Grey College dig deep in Paarl, beating rivals Paarl Gim away from home 29 – 27 in a titanic Sportsmans Warehouse Premier Interschools derby on Saturday the 20th of April. Paarl Gimnasium and Grey College set the table for a rivalry that will continue to grow into one of the classics. Saturday afternoon at the JA Kriel Field had a test match feel about it from the first blast of the whistle to the last as Grey College ended Paarl Gim’s unbeaten run. It was the hosts that started out the stronger of the two sides and dominated the opening stanza of the match. Gimmies drew first blood through their fullback Freek De Kock five minutes in, to take an early lead, 3 – 0. Their sustained pressure resulted in three more opportunities throughout the half to add three points but all of them where uncharacteristically missed by De Kock, which would come back to haunt the hosts late on.

Grey College’s confidence grew as the game progressed and their first opportunity to get points on the board was taken by fullback Hein Stockenstrom in the 14th minute. A real ding dong battle ensued between the teams and the rest of the half was a dogged fight between two proud teams, with both sets of defenders remaining resolute in defence of their try line. Somewhat against the run of play, the home side scored the first try of the match when their hard working number eight Quintin Potgieter powered over from a well set driving maul. It was only a few minutes later that Grey flyhalf Alzeadon Felix evened matters through a moment of brilliance as he sold an outrageous dummy that left him with the easy task of strolling in under the poles for Grey’s first five-pointer.

Gimmies Captain Kobus Blanckenberg spearheaded much of the home sides efforts through the midfield, and he was rewarded as the halftime siren sounded to give his team a 17-10 lead at the break. The try assist came from his midfield partner Markus Muller, after flyhalf Chandler Green put a clever chip kick through into space for Muller to regather and offload to a charging Blanckenberg to score. Many thought this would be the hammer blow that settled Grey’s efforts. However, as is well known in the schoolboy rugby fraternity never count out the men from Bloemfontein. Two tries in the space of a few minutes by “The Tank”, Adams, early in the second half saw Grey lead for the first time in the 47th minute of the match. Flyhalf Felix was back to pulling strings again 10 minutes later, when he setup his inside centre Pieter Van Der Merwe for a try with a perfectly weighted chip kick over the Gim defensive line. With 10 minutes left on the clock and Grey College having extended their lead to 29 points to 17 all seemed but done for the hosts.

Many have spoken of and only a few have witnessed the famous saying of “Gimmie guts”. Paarl Gim so often always seem to find that little bit extra when their backs are against the wall and today was no different. Big tighthead prop Ely Williams kickstarted their fight back with back-to-back scrum penalties that gave Gim an upper hand over the Grey College forward pack. A second try soon followed from Potgieter as momentum swung back in the host’s favour. Gim weren’t done as an intelligent cross kick play by flyhalf Green, meant Markus Moolman could dot down in the corner to see them within two points of the visitors. However, the conversion attempt of Moolman’s try hit the post. Grey College 29 Paarl Gim 27 with just over two minutes on the clock.

The dream storyline fight back was not meant to be for the hosts as Grey College stood firm and held on to their lead to record a statement victory on the JA Kriel Field. Grey College once more put themselves back in the mix to be considered the top schoolboy rugby team in the country this season. Heartbreak for Paarl Gim in front of their home crowd but they will be looking to bounce back against SACS next week and reassert themselves in early May at the 2024 ABSA Wildeklawer Tournament. Sportsmans Warehouse Man of the Match: Grey College – AJ Meyer

Scorers:

For Paarl Gim

• Tries: Quintin Potgieter (2), Kobus Blankenburg, Markus Moolman
• Con: Freek De Kock 1/3 Chandler Green 1/3
• Pens: Freek De kock 1/2 Chandler Green 0/2

For Grey College

• Tries: Alzeadon Felix, Ethan Adams (2), Pieter Van Der Merwe
• Cons: Hein Stockenstrom 3/4
• Pens: Hein Stockenstrom 1/1

Teams:

Paarl Gim: 15 Freek De Kock, 14 Immanuel Prinsloo, 13 Markus Muller, 12 Kobus Blankenburg, 11 Markus Moolman, 10 Chandler Green, 9 Melt Viljoen, 8 Quintin Potgieter, 7 Wihan Kotze, 6 Jan Koegelenberg, 5 Marinus Daling, 4 Stiaan De Goede, 3 Ely Williams, 2 Dawie Stemmet, 1 Jean-Jacques Du Preez

Grey College: 15 Hein Stockenstrom, 14 Siyabonga Kenny, 13 Ethan Adams, 12 Pieter Van Der Merwe, 11 Ruben Cilliers, 10 Alzeadon Felix, 9 Phillip McLaren, 8 Liam Santos, 7 Juliun Cosmo, 6 Xander Smit, 5 AJ Meyer, 4 Heinrich Theron, 3 Danie Kruger, 2 Liam Van Wyk, 1 Dian Venter

Referee: Jan De Bok

Match Report: Paul Roos vs Paarl Boys’ High

Paul Roos’ win streak remains intact with a test match style win over Paarl Boys’ High 25 points to 10 in the second fixture of the Sportsmans Warehouse Premier Interschools double-header.  The Maroon Machine have set out a benchmark challenge to apposing schools with a clear message that they will be difficult to beat at home or away this season. What was always going to be a tense battle on the Markotter fields lived up to its pre match billing as the home fans got their money’s worth.

