Northcliff out to knock over Parktown, Bennies rebuilding

It’s been a tough couple of weeks for St Benedict’s College, during which they have succumbed to a few hefty defeats. They will look to try turn things around when they come face-to-face with St David’s Marist Inanda in Sandton on Saturday.

After a successful 2023, Bennies have struggled to find form and they’ve copped some big losses. Against Graeme College, at the recent St John’s Easter Rugby Festival, the boys from the Eastern Cape won by a margin of 38 points, 50-12.

This weekend, St Benedict’s will be without their skipper, Jason Cutler, who has fallen ill. In his stead, flyhalf Braeden Le Roux takes over the leadership reins.

He’ll look to ignite his side with the example he sets. He is strong on defence and quick off the mark on offence, and he is well backed up by his brother Declan, at scrumhalf.

St David’s were narrowly beaten by Graeme College at St John’s going down 10-12, but they were well beaten by Kingswood College, falling to a 10-35 defeat on day three.

Lock Jack Brady has performed well recently, while the battle of St David’s number nine Diego Ferreira with Delcan le Roux will be interesting. Ferreira will also handle place kicking duties for the home team.

Based on their results against Graeme, the boys in black and gold are the favourites to taste victory on Saturday.

Parktown Boys’ High School will be up against Northcliff High School, who have shown in the past that they can be a really competitive side on their day.

At the KES Easter Festival, Parktown went down 15-30 to Dale College and 6-12 to Hudson Park, showing good fight in both matches.

Their captain Reval Meth, who was a backline player in 2023, is now up front, at flank. He is quick to the ball and a tough competitor at the rucks.

Last year, Northcliff’s lack of depth was exposed by some of the bigger schools. However, they come in hard and have the ability to catch teams by surprise.

Northcliff beat Hartpury College II 23-10 at the Saints Easter Festival and went down 15-21 to Clifton College, with winger Luke Roos scoring tries in both matches.

Hooker Luke Hammond is tough and will face a good challenge from Parktown’s number two, Lethoko Mallane.

TEAMS

Parktown Boys High School: 15 Kgotso Tumahole, 14 Christian Cele, 13 Calestin Felkers, 12 Lisasa Mnukiso, 11 Kabelo Jwili, 10 Kelvin Kotey, 9 Thepiso Tladi, 8 Lethabo Sikhudo, 7 Chima Mfundo Nkosi, 6 Reval Meth, 5 Keith Ncube, 4 Disema Mofokeng, 3 Azola Peter, 2 Lethoko Mallane, 1 Manuel Motsi.

Northcliff High School: 15 Alerick Rachstein, 14 Bheki Ngwenya, 13 Matthew Pretorius, 12 Matthew Verrydt, 11 Luke Roos, 10 Matthew Hunt, 9 Kaden Iversen, 8 Frank Devenish, 7 Chad Matthews, 6 Vianney Nteumange, 5 Rhema Nwogwugwu, 4 Declan Diesel, 3 Mihlali-Yethu Nqabeni, 2 Luke Hammond, 1 Miguel Smith.

St Benedicts College: 15 Lex Pilling, 14 Anagona Marufu, 13 Tyler Pharo, 12 Braeden Le Roux, 11 Wade Ramsay, 10 Iviwe Mlilo, 9 Declan Le Roux, 8 Matthew Joubert, 7 Zac Raats, 6 Tebogo Phuikuile, 5 Luke Carr, 4 Nicholas Moravec, 3 Matthew Rourke, 2 Chad Urquhart, 1 Rudzani Tshivhase.

St David’s Marist Inanda: 15 Luca Cabion, 14 Tristan Lambe, 13 Theo Fonternel, 12 Elliot Skei, 11 Kuzivakwashe Majuru, 10 Teegen Rossini, 9 Diego Ferreira, 8 Robert Jervis, 7 James Askew, 6 Tahin Patel, 5 Jack Brady, 4 William Allemann, 3 Marco Bitter, 2 Connor Mc Williams, 1 D’Andre Mushonga.

Fixtures

Northcliff High School vs Parktown Boys’ High School

u14A: 8:30 – Northcliff High School vs Parktown Boys’ High School
u15A: 8:00 – Northcliff High School vs Parktown Boys’ High School
u16A: 10:00 – Northcliff High School vs Parktown Boys’ High School
u19B: 9:00 – Northcliff High School vs Parktown Boys’ High School
u19A: 11:15 – Northcliff High School vs Parktown Boys’ High School

St David’s Marist vs St Benedict’s College:

u14A: 8:00 – St David’s Marist vs St Benedict’s College (Gier D)
u15A: 9:00 – St David’s Marist vs St Benedict’s College (Gier D)
u19B: 11:10 – St David’s Marist vs St Benedict’s College (La Valla A)
u19A: 12:20 – St David’s Marist vs St Benedict’s College (La Valla A)