Bishops takes aim at unbeaten Wynberg, SACS faces wounded Paarl Gim

Wynberg Boys’ High will be aiming to continue their unbeaten run when they kick off the first of their southern suburb double-headers against Bishops Diocesan College on the Piley Rees Field on Saturday.
As one of the few teams yet to taste defeat this season, Wynberg has been one of the pacesetters in the Western Cape, delivering some spectacular performances to defeat almost every opponent they’ve come up against thus far.
Most recently, however, Grey High managed to hold them to a 10-10 draw in Cape Town. Before that, Wynberg recorded an historic 30-27 win against Paarl Boys’ High at the Buco Brug Street Stadium, where Yaqeen Ahmed slotted the winning penalty in the final moments of the clash.
Bishops have not had the season they would have hoped for in their 175th year. They lost their star scrumhalf Kashief Joseph to an injury and, despite some brave fighting spirit shown by the boys in white, the results have not gone their way thus far.
Ending their rivals’ spectacular run would go a long way towards righting their season, though, and one thing that is certain is that will not be lacking in motivation when they host the rampant Wynberg boys on Saturday.
Bishops will have their hands full containing Wynberg’s wings, Levi Brown and Kunene Gadu, and with their SA Schools A flyhalf, Ahmed, guiding their attack, the visitors will be excited about an opportunity to get back to winning ways after last week’s draw.
Last year, Bishops toppled Wynberg 14-10 away from home before Wynberg returned the favour in the return fixture, winning 27-20 on the Piley Rees.
Meanwhile, SACS travels to take on a wounded Paarl Gimnasium on the JA Kriel Field.
Watch that game live on SuperSport Schools – Register now – Link to the match
Gim has been in top form this season and until last weekend, when Grey College scraped a 29-27 victory in Paarl, had maintained an unbeaten record despite facing some of the top sides in the country.
Chandler Green stood out for the Gimmies at flyhalf and will spearhead their challenge this weekend.
After a slow start to their season, SACS impressed against Stellenberg (24-22) and Brackenfell (54-27) but Rondebosch Boys’ High dismantled them 55-22 last weekend.
Taking on the Paarl giants on their home field will undoubtedly be the biggest challenge so far for SACS and they will need to produce something special and unexpected to upset the Gimmies.
The return of SACS’ captain, Seth Bradford, who has been out due to injury for most of the season, will be a welcome boost for the Cape Town school.
Rondebosch will seek to tap into the momentum they took from their decisive victory over SACS when they take on Melkbosstrand.
TEAMS
Diocesan College vs Wynberg Boys’ High at 12:30
Diocesan College: 15 Wa-keem Fortuin, 14 Rynard Gordon, 13 Alex Newton, 12 Alex Laspatzis, 11 Ben Koenig, 10 Jordan Petersen, 9 Lucca Mynhardt, 8 Aza Gabada, 7 Alex Smith, 6 Daniel van den Heever, 5 Rieko Kidha, 4 James Kotze, 3 Yusuf Ahmed, 2 Jack Campbell, 1 Gareth Mckinon.
Wynberg Boys’ High: 15 Morne Noble, 14 Kunene Gadu, 13 Ezra Antonio, 12 Brandon Ashburner, 11 Levi Brown, 10 Yaqeen Ahmed, 9 Tyrone Gombe, 8 Jaden Meier, 7 Aden da Costa, 6 Jamie Stride, 5 Tjeripo Karuhumba, 4 Jaythen Orange, 3 Luqobo Makwedini, 2 Xabiso Matthews, 1 Benjamin Matthews.
Paarl Gimnasium vs SACS at 12:00
Paarl Gimnasium: 15 Josh O’Neill, 14 Freek de Kock, 13 Markus Muller, 12 Kobus Blanckenberg, 11 Markus Moolman, 10 Chandler Green, 9 Melt Viljoen, 8 Adriaan Louw, 7 Wihan Kotze, 6 Jan Koegelenberg, 5 Marinus Daling, 4 Stiaan de Goede, 3 Ely Williams, 2 Dawie Stemmet, 1 Jean-Jacques du Preez.
SACS: 15 Jack Benade, 14 Imtiaz Abrahams, 13 Nic Reynolds, 12 Matt Carrick, 11 Endi Sidinile, 10 Rayaan Solomons, 9 Seth Bradford, 8 Daniel Grant, 7 Tashriq Bailey, 5 Zac Wilson, 4 Callum Hirst, 3 Ikhona Maxegwana, 2 Sango Zangqa, 1 Ethan Combrink.
Melkbosstrand vs Rondebosch Boys’ High at 13:15
Melkbosstrand: 15 Waydon Afrikaner, 14 Jordan Heys, 13 Cyle Theys, 12 David Kuhburger, 11 Logan Becker, 10 Joel Maree, 9 Patrick van Niekerk, 8 Hanro Bresser, 7 Christiaan de Beer, 6 Zaheer Moosa, 5 Tristen Els, 4 Melkisidek Wakazadi, 3 Brody Nel, 2 Deyondre Andrews, 1 Janco Labuschagne.
Rondebosch Boys’ High: 15 Caleb Louw, 14 David Kadima, 13 Ewan Lawrie, 12 Alutha Wesi, 11 Shakeel Abrahams, 10 Harry Soboil, 9 James Kirsten, 8 Collin Paul Kemp, 7 Matthys du Plooy, 6 Travis van den Berg, 5 Danil-Nicolas Oosthuizen, 4 Carl Geddie, 3 Damian Spence, 2 Kai Ramsbottom, 1 Luke Pretorius.