Paarl Boys’ High did not receive enough credit for their good 19-10 win against Oakdale. This was a tough assignment which the Winelanders made look comfortable by establishing a lead which grew to 19-3 at one stage in the second half. Oakdale may not be a flashy team but they are organised and hard as nails. They love tackling. So for Boishaai to manufacture the first two tries via clean linebreaks and then being able to find the continuity to get over the line through linking play says a lot about their firepower and what they can achieve against a 1st XV that is not as intense as Oakdale.
Oakdale came into the Brugstraat game unbeaten. This weekend a rated Wynberg will arrive with the same status, although it has to be added that they have not played the same pedigree of 2024 opponents as Oakdale or Boishaai for that matter. Nevertheless the Berg team on paper looks proper and they have not strayed on the field either. They definitely have the pack and line to hold their own.
Berg have had some good games against Boishaai on Hawthornden, with three of the last four including last year’s offering being decided by four points or less including last year’s very close match. However their trips to the town of Paarl itself have generally been miserable ones with lots of points conceded on Brugstraat and even more a little further North at the Jan Kriel (Paarl Gim). One therefore can’t help but believe that from a psychological point of view the first prize is damage control rather than going for an outright win, especially with Boishaai in the mood to speed up the game and looking for different avenues of attack this season. Boishaai has the firepower to put up a big score so keeping things as tight as possible firstly by looking after possession and then by making sure the prerequisite fitness level holds firm to keep the defensive focus up to a high level.
Its the name of the game in the extremely tough Western Province Premier League, where one has to believe that Wynberg can challenge for a Top-15 national ranking based on their ability and playing form.
| TEAM | HJS PAARL BH | TEAM | WYNBERG | ||
| 1 | Bernard du Toit | u17 | 1 | Luqobo Makwedini | |
| 2 | Christiaan Grundling | u17 | 2 | Xabiso Mkiva | |
| 3 | Juan vd Merwe | u17 | 3 | Benjamin Matthews | |
| 4 | Dian Smal | u18 | 4 | Jaythen Orange | |
| 5 | Jayden Joubert | u17 | 5 | Tjeripo Karuhumba | |
| 6 | Anroux du Plessis | u18 | 6 | Jamie Stride | |
| 7 | Rubin Dames | u18 | 7 | Adan da Costa | |
| 8 | Douw Wessels | u18 | 8 | Torren February | |
| 9 | Keagan Smith | u19 | 9 | Tyrone Gombe | |
| 10 | Viaan Mentoor | u18 | 10 | Yaqeen Ahmed | |
| 11 | Ashwin Swarts | u18 | 11 | Levi Brown | |
| 12 | Tristan Fransman | u18 | 12 | Brandon Ashburner | |
| 13 | Tristan Joubert | u17 | 13 | Albert Lourens | |
| 14 | Aiden Jacobs | u18 | 14 | Kunene Gadu | |
| 15 | Francois vd Merwe | u17 | 15 | Morne Noble | |
| Coach | SEAN ERASMUS | Coach | JUSTIN VAN WINKEL |
@yesnomaybe (Comment #8)
Paarl Bois have a very big pack, make no mistake.
@Strepie (Comment #6)
Excellence in the atmosphere.
HJS se aanval het by tye goed gelyk teen Oakdale, maar ek was baie teleurgesteld in Oakdale se aanvallende spel. Dit is dalk ewe veel ‘n pluimpie vir HJS, maar Oakdale het op geen stadium gelyk asof hulle enigiets kreatief op die aanval kan doen nie.
Yes you quite right with regards to the matches in Paarl, in the Southern Suburbs its called N1 fever, however, this Wynberg side has the size & skill to trouble the Paarl boys. The match will depend on whether Berg will be able to handle/control the Paarl forwards who are not a massive pack but an effective mobile pack. Their will also be some interesting individual battles on show especially the flyhalfs, the tight 5’s & the loosies. Think it will be boil down to Berg brawn vs Paarl flair/speed, which makes a change because normally the SS sides are much smaller than their Northern counterparts. Looking forward to a great match with hopefully decent weather, although don’t think the Berg would complain too much if its wet.
@Mate (Comment #5)Jy kan maar daai ogies rol!..Jy weet dit is waar!
@Trots HJS (Tandem) (Comment #4)
Baie goed gestel.
HJS se primere doelwit is en was nog NOOIT om n ‘rugbyskool’ te wees nie, maar wel om n seun die wereld in te stuur om n positiewe verskil in n negatiewe omgewing te gaan maak.
Balans, balans, balans.
@JongMatie (Comment #2)
Dit is verseker nie ‘n doelwit van die skool of die span nie ! Die doelwit is om in elke wedstryd as ‘n span beter te speel en die spel te geniet want dit is jong seuns wat rugby speel omdat God hul die gesondheid en die talente gegee het maar weet dat dit deel is van ‘n opvoedings geleentheid. Alles moet in balans gebeur. Goeie Gedrag. Goeie Opvoeding. Goeie Sportmanskap.
@JongMatie (Comment #2)
Die mikpunt is 1 000
@Mate (Comment #1)
Dit ruik na n baie snedige opmerking.
Gee die Paarliete massiewe krediet.
Met Gim, HJS en spelers soos Moody en Arendse, is daar beslis iets in die water van die Paarl..
Punching way way way above their weight!!
Onoorwonne Dag 240