Ferocious tackling Oakdale’s perfect start to 2024 season will face its sternest test to date when the Bulle travel to Brugstraat in Paarl to face unbeaten Hoërjongenskool.
Included in Oakdale’s impressive start are victories over Rondebosch and Garsfontein. They produced a very systematic intense performance to beat the latter 24-19 at the NMI Toyota Noord-Suid. A couple of days later at the same tournament, Boishaai had an 14-points in closing minutes, come from behind victory against the self-same Bere of Pretoria, winning it 38-36.
The margins of victory against a useful Garsies team suggest the two teams will be closely matched when they meet on Saturday, 06 April 2024.
- A couple of key factors.
Boishaai’s ability to get to 38-points against strong opponents tells a story of the firepower they have to work that scoreboard. - Oakdale having rest and recuperations time since the NS tournament, while the Blou Trein has been put to the best against KES and Pretoria Boys’ High, in the lead up to this high profile match.
TIER-1 UNBEATEN TO DATE IN 2024
| # | RANKING | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD |
| 1 | Paarl Gim | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 142 | 36 | 106 |
| 2 | Paul Roos | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 150 | 59 | 91 |
| 3 | HJS Paarl BH | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 202 | 77 | 125 |
| 4 | Oakdale | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 122 | 54 | 68 |
| 5 | Wynberg | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 162 | 31 | 131 |
| 6 | EG Jansen | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 321 | 70 | 251 |
| 7 | Northwood | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 15 | 85 |
| 8 | St Stithians | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 101 | 24 | 77 |
| 9 | Marais Viljoen | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 119 | 69 | 50 |
| 10 | Charlie Hofmeyr | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 125 | 38 | 87 |
| TEAM | HJS PAARL BH | TEAM | OAKDALE | ||
| 1 | Bernard du Toit | u17 | 1 | Kai Pratt | u17 |
| 2 | Christiaan Grundling | u17 | 2 | Gustav Van Der Merwe | u18 |
| 3 | Juan vd Merwe | u17 | 3 | Tiaan Turck | u18 |
| 4 | Dian Smal | u18 | 4 | Ruan Swart | u17 |
| 5 | Jayden Joubert | u17 | 5 | Roy Viljoen | u18 |
| 6 | Anroux du Plessis | u18 | 6 | Zack Wessels | u18 |
| 7 | Rubin Dames | u18 | 7 | Jannes Snyman | u17 |
| 8 | Douw Wessels | u18 | 8 | Erick Steyn | u18 |
| 9 | Keagan Smith | u19 | 9 | Jandrian Goosen | u17 |
| 10 | Viaan Mentoor | u18 | 10 | CT Vosloo | u17 |
| 11 | Ashwin Swarts | u18 | 11 | Duraan Jv Rensburg | u18 |
| 12 | Tristan Fransman | u18 | 12 | Kurt Coetzee | u18 |
| 13 | Tristan Joubert | u17 | 13 | Lee-Winn Pretorius | u17 |
| 14 | Aiden Jacobs | u18 | 14 | Christian Vorster | u17 |
| 15 | Francois vd Merwe | u17 | 15 | Reinhart Viljoen | u17 |
| Coach | SEAN ERASMUS | Coach | MALAN DU PLESSIS |
@Trots HJS (Tandem) (Comment #12)
overzealous refs spoiling the game- very frustrating
The u17 Joubert twins each played a meaningful role in the opening two tries.
Boishaai tried to speed the game up a lot. Their wings got several touches.
Oakdale are not the easiest school to break down and very committed to making tackles and their secondary defensive lines effective.
So a good 19-10 win for HJS. I think they have a lot of options to work with
@Kantman (Comment #14)
Moet se refs die afgelope paar jaar in NV baie beter.Soos vandag ook,wens ek kon die ref blame vir Bere game maar helaas,hy was goed.
@Trots HJS (Tandem) (Comment #12)
My impression is that refereeing at Noord-Suid was better than what I saw today in the Cape. Expectations are high, but how can WO support further and continuous development?
@Snelvuur (Comment #10)
@Snelvuur, Oakdale se gebrek aan akuraatheid in wat hul doen het hulle gekos op die dag. Halwe “slips” op verdediging, swak aangeë en verkeerde besluitneming moet aandag kry. Maar net my waarneming.
@Kantman (Comment #9)
There were 4 yellow cards ( 3 Boishaai , 1 Oakdale ). 2 of the yellow cards plus the 1 for Oakdale were for alleged high tackles. @Snelvuur (Comment #10)
There were about 20 penalties against Boishaai and it was impossible to create any flow in the game. I thought the referee handled the game very poorly. The state of referees at school level in the Western Cape is in my opinion very poor . I do not think the Boishaai set phases were bad at all. Oakdale came with a very set game plan which was well neutralised by Boishaai. A win is a win and I feel the team is improving every game.
@Kantman (Comment #9)
There were 4 yellow cards ( 3 Boishaai , 1 Oakdale ). 2 of the yellow cards plus the 1 for Oakdale were for alleged high tackles.
Good win for HJS, but a pretty poor game on the whole. Windy conditions made it difficult, but HJS were poor on set phases again, while Oakdale never really looked like threatening. Expected a bit more from them.
@JongMatie (Comment #7)
HJS showing lots of character with this win – have to watch the game in full, but what happened with all the yellow cards?
Looking forward to this one – Boishaai’s first real test down under.
Paarl Gim vs Boland Landbou also something not to be missed.
Lekker!
HJS by a point or two.
Also depends if the ref thinks he is the most important person on the field (like most refs at nmi)
@beet (Comment #5)
Thanks, appreciate
@Kantman (Comment #4)
Thanks. The Charlies are part of a Boland expansion this year. I have never recorded their results before.
@beet Charlie Hofmeyr is also still unbeaten
Crazy that so few schools are unbeaten this early in the season. There will be many upsets it seems
This will be a real test match. Oakdale has a great team and will be well rested as they were not part of an exhaustive Easter festival. Oakdale’s has great defensive play and will be a handful. It is impossible to predict the winner.
If this game was in Riversdale, I would have Oakdale as favourites. Brug Street, however, is a tough place to travel to. I’ve watched all of HJS’ games this year. If I was in Oakdale’s team, I’d look to target their pack, especially in the scrums and mauls. HJS’ strength is in their backline, especially their extremely polished 10, who is calm under pressure and an excellent goal kicker.