Rondebosch defeated Wynberg 19-7 on a wet and windy Tinkie Heyns Field to claim the 2024 Southern Suburbs crown with a match to spare.
In what was effectively a final, both Bosch and Berg had to make do without several of their top players, who had been selected for SA U18 international duty.
Playing with the wind behind them, the home team, Bosch, dominated the first-half proceedings. Right from the start, stand-in captain Justin Amos and the always reliable Carl Geddie led the way with ball-in-hand, ably supported by forwards Matthys du Plooy, Connor Arbuthnot, and Collin Paul Kemp, who set the platforms. However, Wynberg, whose defensive structures had often let them down this season, defied expectations with passionate, energised tackles and reorganised well to keep the score at 0-0 for much of the half.
The defining moment of the half was produced by the well-built young centre, John Randall Davids, who capitalised on the midfield space offered after a turnover to rush downtown for 60 metres, finishing in style after surprisingly outpacing the cover defence.
A 7-0 lead at the break quickly turned into a 14-0 advantage when Davids crashed over for his second try. Once again, this was the result of Bosch’s pack domination. Flyhalf David Simon, one of Bosch’s star players of 2024, was on hand to land the second conversion.
Berg responded with their best continuity of the match, showing both commitment and strong concentration to retain possession in tricky conditions. After being repelled near the line, they found width, and quick wing Levi Brown finished in the left corner, making it 14-7. Fullback Morne Noble slotted the difficult conversion.
The visiting commentator from Berg was spot on with his analysis that the bounce had not favoured Berg on the day. A couple of chances in broken play could so easily have been 5-pointers had fortune not favoured Bosch. In the first half, Brown collected a bouncing ball with only the line ahead of him, but defending wing David Kadima somehow managed to get enough body contact to knock over the No. 11. In the second half, the visitors won a turnover, and halfback Tyrone Gombe upped the tempo with a clever run, creating the impetus for some flair, allowing fullback Morne Noble to race down the right touchline. RJ Davids was again the hero, making the vital last-line tackle to deny Berg points.
Bosch, through lock Danil-Nicolas Oosthuizen, finished off the challenge with their third and final try from lineout work after young flyhalf Luke Gertze’s exit from behind the goal-line came off the side of his boot. Gertze, standing in at 10 for the brilliant SA Schools flyhalf Yaqeen Ahmed, had a useful match and offers much promise for 2025.
It ended 19-7.
Rondebosch, with their second SS4 title in a row, including a first-round Triple Crown, now head into a home BishBosch season-ending derby with the opportunity to claim an SS4 Grand Slam (Double Triple Crown).
The last of the Big Four to win all six matches was Wynberg in 2014, highlighting the magnitude of the feat.
| SOUTHERN SUBURBS 2024 | BISH | BOSCH | SACS | BERG | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat.20Apr | Rondebosch | 55-22 | SACS | – | 6 | 0 | – |
| Sat.27Apr | Bishops | 08-35 | Wynberg | 0 | – | – | 6 |
| Sat.04May | Wynberg | 27-49 | Rondebosch | – | 6 | – | 0 |
| Sat.04May | SACS | 29-07 | Bishops | 0 | – | 6 | – |
| Sat.01Jun | Bishops | 16-31 | Rondebosch | 0 | 6 | – | – |
| Sat.01Jun | Wynberg | 29-30 | SACS | – | – | 4 | 2 |
| Sat.03Aug | SACS | 05-43 | Rondebosch | – | 6 | 0 | – |
| Sat.03Aug | Wynberg | 38-16 | Bishops | 0 | – | – | 6 |
| Sat.10Aug | Rondebosch | 19-07 | Wynberg | – | 5 | – | 1 |
| Sat.10Aug | Bishops | vs | SACS | – | – | – | – |
| Sat.17Aug | Rondebosch | vs | Bishops | – | – | – | – |
| Sat.17Aug | SACS | vs | Wynberg | – | – | – | – |
| POINTS | 0 | 29 | 10 | 15 | |||
| WINS | 0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | |||
| Position | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | |||
| BISH | BOSCH | SACS | BERG | ||||
Scoring
MOST VICTORIES WINS THE SS4 CHAMPIONSHIP
4pts for a win, 3pts for a draw
Margin of victory points:
Greater than 14 = 2pts to the winning team
Between 8 & 14 = 1pt to the winning team, 1pt to the losing team
Less than 8 = 2pts to the losing team
Credit to Berg for showing a real resilience on defence, but it was just meant to be for Bosch on the day. There’s now a very real chance for the Grand Slam (a double Triple Crown), as you mentioned the last time was by Berg in 2014 (they also achieved it in 2012). It’s an incredibly rare feat so would be really special if we can achieve it next week!
Bosch have suffered some really close defeats this year (to Paarl Boys, Paarl Gym, Landbou, Oakdale etc), but have really lit up the SS derbies.
Don’t want to speak too soon and underestimate Bishops though as a derby is a derby, but I’ll be disappointed if the boys don’t get over the line next week and achieve the Grand Slam (and a third consecutive Triple Crown – 2024 x 2, and 2023).