,” reckoned Klopper. The best-case scenario would be a repeat of 2022. If not, they would settle for another draw.

However, Emerson’s boys will not make it easy for PBHS. The same intense drive that the Pretoria side brings to the contest is what the College boys will bring. “We know what they bring as a team. We watched them last month during the Nomads Festival. We will be ready for them,” said Emerson.

His young team has been on a building path since the start of the year. They showed progress and growth at the Nomads Festival and took a few more steps forward at the KES Easter Festival.

Their 5-0 win over Glenwood last week was another indicator of how far they have come this season. The Ipeleng Mosupye-led unit will also be buoyed by the return of two players who were sidelined by injury.

However, despite these positives, Emerson remains cautious. “There is never a favourite when we play Boys High,” he opined. “Most of the time, it’s about who arrives with more in the tank on the day.”

His duty, Emerson said, is to ensure that, as the derby day approaches, he gets his team into the best position to be the ones that turn up on matchday.

College and PBHS have a rich shared history, a similar ethos and passion for hockey. They enjoy a great friendship. However, before they share post-match drinks, they’re aiming for fireworks on Pape’s Astro.

Saturday, 11:15 am – Maritzburg College vs PBHS

Teams

Pretoria Boys High School

Owen McMenamin, Cameron Davids, Reatlegile Moloisane, Jayden Boshoff, Robert Hassenkamp, Shaun Riekert, Ruard Booysen, Marco Upton, Jack Funston, Jeron Hugo, Rein Arndt, Brighton Sibiya, Heinke Meijer, Ethan Rademeyer, Takalani Mulaudzi, Neil Ehlers

Maritzburg College

Nicholas Holmes, Greg Askew, Siwa Sithembu, Ipeleng Mosupye (c), Julian Konigkramer, Ryan McKean, Kadin Jenkins, Banele Dlamini, Ethan Maynard, Michael Gibson, Rory Schirge, Matthew Smith, Ethan Fabre, Tai Fulton, Andile Mthalane, Brett Hosking.

Hoërskool Waterkloof het Saterdag ‘n groot taak op hande wanneer hulle tuis teen die onoorwonne Arende van Hoërskool Dr EG Jansen in die NWU Sportreeks te staan kom.

Volg al die aksie regstreeks op SuperSport Schools. (www.supersportschools.com).

Die Jansies het verlede week hul aanslag in die reeks voortgesit met ‘n oortuigende sege van 49-28 teen die Rooibulle van HTS Middelburg.

Voor dit het die span van Boksburg ook al hul vorige teenstanders uit die pad gevee, grootliks danksy die feit dat hulle al hope rugby in die huidige seisoen saam gespeel het.

Die Klofies sal verál op hul hoede moet wees vir Storm Labuschagne, die Jansies se blitsige agtsteman. Labuschangne het verlede naweek se “Storm”-loop teen die Rooibulle met twee drieë van sy eie gelei.

Agterlangs kan uitgesien word na ‘n skouspelagtige tweestryd tussen die twee spanne se spelskeppers op losskakel. Matthew Bergman het tot dusver die seisoen nie ‘n voet verkeerd gesit nie, maar sal sy hande vol hê met Klofies se Franco Cronje, wat sy tande vir die uitdaging stryd slyp. Die Klofies se Cravenweek binnesenter, Happy Makate, maak ook sy terugkeer.

Marko Kok, Waterkloof se woelwater-agsteman, is dalk net wat nodig is om Labuschagne in toom te hou, terwyl Kok ook die Jansie-middelveld met sy wafferse barslopies sal besig hou.

In Middelburg wag HTS Middelburg se Rooibulle op Hoërskool Kempton Park. Die Kempies sal gretig wees om weer litte los te maak na ‘n langer breek, met die dat hulle in die vorige rondte ‘n loslootjie geniet het.

Kempies loop egter reguit in die leeukuil in, met die Rooibulle wat verlede naweek indrukwekkende momentum opgebou het teen EG Jansen. Dit was verál hul vertoning in die tweede skof wat die span se ondersteuners laat regop sit het.

