1 Jeppe at Garsfontein
On a normal match day the Garsies Bere is a hard enough fixture. This is not going to be a normal match day through. The sad and tragic death of Jeppe student Kaiden Bowie after a match last week, this is bound to turn the occasion into an emotional journey for the Jeppe Boys.
2 Drostdy at Paul Roos
Although the “Donkies” have had a few decent contact practices including one against Paarl Gim, to come first up against the school that a good number of knowledgeable supporters believe will be numero uno this season is a HUGE assignment! The Maroon Machine will be big and intense up front and sharp in the backs.
3 Paul Roos hosting Drostdy
No one had that much to say about the HTS Drostdy before the season started but after seeing their monster-sided pack on SSS coupled with a bit of flair out wide, suddenly this match is transformed from a regulation win for much fancied PRG into one that they may need the A-game and more to win it.
4 KES at Noordheuwel
Even though KES are set to field their best team in a while, they come up against an ever-improving Nories who have challenging road wins to their name and plenty of attacking options amongst the backs. This match could amount to the Lions Region Championship match. While Nories know themselves quite well already, KES will not only have to find out who they are during the match but also find a way to pull off a win on top of that.
5 Stellenberg hosting Paarl Gim
The Jade Brigade are accustomed to playing Gim early on in the season and have given a good account of themselves in this clash in the past. Nevertheless it remains a big ask to produce the game to match the ability of SA’s leading Co-ed rugby school.
6 Rondebosch versus Oakdale at the Wynberg Festival
Bosch are the defending Southern Suburbs champs for good reason – they are well coached, they play hard and although they have good players scattered across their line-up, they excel at teamwork. That said, beating Oakdale will be a tough ask. The Bulls are yet to find their best attacking patterns but they are nasty and greedy on D. These farmboys enjoy making tackles and their coach has them well-organised to slide shut anyone who tries to run into gaps between the bodies that make up the wall too. Not to mention they have a competitive match under the belt.
7 Monument hosting Welkom Gim
Monnas are Krugersdorp’s finest and more often than not the flagship team of the Lions during the last decade with a trophy cabinet to back it up. They will be out to prove a few skeptics wrong about the talent and depth of this year’s team, who are not tipped as a top-10 finisher in spite of Monnas’ label as no.6 on the list after the five national powerhouse schools. In the Gimmies from Welkom, they come up against a side with three matches played, including Grey College. Gim have no cobwebs left to dust off.
8 Hilton hosting Northwood
Hilton starts their campaign against one of the best prepared schools for 2024 in the nation. The NW Knights have been building this 2024 team since last year. Two good age-groups now come together for the Durban Northers. The Midlands Black and White will take confidence that they have overtaken Glenwood as the most difficult KZN team to unseat on home soil but they start 2024 with the least amount of outsider confidence in their abilities since the 2010’s.
9 Northwood at Hilton
Thanks to their awesome rendition of a Drake hit turned into a warcry, mega hits on social media have followed and Northwood have been trending internationally for a few weeks now. The Knight’s perfect rugby plan which was started in 2023 with the youngest tier-one 1st XV in SA, has been thrown a bit off course by top-rated DOR Jeremy McLaren resigning to take full-time charge of the high-flying Varsity College Shield team (and a gig as a Sharks junior coach). This leaves Head Coach Jacques Deen as the sole man in charge. With all the main responsibilities falling on his shoulders, its a great opportunity for Jacques to up his SBR profile. Hilton may not field their best team of this decade to date or have game-time on their side heading into this opener but they will no doubt be disciplined: well-drilled in their individual and collective responsibilities. It will be up to Deen and his team to uncode this, adapt to the often stricter Midlands ref and rely on their experience to stay composed and decisive.
10 Westville hosting Michaelhouse
Ville have had one of the best prep season programmes of any school anywhere in SA in 2024. In their last warmup against Durban High School, they went down 31-14. The Saturday before that they beat Glenwood by a handy margin in a preseason hit-out. This is like writing the textbook on how to approach a first match of the regular season. However the Griffins have lost their last two to House and not much in their arsenal suggest they are favourites on paper for this one either. Statistically Highways boys have started the past few seasons like a house on fire and home support from their schoolboys and noisy parents plus old boys never hurts their cause at home. MHS got stuck in second gear against Helpmekaar and will be desperate to show that their go-to players can make things happen and that the team can get points from these plays.
