Springbok breeding grounds go head-to-head in City of Roses

Outside Paarl, the biggest interschools in South Africa are probably the one between Paul Roos Gimnasium and Grey College.

This match at 14:00 in Bloemfontein on Saturday is part of the exciting King Price Derby Series. Catch all the action live on SuperSport Schools (www.supersportschools.com).

Why is it so big, you may ask?

These two schools are without a doubt the two rugby factories in South Africa that has been providing the most Springboks since the country played its first test back in 1891.

Grey has produced 47 Springboks, while Paul Roos Gimnasium lay claim to 56 players who have donned the Green and Gold. Combined it is an exceptional 10.82 percent of all Springbok players ever produced.

The saying that elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers, comes to mind. It must also be noted that by this time of year in Bloemfontein, there isn’t much grass left to suffer.

“The boys have been looking forward to this occasion for probably their whole high school career. So, it is not a question about the pressure on the boys, but rather excitement amongst the boys for the opportunity to play in this game and be part of something so big,” said Jannie Geldenhuys, head coach of Grey College.

Last year, the Maroon Machine of Paul Roos handed Grey their biggest defeat ever when they comfortably won by 36-3 on a muddy Markötter Stadium in Stellenbosch.

Since the two schools’ first match back in 1967, they have played each other 39 times, with Grey coming out on top in 29 of these matches. Paul Roos has been on the winning side ten times.

The two schools will also honour former Springbok Dawie Snyman before the match. Snyman passed away this week and played for Grey in the first match between these two schools. Snyman also later coached at Paul Roos.

“Each year of schools’ rugby is unique, and this year is a new chapter. Our focus is on what we want to achieve within the match. This year’s match gives the boys within the team the opportunity to gather firewood for later in life. Each player will be collecting firewood, which they will have later in life when we look back at Saturday’s game,” said Geldenhuys.

Like every year, and as the teams and supporters have become accustomed to, a couple of boys from both sides will be missing out on this occasion due to the fact that they are on national duties for the South African u18-side in their international series.

Grey will be missing four players – Ethan Adams (outside centre), AJ Meyer (lock), JG Badenhorst (tighthead prop) and Lamla Mgedezi (fullback). On Paul Roos’ side two players, Gert Kemp (loose forward) and Altus Rabe (hooker), will be missing out on this showpiece.

So who are the favourites, the tag no team wants, for this year’s encounter?

Grey is at home, which plays a major factor in this interschools. Furthermore, the fact that three of the players who will be standing in for their team members on national duty – O’Ryan Klein (Ethan Adams), Alexi Tyropolis (AJ Meyer) and Marinus Oosthuizen (JG Badenhorst) were part of the Free State’s Craven Week team in Middelburg earlier this year.

Klein played at inside centre with Adams for most of the season, while Toriq Schambreel, who also played Craven Week, will start in Kleyn’s inside had more than a couple of starts at inside centre for the First XV. Tyropolis was playing at lock while Meyer was recovering from an injury in the early part of the season before moving to flanker.

Thristan Maree, who will be manning the fullback position in Mgedezi’s absence, has played at centre during last year’s match against Paul Roos. He also had ample playing time for his school’s pride during the season.

Paul Roos will definitely miss their captain, Altus Rabe. While their captain earlier in the season, while Rabe was recovering from an injury, Gert Kemp, will also leave a huge void in their ranks.

The teams: 

Grey College: 15 Thristan Maree, 14 Benjamin van den Berg, 13 O’Ryan Kleyn, 12 Toriq Schambreel, 11 Eddie Mabena, 10 Darius Erwee, 9 Sherwin Buys, 8 AJ Booysen, 7 Adem Nieuwoudt, 6 Xander Smit (captain), 5 Alexi Tyropolis, 4 Claude Steyn, 3 Marinus Oosthuizen, 2 Tian Fourie, 1 David Hayidakis.

Paul Roos Gimnasium: 15 Luke van Schoor, 14 Keenan Stoffels, 13 Tiaan Basson, 12 Ian Smith, 11 Jordan Steenkamp, 10 Travis Pheiffer, 9 Jan-Jan Nel, 8 Luke Kent (captain), 7 Gerhard Bekker, 6 Caleb Koeberg, 5 Manus van Leeuwen, 4 Truspe Schoeman, 3 Gerrit van Vuuren, 2 Lehan Barnard, 1 Zak Hickman.

Kick-Off: 14:00
Referee: Tiaan Engelbrecht

Previous Meetings: 

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Hannes Nienaber

Hannes Nienaber covered schools' rugby in South Africa for Volksblad, Beeld, and Rapport for 11 years. He also created the biggest school rugby website in South Africa - School of Rugby - back in 2007. It eventually morphed into Supersport Schools Plus. He still occasionally milks cows.

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