Wit Bulle go head-to-head with spirited Red Army

Affies travel from Pretoria to Houghton, Johannesburg, to take on King Edward VII in a highly anticipated match between two powerhouses on Saturday.

Kick-off is set for 13:00.

Catch all the action live on SuperSport Schools (www.supersportschools.com)

Last weekend, KES drew with Westville Boys’ High School in a thriller of a match which saw the school from KwaZulu-Natal snatch a draw with an excellent length of the field try in the final few minutes of the match.

Affies, meanwhile, faced up to Grey College, with the side from Bloemfontein winning by the slimmest of margins, taking the game 31-27. So far this season, the Wit Bulle have also suffered only two other narrow losses, going down 25-30 to Paul Roos Gimnasium and 19-20 to Paarl Gimnasium.

The matchup of the day will be the competition between the two fly halves. Both Vusi Moyo (KES) and Reuben Pienaar (Affies ) played in last year’s fixture, which Affies comfortably won 43-20 in Pretoria. 

Pienaar enjoyed the better day on that occasion. There has never been a doubt about Moyo’s talent, but he struggled last year against the Witbulle. He has since gone back to the drawing board. His place kicking has shown marked improvement, which has added yet another edge to an already dangerous skillset. 

Both teams play an aggressive and running style of rugby, but the Affies’ pack has been garnering praise this season, too, for its dominance. KES will need to blunt the Wit Bulle up front, if they are to be in with a shot at victory.

KES, unfortunately, will be without their starting hooker and South African Schools’ player Esethu Mnebelele. He was heavily bandaged for the Red Army‘s clash with Westville last week, but still came away with a hattrick of tries. His absence is a big loss for the hosts, not only because he is a skillful player, but also because he is a strong leader, who would have relished taking on one of the top packs in the country. 

With the fixture taking place in Johannesburg, and with excellent home support, KES might be able to pull off an upset. Before their draw last week, they had recorded six wins on the trot, including victories over Jeppe and Pretoria Boys High.

They have, in fact, lost only twice all season, but Affies’ three tight losses have come against the top three teams in the country, hence their favourites’ tag.

TEAMS

King Edward VII: 15 Indibabale-Gusha Mboniswa, 14 Mbuso Methula, 13 Olunje Mehlomakulu, 12 Tristan Maugeri, 11 Haniel Monkoti, 10 Vusi Moyo, 9 Regan McGurk, 8 Kebotile Maake, 7 Sam Bruwer, 6 James Kobrowisky, 5 Michael Bownes, 4 Thomas Beling, 3 Nathan Frank vd Merwe 2 Dylan Piek, 1 Connor White. 

Affies: 15 Ruben Groenewald, 14 Nico Grobler, 13 Hendre Schoeman, 12 Janco Purchase, 11 Eagan Roux, 10 Ruben Pienaar, 9 Zirk Meyer, 8 Ruan Lippold, 7 Albert Smit, 6 Stefan McDonald, 5 JD Hattingh, 4 Munting Hamman, 3 Ruan Smuts, 2 Christian Potgieter, 1 Werner Vrey.

FIXTURES 

KES vs Affies

u14A: 09:00 KES vs Affies (John Hurry 1)
u15A: 09:40 KES vs Affies (John Hurry 2)
u16A: 11:00 KES vs Affies (Reds Field)
u19B: 12:15 KES vs Affies (Reds Field)
u19A: 13:30 KES vs Affies (Reds Field)

Jeppe High School for Boys vs St John’s College

u15A: 08:00 Jeppe vs St John’s (White Field)
u14A: 10:00 Jeppe vs St John’s (White Field)
u16A: 11:00 Jeppe vs St John’s (Collard Field)
u19B: 12:10 Jeppe vs St John’s (Collard Field)
u19A: 13:20 Jeppe vs St John’s (Collard Field)

St Benedict’s College vs Parktown Boys’ High School

u15A: 08:00 St Benedict’s vs Parktown (A Field)
u14A: 09:30 St Benedict’s vs Parktown (B Field)
u16A: 10:00 St Benedict’s vs Parktown (A Field)
u19B: 11:15 St Benedict’s vs Parktown (A Field)
u19A: 12:30 St Benedict’s vs Parktown (A Field)