In ‘n interessante ontwikkeling het die Rooibulle se breier, Jano Venter, besluit om Anthoni Smuts, wat verlede jaar gewoontlik op steelkantflank diens gedoen het, na binnesenter toe te skuif. Dit beteken dat die gevaarman, Johnny dos Santos, sy verskyning in die nr. 13-trui sal maak. Kayden Wessels vervang Smuts aan die kant van die skrum.

Darius Buytendach sal in plek van die beseerde Sphesihle Skosana, op regtervleuel, diens doen.

Die spanne: 

Hoërskool Dr EG Jansen t. Hoërskool Waterkloof om 12:45 in Pretoria

EG Jansen: 15 R-Jay Pieterson, 14 Jean-dre Claasen, 13 Jeandre Jacobs, 12 Steven Williams, 11 Keanu van Loggerenberg, 10 Matthew Berman, 9 Riekus van der Merwe, 8 Storm Labuschagne, 7 Divan Francis, 6 Zade-Leigh Rippenaar, 5 Zandre Naude, 4 Gerhard van Aswegen, 3 Duwan Potgieter, 2 Danre Pike, 1 Zian Marais.

Waterkloof: 15 Ronan Bastiaanse, 14 Malcolm George, 13 Riwan van Aswegen, 12 Happy Makate, 11 Dennis Obi, 10 Franco Cronje, 9 Migael Prinsloo, 8 Marko Kok, 7 Lendrey Janse van Vuuren, 6 Divan Botha, 5 Alrich Uys, 4 Stephan de Beer, 3 Jedri Swart, 2 Ruan Jacobs, 1 Juan Gouws.

Hoër Tegniese Skool Middelburg t. Hoërskool Kempton Park om 13:40 in Middelburg

HTS Middelburg: 15 Jaque Stassen, 14 Darius Buytendach, 13 Johnny dos Santos, 12 Anthoni Smuts, 11 CJ Muller, 10 WJ Enslin, 9 Reece Botha, 8 Tertius Bezuidenhout, 7 Kayden Wessels, 6 Toy Engelbrecht, 5 Sam Ndwandwe, 4 Janco Aucamp, 3 Kagiso Gumbi, 2 Hanro Terblanche, 1 Dirk du Plooy.

Kempton Park (moontlik): 15 Joshua Meyer, 14 Ettiene Stroebel, 13 Wian Rieckert, 12 Tiaan Delport, 11 Vaughn Fouche, 10 Marko Opperman, 9 Ryan Smith, 8 Preston Smith, 7 JP Barnard, 6 JP Roos, 5 Luann Schreuder, 4 Louis Mouton, 3 Zander Luckay, 2 Deon Mulligan, 1 Aiden Nepgen.

Grey-kollege sal oorgehaal wees om hul naam in ere te herstel wanneer hulle hierdie naweek vir Hoërskool Outeniqua in Bloemfontein die stryd aansê.

Na hul skoknederlaag vanjaar teen Jeppe (19-22) by die NMI Noord/Suid-toernooi, was Grey nog nie weer in aksie nie, maar die Kwaggas sal egter alte goed besef dat ‘n gekweste Grey-span in Bloemfontein ‘n groot bedreiging inhou.

Beleef die aksie regstreeks op SuperSport Schools – Registreer nou – Skakel na die wedstryd

Grey het verlede jaar na ‘n tawwe stryd in George as oorwinnaars uit die stryd getree. Die span van Bloemfontein het heelwat karakter getoon om ‘n voorsprong van 19-17 te verdedig, en om die res van die seisoen onoorwonne te bly.

Vanjaar het Outeniqua reeds twee nederlae gely teen Noordheuwel (19-28) en Boland Landbou (13-15) voordat hulle kon hergroepeer om vir Pretoria Boys’ High (29-12) en Menlopark (37-17) te uitoorlê, maar ‘n sege teen Grey, in Bloemfontein, sal ‘n vroeë hoogtepunt van die seisoen wees.

