Jeppe square up against old rivals Parktown Boys’ High

Johannesburg is set to witness one of the fiercest rivalries between two of the city’s most prominent boys’ schools, with Parktown Boys’ High School hosting a powerhouse Jeppe High School for Boys.

The first XV gets underway at 13:00 pm.

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

The first teams have met on 58 separate occasions where scores have been recorded, the last time hosts Parktown beat Jeppe was back in 2018, where the side won comfortably winning that match 38-24.

Between 2020 – 2021, no matches were played between the two schools due to the COVID pandemic, which wreaked havoc across the country. In 2022, Jeppe won the match in fashion crushing Parktown 38-7 at home on Collard Field.

Parktown have struggled this season to find a consistent winning formula and have tried using various players in different roles during the year to fill various gaps.

Captain Sandsiso Sitole has been impressive in both offensive and defensive play during the season and has shown his kicking ability, the side is without Lions Academy player Azola Peter.

Jeppe has had a solid 2023 season and have shown their grittiness when it comes to playing deep into the dying minutes of the match. This was evident when they nearly held off a rampant Affies for nearly the entire match, only to lose the match in the dying minutes of the game.

The side however found themselves on the other end of the stick where they were able to beat Pretoria Boys’ High School the following week in the last two minutes of the match, winning 22-16.

Two of Jeppe’s players represented the Lions at the Craven Week which included outside centre Khuthadzo Rasivhaga and McMillen Mongwana, who starts from the bench this week after picking up a niggle during training.

Five of the players represented the Lions u19 Academy side, which was excellently led by inside center Exauce Kevani.

Jeppe will be looking at scrumhalf Bryce Samuel to provide an injection of energy into the backline, the diminutive number nine had a successful u19 Academy Week where he was named player of the match against Western Province.

With such a long history between these two schools, one can expect to see a packed stand of Parktown supporters with the beating of drums going on in the background.

Can Parktown dance to the rhythm of their own beat and cause an upset against a dominant Jeppe team?

The teams:

Parktown Boys’ High: 15 Sihle Mncube, 14 Karabo Phokwane, 13 Bhukiso Moyo, 12 Lissasa Mnukosi, 11 Reval Meth, 10 Sebastian Sekoto, 9 Thembela Folo, 8 Siya Dlamini, 7 Olwenkosi Sibeko, 6 Busisiwe Mngomezulu, 5 Joshua Yoane, 4 Sandsiso Sitole, 3 Joshua Yoane, 2 Chris Junio Maile, 1 Kabelo Matabola.

Jeppe High School for Boys: 15 Sanele Shabangu, 14 Thulani Tshabalala, 13 Khuthadzo Rasivhaga, 12 Exauce Kevani, 11 Bokamoso Maphisa, 10 Matthew Coetzee, 9 Bryce Samuel, 8 Mosiki Ndlaba, 7 Sean Mills, 6 Lesedi Masemola, 5 Luke Cannon, 4 Risima Khosa, 3 Luca Trevisan, 2 Kaleb Burger, 1 Ricardo Brandao.

Fixtures:

u14A: 9:00 am (B Field)

u16A: 10:30 am (A Field)

u15A: 11:00 am (B Field)

u19B: 11:45 am (A Field)

u19A: 13:00 pm (A Field)