Candies search for inner lion to hunt down Witbulle

Can Pretoria Boys’ High School emulate the heroics of the sides before them such as the class of 2003, 2005, 2008 and 2019 – finding themselves on the winning side of this epic classic clash against Affies?

There is a saying be weary of the injured bull, but more importantly one should be weary of the hungry lion.

With not much to lose, The Candies will be itching to go, as they face a strong Witbulle side away this weekend with the first XV kicking off at 13:30.

Catch all the action live on SuperSport Schools (www.supersportschools.com).

Twenty years ago, in 2003, the current Sharks defense coach, Joey Mongalo captained a Boys High side which featured the likes of Chiliboy Ralepelle to an emphatic 18-6 victory which ended an 18-year drought, which could inspire the current crop of players to pull off a similar feat.

If one was to critically analyze the facts as it stands; two out of these winning teams (2003 and 2005) were coached by Paul ‘The Lion’ Anthony, and again in 2019 when he was appointed as Director of Rugby.

What is more interesting if you dive deeper into the history of these two schools, when Mr Anthony was the first XV scrumhalf, Pretoria Boys High School tasted victory in 1976. The school won 19-9, after a four-year losing streak prior to that.

With a long affiliation against his nemesis Affies, he provides great perspective and guidance to the boys, on what it is like to come from a position of loss into the possibility of winning and how to seize the moment.

Looking at the present two sides one would feel the sides have both probably performed slightly under-par this year based on their results. Both squads on paper at the beginning of the year, looked very competitive with a number of provincial representatives forming part of a strong Blue Bulls set-up.

Both teams have recently lost to Maritzburg College, Boys High going down 43-12, while Affies suffered a 50-31 loss at home the week before. The hosts however beat Hoërskool Waterkloof by 57-31 last weekend and will look to take forward that momentum.

Affies, South African Schools player Janco Purchase makes a return to the side after missing out against Maritzburg College, after having been bitten by a spider. The inside center is quick to the ball and has a good match awareness.

The Candies remain without their preferred number 10, Tattersall who is still sidelined due to an injury. Winger Itu Baloyi misses out this weekend also due to injury, while Jermaine Chisanga makes it into the starting XV, and gets an opportunity to showcase his talent on the wing.

In what is expected to be a physical match-up, keep an eye on the forward packs, where the size advantage of Affies may play a significant role. Captains Steyn Truter and Shaun Schürmann will come toe-toe when they face each other in the scrums, where both players know each other well, having played together at Craven Week.

Long-Standing History

The first encounter took place in 1923 after Affies split from the original Pretoria Boys’ High, with Boys High initially dominating, where the schools faced each other on three separate occasions in that year. The Candies won the inaugural clash winning that match 6-3.

However, Affies gradually gained momentum, and from the seventies onward, they started to dominate the encounters – making life difficult for the boys across the railway.

Over the years, they have played 120 games, with Affies winning 69, Pretoria Boys’ High securing 42 victories, and 9 matches ending in draws. During the COVID pandemic the 2020 clash between the two schools was not played, the only other time matches that have been cancelled were in 1944 during the second World War and in 1957 during the great flu pandemic.

With a long history behind these two schools, one can feel the tension brewing across the railway line in the build-up to this hotly contested match. Affies will walk into this fixture as favorites having won a higher percentage of their matches compared to the visitors.

Perhaps the roar of ‘The Lion’ can motivate the Candies on what it is like to taste victory in this hugely anticipated South African schoolboy rugby derby match which dates back 98 years.

Expect a large crowd to gather where the stands will be packed with old boys from schools pouring in to watch. Hold onto your seats, as another classic clash awaits!

The teams:

Affies: 15 Migael de Lange, 14 Stephan Brits, 13 Theuns Maritz, 12 Janco Purchase, 11 Eagan Roux, 10 Ruben Pienaar, 9 Hendre Schoeman, 8 Ruan Lippold, 7 Juan Vorster, 6 Braam Swanepoel, 5 Jonathan Eloff, 4 JD Hattingh, 3 Ethan Van Dyk 2 FC van Rooyen, 1 Steyn Truter (captain).

Pretoria Boys’ High: 15 Kyle Hezlett, 14 Jermaine Chisanga, 13 Ntsako Ndlovu, 12 Rickus Wessels, 11 Christoper Smith, 10 Keethan Fitz, 9 Joshua Naude, 8 Stephen Adams, 7 Marcel De Beer, 6 Thapelo Mphela, 5 Tsephpiso Shikhibana, 4 Randy Muzungu, 3 Ofentse Moeng, 2 Shaun Schürmann, 1 Kitso Mokoena.

Fixtures:

All fixtures are taking place on Affies A-Field.

u14A: 8:00 am

u15A: 9:00 am

u16A: 10:00 am

u19B: 12:20 pm

u19A: 13:30 pm