Paarl Boys High travelled to Stellenbosch looking to settle the score from last year’s Sportmans Warehouse Premier Interschools fixture where the visitors on the day Paul Roos ran away victors 35-17. Paarl Boys High have not had the best start to their season but as many know, the form book goes out the window on derby day. The hosts set the tone early on through their flanker and man of the match Gert Kemp who opened the scoring, busting through the Boishaai defensive line, after a great offload in contact from number eight Reuben Kruger.

The visitors managed the early pressure well and got an opportunity to get on the board and settle the nerves three minutes after Paul Roos drew first blood. Flyhalf Vian Mentoor chipped away at the deficit with a well struck penalty to close the gap to four points. Paul Roos 7 Paarl Boys’ 3 with 15 minutes played. PRG continued to ramp up the pressure on the visitors as they marched their way towards the Paarl Boys’ High try line. You could sense it was only a matter of time until they broke through once more. Scrumhalf Adeeb Boraine was the benefactor of his forward’s hard work when he sniped around the fringes of the ruck and dived over under the poles. Flyhalf Joshua Dampies had no problem with the conversion giving his team an 11-point lead at half time. Paul Roos 14 Boishaai 3.

It was Dampies that got scoring underway in the second half as his educated boot knocked over a drop goal. It wasn’t just off the tee that he was good but his kicking out of hand allowed Paul Roos to play the game in the right areas of the field and manage the outcome throughout. The Paarl Boys’ High effort could not be faulted throughout, and their endeavours finally paid off when wing Ashwin Swarts scored their only try of the game. Mentoor slotted the conversion from out wide to put his team in touching distance on the scoreboard trailing by seven points. Paul Roos always knew when to up the tempo and it was soon after conceding that they lifted it once more and launched a barrage of attack on the visitors as they looked to put the game beyond doubt.

With eight minutes to go the Maroon Machine maul went into overdrive as they charged towards the Boishaai try line. Their relenting pressure and powerful forward pack were too much for Paarl, hooker Altus Rabie who had been given a yellow card earlier in the match landed the killer knockout blow that saw the efforts of the blue and white hoops come to an end. For good measure Dampies was given the opportunity to add another three points to the hosts tally which he did as they kept Paarl Boys’ quiet on the scoreboard for the remainder of the contest.

The Maroon Machine were to powerful and clinical for their opponents on the day as they extend their unbeaten run. At the beginning of the season, they set out a marker for the first team to live up to their schools long admired history, and they have done so with distinction so far. For Paarl Boys’s High its back the drawing board as they enjoy a short break after a frantic start to the season. A derby that delivered once more, Paul Roos defending their home turf against long standing Western Cape rivals Paarl Boys’ High. Sportsmans Warehouse Man of the Match: Paul Roos – Gert Kemp

Scorers:

For Paul Roos

• Tries: Gert Kemp, Adeeb Boraine, Altus Rabie
• Con: Joshua Dampies 2/3
• Pens: Joshua Dampies 0/3
• Drop Goal: 1/1
• Yellow Card: Altus Rabie

For Paarl Boys’ High

• Tries: Ashwin Swarts
• Cons: Viaan Mentoor 1/1
• Pens: Viaan Mentoor 1/1

Teams:

Paul Roos: 15 Matthew Seymoore, 14 Hugo Coetzee, 13 Matthew Kleyn, 12 Samual Badenhorst, 11 Keenan Stoffels, 10 Joshua Dampies, 9 Adeeb Boraine, 8 Reuben Kruger, 7 Riley Norton, 6 Gert Kemp, 5 Jesse Stegenhuis, 4 Truspe Schoeman, 3 Gerrit Van Vuuren, 2 Altus Rabie, 1 Oliver Reid Paarl Boys’ High: 15 Francois Van Der Merwe, 14 Aiden Jacobs, 13 Tristan Joubert, 12 Tristan Fransman, 11 Ashwin Swarts, 10 Viaan Mentoor, 9 Keagan Smith, 8 Douw Wessels, 7 Rubin Dames, 6 Anroux Du Plessis, 5 Jayden Joubert, 4 Dian Smal, 3 Juan Van Der Merwer, 2 Christiaan Grundling, 1 Bernard Du Toit