Stellenberg striving for new heights in 2024

Stellenberg is locked and loaded and ready to kick off the new season when they host Paarl Gimnasium this weekend.

The Jade Brigade has been steadily building its rugby programme over the last couple of seasons, and this year they’re taking aim at some of the bigger names in schools’ rugby.

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Head coach, Divan Batt, will guide the Stellenberg first team through their challenging run of fixtures.

He is assisted by coaches Louw Lombaard and Jaco Laubscher, with Marnus Myburgh taking care of conditioning and Faan Fourie as their team physio. Head of Rugby at Stellenberg, Pierre du Preez, manages the team.

Batt said that while they want to perform well at the annual tournaments and in the league, they will measure their success against the goals they set for themselves every weekend.

“It’s important for us to do the basics well, with a bit of flair when the occasion allows it,” he said, when identifying one of their season’s goals.

With some of last year’s top players back in the squad again this season, they have their sights set on making their mark against some of the top guns in South Africa at the North/South and Absa Wildeklawer tournaments.

Dehan Neethling, their dynamic fullback, forms part of an experienced core group of players who will be directing the backline this season.

Speedy winger, Luc Cilliers, also donned the first team jersey last year, along with centre, Estian Steyn, and Stefan Roux, who will have a pivotal role to play at flyhalf.

In the forward pack, three of the tight five and two loosies sport first-team caps from last year. Ryk Groenewald (prop), Almero Keizer (hooker), Zian Erasmus (lock), Alex Schoeman (flanker) and Dale du Toit (eighth man) gained valuable experience last season.

Keizer, Groenewald, Neethling and Dean van Rensburg also played in the Western Province Invitational side that took on England and France ahead of the SA Schools games last year, and Steyn represented the WP XV at the Craven Week.

Stellenberg ended their season strongly in 2023, but they will have to shake off any rust quickly as they open their season against some of South Africa’s best.

After this weekend’s opener against the mighty Paarl Gim, the Jade Brigade rolls into Pretoria where they take on a Noordheuwel side who have already done away with the likes of Hoërskool Trio and Outeniqua this year, before taking on the hosts, Affies, on the final day of the event.

The rest of the season consists of more challenging league fixtures against SACS, Boland Landbou, Oakdale Landbou and Strand. They also travel to Kimberley where they will square off against EG Jansen and Garsfontein at the Absa Wildeklawer.

As always, their season ends with an interschools clash against Hoërskool Durbanville. They’ll be out to maintain bragging right after they beat their arch-rivals 21-12 away from home in the previous instalment.

The fixtures

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Willem Louw

Willem Louw is a South African sports enthusiast pursuing a Master’s in Philosophy at UNISA. With a BA in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics, and an Honours in Philosophy, he brings a unique perspective to his role as a school sports journalist and team leader at SuperSport Schools Plus. Willem is committed to nurturing young talent and promoting the growth of school sports in South Africa.

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