NMI Toyota Noord/Suid 2026: Affies to host 12th edition with newcomers Trio, Zwartkop, and Witteberg
The annual NMI Toyota Noord/Suid Tournament will return in 2026 to the Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool (Affies) in Pretoria for the 12th edition of the prestigious schoolboy rugby event.
The tournament is one of the highlights on the 2026 school rugby calendar and will feature many of the country’s top rugby-playing schools’ First XVs, as well as their Second XVs, in the Jacaranda City.
Paarl Boys’ High, Paarl Gimnasium, Grey College, Affies, Paul Roos Gimnasium, and Garsfontein are among the sides that will take to the field between 27 and 31 March. Those six schools have ranked among the top 10 school rugby teams in South Africa for the past four years.
The 2026 edition will also see three new faces with Hoërskool Zwartkop, of Centurion, Hoërskool Trio, of Kroonstad and Hoërskool Witteberg, of Bethlehem, receiving invites.
Zwartkop recorded 17 wins on the trot this season before narrowly losing 19-22 against Hoërskool Middelburg in the SDC Noordvaal Cup semi-final of the Plate-section.
Witteberg was crowned the champion of the Griffons League for the first time after an emphatic 47-33 victory over their Bethlehem rivals, Hoërskool Voortrekker, in the final. Trio has shown since it was founded by the amalgamation of Die Afrikaanse Hoërskool Kroonstad and Hoërskool Kroonstad that they are a serious rugby programme.
The two Middelburg powerhouses, HTS Middelburg and Hoërskool Middelburg, will also return to the Noord/Suid in 2026. The Rooi Bulle, as HTS Middelburg is affectionately known, last played in the 2021 edition of the NMI Toyota Noord/Suid-tournament.
Hoërskool Middelburg made only one appearance at the event previously, in 2015, when they took on Grey College’s formidable second stringers, the Cherries.
Two matchups on the opening day of the tournament that will be sure to capture the imagination are the showdowns between Jeppe High School for Boys and Paarl Boys’ High, and Paul Roos Gimnasium against Monument‘s Wit Bulle.
Boishaai tackles Garsfontein in another blockbuster on the tournament’s third day.
There will surely be fireworks when the hosts, Affies, clash with Oakdale Landbou in their first game on Saturday. Grey College locks horns with the Noordvaal finalists, Helpmekaar Kollege, while Paarl Gimnasium will take on Noordheuwel, of Krugersdorp, in another of the second day’s highlights.
On the final day, Gimmies will meet Die Hoërskool Menlopark, of Pretoria, who should have one of their stronger sides in recent years. Another match to look forward to is the battle between Grey College and Stellenberg‘s Jade Brigade.
The latter’s flyhalf, Ethan van Biljon, has been one of the standout performers during the 2025 season and will be a player on whom to keep an eye next year.
The Fixtures:
Friday, 27 March 2026
Mzwandile Mali XV vs Pretoria Boys High II
Zwartkop vs Voortrekker (Bethlehem)
Hoërskool Nelspruit vs Framesby
Waterkloof vs Diamantveld
EG Jansen vs HTS Drostdy
King Edward VII vs Outeniqua
Garsfontein vs Stellenberg
Jeppe High School for Boys vs Paarl Boys’ High
Paul Roos Gimnasium vs Monument
Saturday, 28 March 2026
HTS Middelburg vs Hoërskool Trio
Welkom Gimnasium vs Nico Malan
Hoërskool Middelburg vs Witteberg
Hoërskool Rustenburg vs Hoërskool Durbanville
Menlopark vs Boland Landbou
Noordheuwel vs Paarl Gimnasium
Grey College vs Helpmekaar
Affies vs Oakdale Landbou
Monday, 30 March 2026
Mzwandile Mali XV vs King Edward VII
Hoërskool Nelspruit vs Voortrekker (Bethlehem)
EG Jansen vs Framesby
Waterkloof vs Outeniqua
Jeppe High School for Boys vs Diamantveld
Monument vs HTS Drostdy
Pretoria Boys’ High vs Paul Roos Gimnasium
Garsfontein vs Paarl Boys’ High
Tuesday, 31 March 2026
Zwartkop vs Witteberg
HTS Middelburg vs Nico Malan
Hoërskool Middelburg vs Hoërskool Trio
Hoërskool Rustenburg vs Welkom Gimnasium
Helpmekaar vs Boland Landbou
Noordheuwel vs Oakdale Landbou
Menlopark vs Paarl Gimnasium
Grey College vs Stellenberg
Affies vs Hoërskool Durbanville