11 Durban HS at Kearsney
“School” are rated this year. Their fixture list may not be tough enough to qualify for one of the top spots but they certainly will be in with a shout of finishing in the Top-10. Their prep ahead of this first official game has been more than adequate with the coaching staff having plenty of time to look at the players and even fine-tune. So not as many early season hiccups expected. There aren’t many easy games left in KZN these days but Kearsney first up can pose a challenge for a team that don’t have that big a travelling supporters base. The One-Stripes with be have growing faith in their own ability following a last-play-of-the-match win against College and the added bonus that the still have room to grow to reach their peak.
12 Paarl Gim at Stellenberg
The best rugby school in North Paarl and one of the best in the world at SBR is not being talked up for 2024. Maybe it will be nice to be underdogs for a change. Off course underdogs in Gim’s world means Top-5 as opposed to No.1. Beating the tenacious Stellies has proven tricky in the last couple of years. In 2022, a dogged defence kept Gim to a 12-6 win and last year, more spirit by the WPPL’s newest inductee, saw the Bloedwors having to work hard to clinch it 24-23. Odds are on Gim to win this one but no one who calls the Jan Kriel Field home, will be taking this one for granted based on recent history.
13 Pretoria BH at Jeppe
The Candies had their first proper workout against Garsfontein last Saturday so may be a bit of an uphill on Collard Field as they try to find their feet and better form.
14 Selborne at Graeme
Normally Selborne head to the Graeme Fest with a comfortable Border Schools’ Rugby Day win to their name and kick off their match in Makhanda as favourites. For 2024, there is no first win, not even a first game. They will make what should be a nervy 130km trip to the City of Saints to face the hosts and begin a season which only the most optimistic supporters believe they can get something out of. Graeme’s defeat at the hands of a resurging Dan Pienaar, suggests this year’s firsts are a few notches down from their last couple of 1st XVs but given Selborne’s build up to this match and quality of the players, they will fancy themselves to cause an “upset”.
15 Garsfontein hosting Jeppe
The Bere, who came off their best ever season in the school’s 35-year existence have a team to aim for the stars again. They are not being tipped to finish 2nd in the nation again but a place in the mid Top-10 and another Cup are achievable goals for 2024. Jeppe may be inspired to do something memorable in honour of their 2nd XV schoolmate who passed away last week. There is normally a bonding that happens through an adversity yet it’s hard to know how the young men respond to the loss and sorrow.
16 Waterkloof hosting HTS Middelburg
Cobus van Dyk and his Kloof boys had a decent 2023 season. This year they have flown under the radar. HTS is trying to resurrect their rugby programme and they have a few decent wins to their name. So Klofies are expected to win but not guaranteed to win. One feels like the only way this becomes a news item is if the Rooibulle wins.
17 SACS versus Durbanville at the Wynberg Festival
A renaissance is overdue at the 195-year-old Newlands based school. Its anticipated that they produce positive discussions about the 1st XV form this season and the progress being in their rugby structures. Durbanville are not the team they were the past few seasons. A good school in all respects but with a tendency to attract the wrong headlines in rugby. Now in 2024 they are sort of in no-mans-land with regards to rugby structures. They could not even appoint a DOR in spite of a fairly well-coordinated and budgeted approach to the interview process. So SACS are firm favourites to get their season off to a winning start. Here are the fun facts though. SACS beat Durbies 100-0 in 2017. Since then the SACS head-to-head with their Premier B Northern Suburbs counterparts is WON by 7, LOST by 9, WON by 7, LOST by 1, DREW.
18 Bishops vs Windhoek HS at the Wynberg Festival
Bishops, a school synonymous with schoolboy rugby in SA. One of the few schools known in every corner of the country. They are expected to struggle to match the excellent years that have preceded this one and it is bound to create undue pressure on all staff who play a direct role in rugby. They should bowl over Windhoek High though.
19 Wynberg hosting Windhoek HS
Wynberg has another decent squad at the disposal. It does feel that although they have been achievers in the past couple of season, they have not reached their true potential as an overall for either season. So unlike Bishops or Bosch who they could mix it up with and beat, they have not claimed the scalp of one of the Winelands national powerhouses. Perhaps this is their year for the shock result. Windhoek High should pose any sort of threat to Berg.
