Rondebosch favoured at home in Bish/Bosh battle
Rondebosch Boys’ High hosts Diocesan College in a King Price Derby Series match on Saturday.
The big Bish/Bosh clash kicks off at 14:10 on the Tinkie Heyns Field.
When the southern suburbs rivals met at Rondebosch last season, the home team scored a 22-5 victory. They also won 31-16 on the Piley Rees in 2024.
‘Bosch, though, enters the clash hurting after a going down 33-38 to Wynberg Boys’ High in their last outing, a couple of weeks back.
Bishops, meanwhile, has lost four on the trot since a 14-14 draw with SACS. They’ve been on a tough run, facing Stellenberg, Wynberg, Paarl Gimnasium, and Paarl Boys’ High since. In fact, one has to go back to 12 April to find the visitors’ last win, a 24-12 defeat of Brackenfell.
Advantage Rondebosch. But they’re missing some influential players for Saturday’s big showdown. Prop Damian Spence, flank Linakho Mehlomakulu, and scrumhalf Caleb Bell are all out.
The Saturday weather forecast for Cape Town promises a cool 16 degrees Celsius, with little wind and lots of sun.
Bishops will look to their hooker, captain and one of their try scorers against Paarl Boys’ High last week, Daniel van den Heever, to lead from the front.
Playing in Paarl, Bishops showed admirable resilience to score two tries late in the second half during their 12-33 defeat to Boishaai. They’ll hope that was a spark that will burst into a flame this weekend. They lean on the rolling maul in the opposition’s 22, but, in typical Bishops’ style, they like to get the ball out wide to the flanks at speed.
Rondebosch boasts strong versatility in their attack. Captain and flank Josh Neill always leads from the front. He reads the game expertly and is as likely to pop up around the rucks and mauls as he is on the wing, which was where he found himself to score a superb try against Wynberg.
Right wing Matthew Galpin is an elusive runner with quick feet, while the centre combination of Harry Soboil and Randall John Davids run sharp lines to draw in and confuse opposition defenders.
Once inside the 22, it’s tough to stop ‘Bosch’s pick and go game. They’re relentless and patient, so defensive discipline and physicality will be key for Bishops.
Teams
Diocesan College vs Rondebosch Boys’ High, Tinkie Heyns Field, Cape Town, 14:10
Bishops: 15 Lulibo Nyawula, 14 Ben Koenig, 13 Eljaron Geduld, 12 Boytjie Fyfer, 11 Ben Myburgh, 10 Rynard Gordon, 9 Max Marr, 8 Ethan Venter, 7 Jack Venter, 6 Yazeed Salaam, 5 Rieko Kidha, 4 Alex Vintcent, 3 Chris du Toit, 2 Daniel van den Heever (Captain), 1 Andrew Levett.
Rondebosch: 15 Daniel Cooke, 14 Matthew Galpin, 13 Randall John Davids, 12 Harry Soboil, 11 David Kadima, 10 Sebastian Boshoff, 9 James Kirsten, 8 Connor Arbuthnot, 7 Joshua Neill (Captain), 6 Alutha Wesi, 5 Bertus Versfeld, 4 Danil-Nicolas Oosthuizen, 3 Matthew van der Merwe, 2 Ismaeel Conrad, 1 Bulela Mbala.
