Bishops look to upset a wounded Boishaai for the first time since 2014
Paarl Boys’ High look to bounce back against Bishops this weekend before the big Paarl derby.
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Daniel van der Merwe (centre), Rubin Dames (flanker) and their SA Schools eighth man, Divan Fuller, are back to bolster the Boishaai team after missing out last week.
Jameel de Jongh (winger) and JC Mars (fullback) have been chosen for the SA Schools team alongside Fuller after they starred for the Western Province at the Craven Week in George this year.
When these two teams met last year, De Jongh scored a brace as Boishaai conquered Bishops 29-7 on the Piley Rees field.
The last time Diocesan College beat Paarl Boys’ High was in 2014 when Cornel Smit and Tristan Leyds who currently play for the Stormers, were in the Bishops team as they beat Boishaai 10-0 in a 40-minute match at the Schools Day in Newlands, later that year Boishaai set the records straight, beating Bishops 36-3 in Paarl.
Though the powerhouse from Paarl had the most players in the WP Craven Week team of any school this year and they have been electric at times this season, another unexpected 26-22 loss last weekend to Boland Landbou marked their fourth defeat of the season, which will not be up to the high standards they set for themselves at the prestigious school.
With the squad effectively back to full strength, reeling after last weekend’s upset, Boishaai will be a difficult beast to tame on Saturday.
Diocesan College has been the in-form team in the southern suburbs this season, their SA Schools scrumhalf, Hassiem Pead, their SA Schools A fullback, Gilermo Mentoe, and Aidan Norris (eighth man) performed very well alongside many of the Paarl Boys’ High players as part of the WP team at the Craven Week.
All new friendships forged over the holiday will be put aside on Saturday when the two teams take to the field, however.
For Bishops, this is a chance to add a big name to what has already been a strong season, and for Boishaai it is an opportunity to bounce back and make a statement before the big Paarl derby on the 5th of August.
Paarl Gimnasium are also in action on Saturday when they host Rondebosch Boys’ High.
The Gimmies have been the in-form team in the South this year. Their only loss came against Grey College early in the season (33-12), and they were held to a 10-all draw against Outeniqua in George last weekend.
Apart from those two games they have been able to overcome every opponent they have faced this year.
Tazreeq Moerat starts at flyhalf, instead of his regular fullback position from where he has created many of his side’s scoring opportunities this season, as Gimmies are managing a small injury to their SA Schools flyhalf, Kyle Smith.
The home team will also be looking to send a message before the Paarl derby and though Rondebosch have been impressive this year, they will need their best performance of the season for a chance to upset Paarl Gim.
Their task is made even more difficult with their Craven Week hooker, Justin Amos, being unavailable for this weekend’s match.
Rondebosch are coming off the back of a disappointing defeat in a closely fought match against Stellenberg (20-17).
They showed great character in their 12-7 defeat away to Paarl Boys’ High earlier in the season, but that will not make this weekend’s task any less daunting as they face one of the top three teams in the country.
SACS host a Boland Landbou team that will be flying high after their victory against Boishaai last weekend.
The hosts are still without their stalwart prop and captain, Ali Osman-Bosch, due to injury but they played well to contain Durbanville to a 22-all draw last weekend.
Durbanville was the first team to get the better of Paarl Boys’ High this season when they beat them 26-25 early on in the season.
For Boland Landbou, their playmaker flyhalf, Retagan van Rooi, will be one to watch on Saturday.
Hans Verster (flanker) and Cilliers Viljoen (hooker) will have a big role to play as well, and they have shown how effective they can be at ruck time.
SACS’ centre pairing of Daniel Dayaram and Raashied Conrad was solid last week and Boland Landbou will be keeping an eye on them.
The teams are:
Paarl Boys’ High vs Diocesan College at 12:50:
Paarl Boys’ High: 15 JC Mars, 14 Scott Nel, 13 Bryan Burger, 12 Daniel van der Merwe, 11 Jameel de Jongh, 10 Ruan van Willing, 9 Juan Loots, 8 Divan Fuller, 7 Chris Nel, 6 Rubin Dames, 5 Michael Versfeld, 4 Neil Hansen, 3 Alfie Holm, 2 HB Odendaal, 1 Michael Pretorius.
Diocesan College: 15 Wayden Moses, 14 Ayanda Bonoyi, 13 Wa-Keem Fortuin, 12 Nic Allison, 11 Lucca Mynhardt, 10 Shaywan Blanckenberg, 9 Hassiem Pead, 8 Aidan Norris, 7 Tapiwa Nkumanda, 6 Alex Smith, 5 CJ Gordon, 4 Zach Willemse, 3 Nashe Chahwahwa, 2 Merlin Fransman, 1 Richard Horton.
Paarl Gimnasium vs Rondebosch Boys’ High at 12:15:
Paarl Gimnasium: 15 Enzo Labuschagne, 14 Freek de Kock, 13 Hennie Otto, 12 Kobus Blanckenberg, 11 Pieter-Nel du Plessis, 10 Tazreeq Moerat, 9 Dawid Kotze, 8 Nicus van Coller, 7 Louw du Toit, 6 Adrúan Kotze, 5 Marco Steyn, 4 Danio Botha, 3 Nicholas Crous, 2 Dean Louw, 1 Xander Mynhardt.
Rondebosch Boys’ High: 15 Dylan Miller, 14 Juma Amissi, 13 Nic Molyneux, 12 Matthew Malherbe, 11 Ethan Gordon, 10 David Simon, 9 Cameron Whitson, 8 Ryan du Rand, 7 Sunday Mailoni-Burns, 6 Alutha Wesi, 5 Tom Barnard, 4 Carl Geddie, 3 Zev Schapiro, 2 Tom van Wyk, 1 Nic Swier.
SACS vs Boland Landbou at 12:10:
SACS: 15 Aya Machuli, 14 Jack Benade, 13 Daniel Dayaram, 12 Raashied Conrad, 11 Ilitha Ntinini, 10 Rayaan Solomons, 9 Seth Bradford, 8 Niche Koopman, 7 Ben van Coller, 6 Richard Skeeles, 5 Khwezi Ndlovu, 4 Zach Kennedy, 3 Ikhona Maxegwana, 2 Alex Pybus, 1 Tumelo Noah.
Boland Landbou: 15 Lyle Lewis, 14 Wehan Lume, 13 Ruan Jongsma, 12 Albie Bester, 11 Enslin Claasen, 10 Retagan van Rooi, 9 Turlon Adams, 8 AJ van der Merwe, 7 Alru Gous, 6 Hans Verster, 5 Ruan Viviers, 4 Karst Smits, 3 Christoff Etzebeth, 2 Cilliers Viljoen, 1 Malcolm Lamont.
Milnerton vs DF Malan at 11:15:
Milnerton: 15 Keegan Wood, 14 Carl Moatshe, 13 Morgan Lodewyk, 12 Frank Hitimana, 11 Qhamani Mangele, 10 Devon Damons, 9 Raqeeb Kapery, 8 Liberty Nyashanu, 7 Cole Wegewarth, 6 Ethan Wilson, 5 Matthew Gabriel, 4 Keenan Togni, 3 Khanyisa Tafeni, 2 Keagan Harding, 1 Liam Ross.
DF Malan: TBC