Keenan Jantjies, wat verlede jaar op linkervleuel vir die Kwaggas diens gedoen het, is vanjaar op heelagter in aksie, met die opwindende klein skrumskakel, Ellie Meyer, wat Saterdag in Bloemfontein op losskakel uitdraf. Meyer het vantevore al getoon dat hy oor die vermoë beskik om ‘n kragmeting met sy geoefende skopskoen te draai, so hy sal beslis ‘n speler wees om dop te hou.

Jantjies is een van drie spelers in die besoekers se span wat verlede jaar ook teen Grey uitgedraf het. Die Kwaggas sal verder staatmaak op Michael Cronje en Juan Kleinhans se ervaring om voorlangs die Vrystaters te probeer tem.

Heinrich Theron, Liam van Wyk en skoolkaptein, Pieter van der Merwe, is die drietal Grey-spelers wat verlede jaar ook in die wedstryd teen Outeniqua gespeel het.

Die enigste veranderinge aan die span wat teen Jeppe verloor het is Heinz Stockenström, wat op heelagter begin, en Liam Santos, wat op agsteman gaan sak.

Van der Merwe, wat verlede jaar die SA Skole A-span gehaal het, en die groot flank, Xander Smit, het uitgeblink in hul vorige wedstryde teen King Edward VII (51-16), Welkom Gimnasium (52-5) en Hoërskool Trio (38-3). Na die teleurstellende resultaat teen Jeppe, sal die hele Grey-span egter brand om hope trots te herwin.

Die laaste keer wat Outeniqua vir Grey kon troef was in 2013, toe Duhan van der Merwe, Warrick Gelant en Dewald Human vir die Kwaggas tot ‘n sege van 22-20 gelei het. Die span van George het daardie seisoen slegs een keer verloor, toe hulle met 10-16 die knie gebuig het teen Paarl Gimnasium.

Grey het daardie jaar ook teen Affies vasgeval met 31-37.

Die spanne

Grey-kollege t. Hoërskool Outeniqua om 13:45:

Grey-kollege: 15 Heinz Stockenström, 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.

Outeniqua: 15 Keenan Jantjies, 14 Kerwinn Scott, 13 Reshaan Damans, 12 Luca Potgieter, 11 Xavier Solomans, 10 Ellie Meyer, 9 Jayzee Olivier, 8 Gareth Maree, 7 Ruart Curlewis, 6 Nicolas Duvenhage, 5 Michael Cronje, 4 Ruben Rossouw, 3 Juan Kleinhans, 2 Luan van der Sandt, 1 Deven Kleingeld.

Die bepalings:

Hoof: 08:30 – Grey-kollege V t. Fichardtpark II; 09:45 – Grey-kollege IV t. Outeniqua III; 11:00 – Grey-kollege II t. Outeniqua II; 12:20 – Grey-kollege III t. Fichardtpark; 13:45 – Grey-kollege t. Outeniqua.

Ovaal: 08:30 – Grey-kollege o. 16 B t. Outeniqua o. 16 B; 09:45 – Grey-kollege o. 14 A t. Outeniqua o. 14 A; 11:00 – Grey-kollege o. 15 A t. Outeniqua o. 15 A; 12:20 – Grey-kollege o. 16 A t. Outeniqua o. 16 A.

GCB A: 08:30 – Grey-kollege o. 15 B t. Outeniqua o. 15 B; 09:45 – Grey-kollege o. 15 D t. Fichardtpark o. 15 B; 11:00 – Grey-kollege o. 16 C t. Fichardtpark o. 16 A; 12:20 – Grey-kollege o. 15 C t. Fichardtpark o. 15 A.

GCB B: 08:30 – Grey-kollege o. 14 D t. Fichardtpark o. 14 B; 09:45 – Grey-kollege o. 16 D t. Fichardtpark o. 16 B; 11:00 – Grey-kollege o. 14 C t. Fichardtpark o. 14 A; 12:20 – Grey-kollege o. 14 B t. Outeniqua o. 14 B.