Grey College has to produce some magic at home to secure unbeaten season
Grey College is on the brink of adding another perfect season to its rich rugby history on Saturday when they host Paul Roos Gimnasium for their annual FNB Classic Clash at 14:00.
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Grey has looked to be in a league of its own this year, winning all 15 of their matches so far this season with some world-class performances against the strongest teams in the country.
Their dominance has, of course, also caught the attention of the national selectors and six Grey players have been selected for the South African u18 group to compete against England.
Captain, JJ Theron (eighthman), Ranon Fouché (prop), Jean Erasmus (prop), Marno Stopforth (lock), Christiaan van der Westhuizen (scrumhalf) and Ian van der Merwe (flyhalf) are all unavailable for the last game of the season as they make part of the SA u18 group. Paul Roos is also without Riley Norton (lock) who has been called up to the team to face England.
This fixture has clashed with the u18 international games for a number of years with both schools regularly producing some of the best players in the country.
The Grey College captain has no doubt about the abilities of the boys who will be taking their places for Saturday’s clash.
“Every one of them deserves to be there, in that moment, because they worked just as hard throughout the season,” said Theron.
His message to the players tasked with protecting the team’s unbeaten record for the season is simply, “The entire Grey family is standing behind you and backing you all the way.”
This will be the 36th encounter between these two proud schools, and Paul Roos will be looking for their 10th victory.
Last year Paul Roos not only managed to beat Grey’s first team for the first time since 2015 (34-19), but they also won the u19B, u16A, u15A and u14A games in a very wet Stellenbosch, so the Bloemfonteiners will have a point to prove throughout the age-grades this year.
Paul Roos’ captain and flanker, Andreas Oosthuizen, his big prop, Ryan Jack, and centre, Phillip Groenewald, were in the victorious starting fifteen for the team from Stellenbosch last year and will hope to end their school rugby careers by backing that performance up with another big win.
Theron, Van der Merwe, Stopforth, Fouche and Erasmus played in the Grey team last year and will not have the opportunity to get their revenge on Saturday, but their big line-breaking flanker, Jean-Henri Smit, was also in that team and will be itching for the chance to help set the record straight this year.
Keegan Scholtz covers the eighth man position for Grey in the absence of his captain, which makes room for Juan Venter to start at flanker. Emile McGeer and Danie Kruger fill out the front row, where they will have a huge role to play in asserting their dominance over the pack from Stellenbosch.
Schalk du Plessis starts at lock in place of Stopforth who joins the SA U18 squad straight after coming back from Trinidad and Tobago where he captained the SA U18 Sevens team to a bronze medal at the 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games.
Pharrel van Wyk, Grey College’s big Craven Week flyhalf gets to start in the place of Van der Merwe, with Phillip Mclaren at scrumhalf.
For Paul Roos, the only change is Charl Hollwill starting at lock while Norton is away.
Norton is only in grade 11 this year and will be a player to watch next year, having already made the SA U18 group. He is also a keen cricketer and was selected as a non-travelling reserve for the SA U18 cricket team earlier in the year.
Grey’s backline remains mostly unchanged and the hosts will be looking to players like their centre-pairing of Benito Goeda and Pieter van der Merwe to lead their attack.
While Grey has stood out this season, Paul Roos has produced a number of extremely impressive performances as well.
They beat Paarl Boys’ High in Paarl for the first time in twenty years by 35-17 with their two big props, Jack and Oliver Reid having a massive impact on that game.
If the Maroon Machine can dominate the battle up front again in Bloemfontein they may be able to cause Grey some problems.
Paul Roos will need to be at their best though, and after being subdued by Boland Landbou in Paarl in their previous match and losing by 28-12, they need to find their rhythm again quickly if they are to topple the Bloemfontein giants.
The visitors are bolstered by the return of their live-wire centre, Samuel Badenhorst, who was also part of the u18 Sevens team.
Their captain, Oosthuizen and his eighthman, Reuben Kruger, have been enforcers for their team this season and will undoubtedly be bringing that same physicality to Bloemfontein over the weekend for the fixture that both schools look forward to the most throughout the season.
The battle between the flyhalves will also be an interesting one to follow on Saturday.
Van Wyk is the more physical of the two but Paul Roos’ Lee-Jay Petersen has combined brilliantly with his lively little scrumhalf, Zeke January, to manage the game all season and in a fixture that has been decided by the smallest of margins, goal kickers are always of the utmost importance and whoever steps up to the kicking tee in the place of Grey College’s trusted regular flyhalf, Ian van der Merwe, will have a big responsibility on their shoulders.
Whatever the outcome, a derby between two of the powerhouses in South African school rugby never disappoints, and Saturday promises to be another classic.
The teams are:
Grey College vs Paul Roos Gimnasium at 14:00:
Grey College: 15 Vincent Wolhuter, 14 Hayden Tolmay, 13 Benito Goeda, 12 Pieter van der Merwe, 11 Martin Botha, 10 Pharrell van Wyk, 9 Philip Mclaren, 8 Keegan Scholtz, 7 Juan Venter, 6 Jean-Henri Smit, 5 Schalk du Plessis, 4 Heinrich Theron, 3 Danie Kruger, 2 Liam van Wyk, 1 Emile McGeer.
