Kwaggas looking to put cherry on top of centenary celebrations against Paarl Gim
Outeniqua looks to add another big victory to their record in their centenary year when they host Paarl Gimnasium in George on Saturday.
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This promises to be an excellent way to kickstart the term’s remaining fixtures, with two schools with such a competitive history facing each other while both seem to be in top form.
Over their last 10 encounters, Paarl Gimnasium have won five, including their previous meeting in 2019 when they walked away victorious after a gruelling battle which they won by 11-8.
The year before that Gimmies beat the Kwaggas comfortably, scoring 57 unanswered points, but judging on the quality of rugby both schools have showcased this season, Saturday’s encounter promises to be another nail-biter.
Of the other five matches, Outeniqua won four and in 2012 the match ended as a draw on 17-all. They played later that same year and Outeniqua won 30-22.
That 2012 group of Outeniquas included the likes of Warrick Gelant and Duhan van der Merwe, while a young Handré Pollard was captaining Paarl Gim.
The hosts have only lost twice this season, narrowly losing out to Grey College 19-17 on their home turf before also coming up second-best against Garsfontein at the Absa Wildeklawer Tournament in Kimberley.
Their playmaker fullback, JT Strydom, has recently been selected for the SA A team after excelling at the Craven Week which took place in George during the holidays.
Jeffwin Wesso, their agile flanker, has also been named as part of the SA u18 Sevens squad that will be representing the country at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad and Tobago in August.
Their opponents pose no easy challenge, however. Paarl Gimnasium are the in-form team in the Western Cape and apart from a 33-12 loss to Grey College earlier in the season, their record is without blemish this year.
Their star flyhalf, Kyle Smith, was part of the Western Province team that went unbeaten at the Craven Week after beating the Blue Bulls 29-5 in the final game. He has been selected as part of the SA Schools team that will play against France and England in August.
His big lock, Danio Botha, has also been a pillar for his team this season and represents Gimmies in the SA A team.
Paarl Gimnasium has long been one of the top rugby schools in South Africa, having produced 25 Springboks over the years with the latest being the exciting new addition to the Springboks’ scrumhalf options for the World Cup, Grant Williams.
Outeniqua has been a growing force on the schoolboy rugby scene, and they have shown some massive talent in their 100th year to secure their place among the top five this year. A win at home against the Paarl giants will be a great achievement for the Kwaggas to top off what has been a successful season already.
The teams:
Outeniqua vs Paarl Gimnasium at 13:00:
Outeniqua: 15 JT Strydom, 14 JJ Daters, 13 Luca Potgieter, 12 Estiaan Cronje, 11 Ashwen Damons, 10 Andrew Stopforth, 9 Jamil Pretorius, 8 Brendon Gouws, 7 Dewald Gerber, 6 Jeffwin Wesso, 5 Jayden Smith, 4 Michael Cronje, 3 Juan Kleynhans, 2 Nathan Smith, 1 Ruan Swart.
Paarl Gimnasium: 15 Tazreeq Moerat, 14 Freek de Kock, 13 Hennie Otto, 12 Kobus Blanckenberg, 11 Pieter-Nel du Plessis, 10 Kyle Smith, 9 Dawid Kotze, 8 Nicus van Coller, 7 Louw du Toit, 6 Adrúan Kotze, 5 Marco Steyn, 4 Danio Botha, 3 Nicholas Crous, 2 Jannie Grobbelaar, 1 Xander Mynhardt.
Other fixtures:
10:20 – Bridgton vs Oudtshoorn; 12:00 – Langenhoven Gimnasium vs HTS Eden; 13:45 – Despatch vs Hoërskool Punt.
