Oakdale favoured against unpredictable Drostdy, Boland hosts resilient Bishops
Oakdale Landbou’s First XV has shown itself to be a force in South African schoolboy rugby this season, and they’ll be heavily favoured when they host HTS Drostdy on Saturday in Riversdal.
With Oakdale players making up a large part of the South Western Districts (SWD) squad, the team made it through to the unofficial FNB Craven Week final against the perennial winners Western Province. To get there, South Western Districts scored a stunning 35-34 victory over Free State and comfortably outplayed the Golden Lions, winning 54-22.
The Farmers are especially strong on their home ground, De Eike. Their results at home include handing Paarl Boys’ High their only loss of the season. Kick-off is at 13:00 on Saturday.
On paper, HTS Drostdy has not been at their best this season, with only six wins from 13 matches, while Oakdale has eight wins from 12 outings. Both have played tough schedules, but The Farmers have fared far better. The Worcester locals are in for a tough challenge.
When the sides met last year, Oakdale won 25-12, but they’re a far tougher proposition in 2025.
Drostdy, though, has always been a side to which the adage “anything can happen on the day” has applied. They play with a passionate tenacity, which was on show in a narrow 20-26 defeat to Paul Roos Gimnasium.
The hosts will have to be on their toes for a game that Drostdy will want to play at pace. The visitors, though, will have to figure out a way to deal with The Farmers’ big forward pack, which play with militant-like cohesion. Their loose forwards could build a small mountain of rugby balls with all the steals they’ve made this season. Their set-piece play has been equally impressive.
Knowing this, Drostdy will lean on their counterattacking play, trusting their quick hands to find ways through the airtight home defence. It’s going to be a tough challenge for the visitors.
Meanwhile in Paarl, Boland Landbou takes on Diocesan College at 12:45 on Perdeberg A Field.
They will look to their SA Schools scrumhalf, Jayden Brits, to open up the Bishops’ defences.
When they met last year, Boland Landbou powered their way to an emphatic 52-10 win. This year, Bishops is a much-improved side, which plays to the final whistle. That was on display against a very strong Paarl Boys’ High side in June, when Bishops scored the last 12 points of the contest in a hard-fought 12-33 defeat.
The Cape Town side also tends to grow into their games. Landbou on the other side, tend to start better than they finish. With strong leadership from their captain and hooker Daniel van den Heever, Bishops will be confident that they can put Boland under pressure in the latter stages of the match.
Bishops are known for their creative attack, scoring out wide with quick hands and in the middle of the field through running clever lines. The Landbou defence has conceded a lot of points this season, although they’ve also scored plenty themselves, too.
Saturday’s showdown has the potential to be a high-scoring showdown.
The teams:
Oakdale Landbou vs HTS Drostdy at 13:00 in Riversdal
Oakdale Landbou: 15 Mark-Hein Fourie, 14 Myburgh Eksteen, 13 Anrich Scheffer, 12 Christian Vorster, 11 Lee-Winn Pretorius, 10 CT Vosloo, 9 Jandrian Goosen, 8 Jacobus de Villiers, 7 Liam Lightley, 6 Jannes Snyman (captain), 5 Rico Ferreira, 4 Diaan Augustyn, 3 Francois le Roux, 2 Adrian Smit, 1 Kai Pratt.
HTS Drostdy: 15 Pirlo Baron, 14 Adrian Vergotine, 13 Abdul Fisher, 12 Jacques de Klerk, 11 Darren Makheza, 10 Jano van Deventer, 9 Caleb Cornett, 8 Wynand Fabricius, 7 Arnu Nieuwoudt, 6 Wernu Ramsauer (captain), 5 Eugene Walker, 4 Carlos dos Santos, 3 Sandro Smit, 2 JP Lotriet, 1 Stefan le Roux.
Boland Landbou vs Diocesan College at 12:45 in Paarl
Boland Landbou: 15 Gethano van Bo, 14 Kobus Jordaan, 13 Aleit Stander, 12 Blake de Kock, 11 Jadon Ocks, 10 Pieter Bergh (captain), 9 Jayden Brits, 8 Jacques Visagie, 7 Kody Nell, 6 Juan Visagie, 5 Jeandré le Roux, 4 Stephan Griesel, 3 Derico Messina, 2 Wikus Coetzee, 1 Diwan Grobbelaar.
Diocesan College: 15 Rynard Gordon, 14 Ben Myburgh, 13 Cole Robyntjies, 12 Boytjie Fyfer, 11 Ben Koenig, 10 Eljaron Geduld, 9 Max Marr, 8 Jack Venter, 7 Joshua Macdonald, 6 Ethan Venter, 5 Rieko Kidha, 4 Dan Coetzee, 3 Chris du Toit, 2 Daniel van den Heever (captain), 1 Will Reid.
