Electric Paul Roos visits on-fire Wynberg
On Saturday, Wynberg Boys’ High, fresh off a thrilling 38-33 win over Rondebosch Boys’ High, welcomes Paul Roos Gimnasium for an enticing showdown on Hawthornden Field.
Last year, in a memorable unbeaten season, the Maroon Machine scored a convincing 50-25 win over Wynberg in Stellenbosch.
Ou Polla’s boys will aim to continue their winning ways after an impressive 34-5 victory over Stellenberg last time out.
Stellies beat Wynberg earlier in the season, but the home side is playing far better rugby than they were two months ago.
The Paul Roos lineup includes two players who have been selected for the Western Province Craven Week side. The first is their captain and hooker Altus Rabe, who leads from the front.
PRG is a big, physical side and Rabe will be at the forefront of their efforts to dominate the set scrums and lineouts. He also serves as a fourth loose-forward, makes dominant tackles and carries powerfully.
Eighthman Gert Kemp will also be a long train to stop with his excellent work rate and strong support lines. On attack he’s a load, running excellent support lines, while on defence he delivers brick wall tackles.
Wynberg has five players who will be headed to the Craven Week – an impressive return.
Lock and captain Jaythen Orange is a standout. He’s a leader of men, who is influential in the set pieces, a mean tackler, and an absolute work horse. He gets around the field and frequently pops up in support, leading to him scoring the kinds of tries from open play that few second-rowers produce with regularity.
Flyhalf Achmat Behardien is a clever playmaker with excellent passing accuracy and range. He also knows his way around a kicking tee. With his imagination and incisive reading of the game, if Wynberg gets good ball, he’ll pose difficult questions of Paul Roos.
Wynberg likes to play the game at speed. They don’t like to wait around and are dangerous from set pieces. The quick tap is always on, and a scrum from anywhere on the field is an opportunity for a backline move.
Scrumhalf Morné Noble has a keen eye for a gap, too, so the visitors will have a laundry list of threats to look out for. They will need to stay alert until the final whistle blows.
Their backs will have to do their homework so as not to get drawn in by the deceptive running lines of the elusive Wynberg centres, Yaqeen Ahmed and Kunene Gadu.
And yet, somehow, the Maroon Machine is an even tougher attack to figure out. Last week, they scored four very different tries against Stellenberg.
One was from an offload in the tackle between two loose forwards. One was a snipe at the breakdown from a lock. One was from an intercept with only 12 men on the field.
Then, of course, there was a magnificent chip and collect between scrumhalf Liam de Silva and Winger Keenan Stoffels. That’s the kind of individual brilliance for which one cannot properly prepare. Sometimes, one has to simply acknowledge that brilliance.
Teams
Wynberg Boys’ High vs Paul Roos Gimnasium, Hawthornden Field, Cape Town, 12:30
Wynberg: 15 Daniel Ould, 14 Chad Campbell, 13 Kunene Gadu, 12 Yaqeen Ahmed, 11 Albert Lourens, 10 Achmat Behardien, 9 Morné Noble, 8 Alvin Machinja, 7 Tjeripo Karuhumba, 6 Jamie Stride, 5 James Orwin, 4 Jaythen Orange, 3 Luqobo Makwedini, 2 Noah Gila, 1 Luke Miller.
Paul Roos: 15 Luke van Schoor, 14 Divan Lamprecht, 13 Tiaan Basson, 12 Ian Smith, 11 Keenan Stoffels, 10 Travis Pheiffer, 9 Jan-Jan Nel, 8 Gert Kemp, 7 Luke Kent, 6 Dylan van Wyck, 5 Truspe Schoeman, 4 Manus van Leeuwen, 3 Gerrit van Vuuren, 2 Altus Rabe (Captain), 1 Zak Hickman.
