Grey College tame fiery Paarl Boys’ High 40-28 in an epic Sportsmans Warehouse Premier Interschools encounter in the City of Roses on Saturday the 11th of May 2024. Many had chalked an easy “W” in favour of Grey College coming into this Sportsmans Warehouse Premier Interschools fixture. The hosts however were made to show real guts to dose the fire of Boishaai, as the blue and white hoops travelled to Bloemfontein with the intent to cause an upset. A top class individual performance on defence and attack by Grey College scrumhalf and Man of the Match, Phillip McLaren meant Grey kept its dominant record of wins in this Premier Interschools fixture with a 40-28 victory.

Grey wasted little time in getting the scoreboard up and running in their favour, with burly tighthead prop, Danie Kruger opening the scoring for his sides first try of the afternoon.The visitors weren’t going to sit back and let Grey dictate terms completely as their loose-forward trio of Wessels, Dames and Van Der Merwe caused endless problems for Grey at the breakdown, winning multiple crucial penalties and turnovers throughout the encounter. Grey struck for the second time after a powerful line break down the touchline by flanker, Juliun Cosmo, which gave his Flyhalf, Alzaedon Felix, a chance to dot-down in the corner for their second try. Boishaai responded with a try of their own by Aiden Jacobs, who showcased his athletic abilities to score after Viaan Mentoor opened his sides scoring off the kicking tee shortly before the try. His try was cancelled out five minutes later though, when Grey’s looshead prop, Dian Venter, strolled in for the home team’s third. A good day to a be a prop it seems! Mentoor kept his side in touching distance going into half-time when he struck thrice more from the kicking tee, including a monster effort from the halfway line to reduce the deficit at half-time to 14-19. Boishaai were forced to take the points on offer. There were no signs of the Grey College’s defensive wall collapsing anytime soon, with McLaren leading the charge with a couple of massive hits at pivotal moments in the match.

Three more tries in the second stanza by the hosts, including a brace by their speedster on the wing, Ruben Cilliers, sealed the deal. His first came from a brilliant pass by Grey captain, Pieter Van Der Merwe, and the second equally as impressive, after slick skills shown by Felix. Fullback Heinz Stockenstrom was again solid from the kicking tee adding five conversions along with a try to end the match with a total 15 points to his name. Boishaai fronted up with a massive effort scoring two more tries of their own in the process. The first by Cruz Davey and the second by Gersham Pieters. The game, however, never seemed out of Grey’s control with large portions being played on their terms and at their pace. Despite their loss, Sean Erasmus and his chargers will take many positives from the trip to Bloemfontein and look to bounce back on the Piley Rees Field next weekend against Bishops. Grey College make the trek to the Capital City of Pretoria to take on an in-form Affies outfit who will be out to get revenge from last year’s 19-60 loss in Bloem. It won’t be an easy fixture by any means with Affies having a huge forward pack and their home support behind them. We look forward to you joining us once more on the 1st of June for one of South Africa’s oldest derbies as Bishops host Rondebosch.

Sportsmans Warehouse Man of the Match: Grey College Scrumhalf – Phillip McLaren

Scorers:

For Grey College:

• Tries: Ruben Cilliers (2); Danie Kruger; Alzeadon Felix; Dian Venter; Heinz Stockenstrom
• Cons: Heinz Stockenstrom 5/6

For Paarl Boys’ High:

• Tries: Aiden Jacobs; Cruz Davey; Gersham Pieters
• Cons: Viaan Mentoor 2/3
• Pens: Viaan Mentoor 3/3

Teams:

Grey College: 15 Hein Stockenstrom, 14 Pretorius Ekeji, 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

Paarl Boys’ High: 15 Francois Van Der Merwe, 14 Aiden Jacobs, 13 Tristan Joubert, 12 Viaan Mentoor, 11 Shane Lee Simonse, 10 Janeal Davids, 9 Keagan Smith, 8 Douw Wessels, 7 Rubin Dames, 6 Steph Van Der Merwe, 5 Jayden Joubert, 4 Gershom Pieters, 3 Cruz Davey, 2 Christiaan Grundling, 1 Jordon Jooste

Photo Credit: Poppie Terblanche