@Skywalker (Comment #13)
Yes hopefully we will get some team lists from Beet tomorrow.
@Pamos (Comment #11)
Yip their u16A’s last year were excellent. Its just that normally your Matric group make up about 70% of the 1st team, and your Grade 11 group normally fill the other 30%. Seems like they will need to have it the other way around, plus the new recruits. Would be interested to see a team list from their u16A team in 2022 and see how many are starting as 1st team players this year.
@Pamos (Comment #10)
Thats is great to hear. I dont know much about him – but hope he has a great season with the boys.
@Skywalker (Comment #9)
The Hilton U16A team last year was by far the best and most talented team in KZN. With them bringing in some decent recruits I think they will be close to unstoppable in KZN this year. They have great players in key positions.
@Skywalker (Comment #7)
I do not think that you have to be worried about Jacques Deen. It is not like he is inexperienced. He coached Glenwood 1st XV before going to Northwood and he coaches 1st XV at Collegians and he has been for a long time I believe. I also know that Deen took more of a lead in the coaching role last year and Jeremy focused on all age-group rugby.
@House Rugga (Comment #1)
What are your thoughts on Hilton this year? They were not a good u16A team, and Mhouse beat them by 10-2o points in both matches. They took some big hidings from otehr teams. Their u16A last year was good to mitigate this, but surely they are not on par with their teams of the last 5 years?.
@beet (Comment #4)
Agree, he was very inconsistent. He could do some great things, both with ball in hand and shots at poles, but he could also be way off the boil. That 1st game against Hilton was an example – shame literally everything that could go wrong for him did. Makes my point though. In 2019 when NW did so well that had JP duPreez at flyhalf who was established, calm and a great player.
Siyanda Nkosi is a dynamic player for NW no doubt – magic feet! But is he a 10? Thats the question. I think better at wing or centre running onto the ball and into broken play. Imagine a Boesak or Horak at 10, and Nkosi at 13. Thats what they need to really reach the heights they can i feel. Anyway, I hope he has a blinder if he does play 10 and step his way over the tryline a few times. Hilton are so miserley on defence though and will be in his face.
@Jakkals (Comment #5)
He was Coach of Varsity College 1st team as well, which was fine untill they made it into Varsity Shield, and that now needs his full attention and the tournament is playing out as we speak – Great for KZN rugby – they have won their first 3. Also appointed now at KZN u19 head coach. So yes his assistant Jacque is having to step up. Just not ideal as he coached these boys since u15A.
@Jakkals (Comment #5)
He is still helping out at NW. But read rank 9 above
@Skywalker (Comment #2)
Where did Jeremy go?
@Skywalker (Comment #2)
I thought Cade had the ability to do special things but he was very inconsistent at times. The move at the end of the last match in 2023 sort of summed it up. Cade does something brilliant to get to a hole but then throws an intercept pass when the try was on.
NW were trying Siya Nkosi at 10 a few weeks back. If that comes off, it could be a very exciting attacking option for them.
It’s jarring to me every time that I read that schools playing their first games in mid-March are late starters!😂
I am encouraged to hear your positivity about this NW side @beet, but i think it may be a stretch. Yes there is a good core from last year and these boys have played together mostly since Grade 8. But they did lose a key player like big forward Thinus Oothuizen to Garsises last year and I suspect another forward or two as well. I have not heard of any replacements. If they dont have enough size and power up front they will not do enough to upset the big teams. Kearsney, DHS, MBC, Mhouse all had strong age groups now in this Matric year, and as you have reported, many have bolstered their squads further in key positions. Not sure NW has done the same. Also with Jeremy suddenly out the picture, I wonder what impact that will have. More so I see that Graeme De Swart who was flyhalf for this age group played scrumhalf last year and back up at fullback i think. The flyhalf from last year has since Matriculated and so i dont know who will fill that key role? That worries me. At any level, but at this level in particular, a strong flyhalf makes a big difference! Imagine DHS without Deano Boesak, or Hilton without Horak etc.
They certainly have some good players, but not sure its enough considering how others schools have ramped up. Also have not heard of any warm up games – whereas Hilton played Secunda on Saturday. Anyway, we will see – i pray for an upset.
Do you have any teamlists?
KZN RUGBY PREDICTIONS
House by 5 v Westville
DHS by 15 v Kearsney
Not much change expected year on year.