Paul Roos Gimnasium: 15 Declan Croy, 14 Etson Keehan, 13 Samuel Badenhorst, 12 Phillip Groenewald, 11 Keenan Stoffels, 10 Lee-Jay Petersen, 9 Zeke January, 8 Reuben Kruger, 7 Jean-Luc Joubert, 6 Andreas Oosthuizen, 5 Charl Hollwill, 4 Truspe Schoeman, 3 Ryan Jack, 2 Christian de Villiers, 1 Oliver Reid.
Other fixtures:
u19 B – 11:30 (Main Field)
u16 A – 12:40 (Main Field)
u15 A – 09:10 (Main Field)
u14 A – 09:10 (Oval)
Previous Meetings:
| # | Year | nt_header_2 | nt_header_3 | nt_header_4 | nt_header_5 | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 36 | 2022 | Paul Roos Gimnasium | 34 | Grey College | 19 | Stellenbosch |
| 35 | 2019 | Grey College | 51 | Paul Roos Gimnasium | 28 | Stellenbosch |
| 34 | 2018 | Grey College | 28 | Paul Roos Gimnasium | 26 | Bloemfontein |
| 33 | 2017 | Grey College | 30 | Paul Roos Gimnasium | 28 | Stellenbosch |
| 32 | 2016 | Grey College | 34 | Paul Roos Gimnasium | 32 | Bloemfontein |
| 31 | 2015 | Paul Roos Gimnasium | 19 | Grey College | 12 | Stellenbosch |
| 30 | 2014 | Grey College | 25 | Paul Roos Gimnasium | 20 | Bloemfontein |
| 29 | 2013 | Grey College | 40 | Paul Roos Gimnasium | 8 | Stellenbosch |
| 28 | 2012 | Grey College | 33 | Paul Roos Gimnasium | 23 | Bloemfontein |
| 27 | 2011 | Grey College | 36 | Paul Roos Gimnasium | 35 | Stellenbosch |
| 26 | 2010 | Grey College | 41 | Paul Roos Gimnasium | 29 | Bloemfontein |
| 25 | 2009 | Paul Roos Gimnasium | 9 | Grey College | 3 | Stellenbosch |
| 24 | 2008 | Grey College | 47 | Paul Roos Gimnasium | 15 | Bloemfontein |
| 23 | 2007 | Grey College | 40 | Paul Roos Gimnasium | 14 | Stellenbosch |
| 22 | 2006 | Paul Roos Gimnasium | 16 | Grey College | 11 | Bloemfontein |
| 21 | 2005 | Grey College | 16 | Paul Roos Gimnasium | 11 | Stellenbosch |
| 20 | 2004 | Grey College | 24 | Paul Roos Gimnasium | 23 | Bloemfontein |
| 19 | 2004 | Paul Roos Gimnasium | 21 | Grey College | 18 | |
| 18 | 2003 | Grey College | 18 | Paul Roos Gimnasium | 17 | Stellenbosch |
| 17 | 2002 | Grey College | 19 | Paul Roos Gimnasium | 8 | Bloemfontein |
| 16 | 2001 | Grey College | 15 | Paul Roos Gimnasium | 6 | Stellenbosch |
| 15 | 2000 | Grey College | 42 | Paul Roos Gimnasium | 13 | Bloemfontein |
| 14 | 1999 | Grey College | 29 | Paul Roos Gimnasium | 26 | Stellenbosch |
| 13 | 1998 | Grey College | 23 | Paul Roos Gimnasium | 15 | Bloemfontein |
| 12 | 1997 | Paul Roos Gimnasium | 12 | Grey College | 8 | Stellenbosch |
| 11 | 1996 | Grey College | 18 | Paul Roos Gimnasium | 10 | Bloemfontein |
| 10 | 1995 | Grey College | 21 | Paul Roos Gimnasium | 10 | Stellenbosch |
| 9 | 1994 | Paul Roos Gimnasium | 31 | Grey College | 29 | Bloemfontein |
| 8 | 1993 | Paul Roos Gimnasium | 28 | Grey College | 8 | Stellenbosch |
| 7 | 1992 | Grey College | 20 | Paul Roos Gimnasium | 6 | Bloemfontein |
| 6 | 1991 | Paul Roos Gimnasium | 20 | Grey College | 3 | Stellenbosch |
| 5 | 1990 | Grey College | 17 | Paul Roos Gimnasium | 9 | |
| 4 | 1989 | Grey College | 28 | Paul Roos Gimnasium | 7 | |
| 3 | 1988 | Grey College | 16 | Paul Roos Gimnasium | 9 | |
| 2 | 1977 | Grey College | 20 | Paul Roos Gimnasium | 10 | |
| 1 | 1967 | Grey College | 22 | Paul Roos Gimnasium | 3 |
