In form Kwaggas and Grey College to face each other in a titanic battle
After the early fixtures and the NMI Toyota Menlyn North/South tournament at Affies at the beginning of the month it is clear that, Outeniqua and Grey College, are the standout teams so far this season.
As fate would have it, these two teams face each other this weekend to remove any speculation as to how they would compare to one another.
Bloemfontein’s rugby factory, Grey College, travels to George this weekend to face Outeniqua for what promises to be one of the games of the year.
Watch the match live on SuperSport Schools (www.supersportschools.com).
Although some of the other big guns like Paarl Boys’ High and Garsfontein might still have something to add to the conversation.
Grey have started their campaign firing on all cylinders with a team that has been playing together since the World Schools Festival at the end of 2022.
This year they have already done away with the likes of Paarl Gimnasium (33-12) and Maritzburg College (37-24), and it looks like it will take a special effort to prevent another perfect season for the boys from Bloem.
Outeniqua is a team that specializes in big moments though and strong wins over Monument (32-27) and Noordheuwel (18-14) have stated their intent for their centenary year. Beating Grey for the fourth time in their history, at home, in their 100th year, would be the perfect way to celebrate the immense growth of their rugby program.
Grey is accustomed to being the number one target though, and has a history of spoiling many a school’s “dream season”.
Their forward pack, led by their captain and eighthman, JJ Theron, have been exemplary this year, not only scoring many of Grey’s tries but also creating a solid platform to allow the likes of Ian van der Merwe (flyhalf), Benito Goeda (centre) and Vincent Wolhuter (fullback) to perform their magic in the backline.
Players like JT Strydom (fullback) and Estiaan Cronje (centre) have been involved in some spectacular backline play for Outeniqua in their previous fixtures and the home team will want to play the game at a high pace to allow their backline to showcase their talent, but it will be up to their forwards to secure quick ball against the Grey pack.
There will also be an interesting battle in the front as the Kwaggas’ SA Schools loosehead prop, Ruan Swart, take on Jean Erasmus in the scrums. Swart who is originally from the City of Roses and attended Jim Fouche before joining Outeniqua would’ve probably never made it to Craven Week if he stayed in the Free State.
The two teams have met on ten previous occasions, with the side from George winning two of those matches in 2005 and 2013.
Their previous encounter, last year, was called off after 35 minutes of play due to the danger of lighting, but Grey already had a solid 21-3 lead at that point.
That game, in Bloemfontein, was meant to be the first of what will hopefully become an annual fixture between the two and this year’s meeting will go a long way towards deciding whether such an inter could be feasible for both schools.
With the success of Outeniqua’s rugby program over recent years, producing players like Warrick Gelant, Manie Libbok, Akker van der Merwe and Duhan van der Merwe, and Grey’s sustained success over its history, this will be a highly competitive pairing and would be a welcome addition to the calendar.
The teams:
Outeniqua: 15 JT Strydom, 14 JJ Daters, 13 Ashwin Damons, 12 Estiaan Cronje, 11 Keenan Jantjies, 10 Andrew Stopforth, 9 Jamil Pretorius, 8 Brendan Gouws, 7 Dewald Gerber, 6 Jefwinn Wesso, 5 Michael Cronje, 4 Jayden Potgieter, 3 Juan Kleynhans, 2 Nathan Smit, 1 Ruan Swart.
Grey College: 15 Vincent Wolhuter, 14 Hayden Tolmay, 13 Benito Goeda, 12 Pieter van der Merwe, 11 Martin Botha, 10 Ian van der Merwe, 9 Christiaan van der Westhuizen, 8 JJ Theron, 7 Keegan Scholtz, 6 Jean-Henri Smit, 5 Marno Stopforth, 4 Heinrich Theron, 3 Jean Erasmus, 2 Liam van Wyk, 1 Ranon Fouché.
Other fixtures on the A-field:
08:15 – u14 – Outeniqua vs Grey College
09:15 – u15 – Outeniqua vs Grey College
10:15 – u16 – Outeniqua vs Grey College
11:25 – u19 – HTS Eden vs Grey College III
12:35 – u19 – Outeniqua II vs Grey College II
14:05 – u19 – Outeniqua vs Grey College
