Rivalry between Grey College and Affies celebrate 100 years
The rivalry between Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool and Grey College continues as strong as ever, 100 years since the prestigious sides first met.
They face each other at 14:00 on Saturday, 20th of May, in Bloemfontein for the 46th time since their first match in Pretoria on the 29th of September 1923.
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Grey won that first encounter 7-0, and have won the majority of the meetings since then, but Affies need to look back only as far as 2015 when an Affies first team including then Springbok coach, Heyneke Meyer’s son, Vic Meyer, came to Bloemfontein and beat the hosts 29-18.
It will take an inspired performance by the boys from Pretoria though, as Grey College have been consistently beating the best teams in South Africa all season, and it does not look like any opponents have the answers to the questions players like Vincent Wolhuter (fullback), Ian van der Merwe (flyhalf) and Benito Goeda (centre) have been asking on attack.
The real differential for the Bloemfontein powerhouse has been the exceptional work rate of their forward pack though, with Jean Erasmus (prop) and the loose trio of Jean-Henri Smit, Keegan Scholtz and captain, JJ Theron being central to their play every weekend.
Though the visitors are coming off a good win last weekend, when they beat King Edward VII 43-20, they have had a difficult run of fixtures so far and will be aware of how much a win in Bloemfontein will affect the outlook on their season.
The Grey side remains unchanged from the team that beat an in-form Paarl Boys’ High in Paarl last weekend, and they are clearly firing on all cylinders.
Affies’ fullback, Migael de Lange, has stood out for his team and will need to be on top of his game again as Van der Merwe is sure to continue using his kicking play that has served his side so well this season.
Steyn Truter, the big loosehead from Pretoria has also looked strong, but it will take a huge effort from him and his pack to outmuscle the Grey forwards on their home turf, they have not given an inch to any team this season so far.
A rivalry with a history as rich as this never disappoints, and though Grey are the definite favourites at home, Affies are sure to push them to the absolute limit again.
The teams are:
Grey College vs Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool at 14:00
Grey College: 15 Vincent Wolhuter, 14 Hayden Tolmay, 13 Benito Goeda, 12 Pieter van der Merwe, 11 Martin Botha, 10 Ian van der Merwe, 9 Christiaan van der Westhuizen, 8 JJ Theron, 7 Keegan Scholtz, 6 Jean-Henri Smit, 5 Schalk du Plessis, 4 Heinrich Theron, 3 Jean Erasmus, 2 Liam van Wyk, 1 Ranon Fouche.
Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool: 15 Migael de Lange, 14 Stephan Brits, 13 Antonie Fourie, 12 Janco Purchase, 11 Ivandre van Wyk, 10 Ruben Pienaar, 9 Hendre Schoeman, 8 Dieter Schubert, 7 Ruan Lippoldt, 6 Braam Swanepoel, 5 JD Hattingh, 4 Jono Eloff, 3 Ruan Smuts, 2 Ethan van Dyk, 1 Steyn Truter.
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