3. An Interschools vs Grey College
2. Playing Grey College in Bloemfontein
1. Playing an Interschools against Grey College in Bloemfontein as your first formal game of the season.
Oakdale will start their regular season in the hardest way possible. A trip to Grey College!
Oakdale has a good team. They are big boys. However Grey’s speed of execution at altitude will be difficult to contend with. Fortunately Oakdale participated in the well-organised Global Rugby Challenge at Grey during the December holidays, which gave their players a good opportunity to familiarise themselves with the prestigious rugby factory in terms of the field and what to expect from their opponents.
Grey College lock AJ Meyer who was just about the best u17 forward of the 2024 school season, is still out following an injury during the Sevens season. On Saturday, 15 March 2025, viewers and spectators may get a first chance to watch his potential successor for that title of best u17 forward as Oakdale’s loosie Jacobus de Villiers defines the word “special” in terms of how he plays rugby.
| TEAM | GREY COLLEGE | TEAM | OAKDALE |
| 1 | David Hayidakis | 1 | Kai Pratt |
| 2 | Tian Fourie | 2 | Adrian Smit |
| 3 | JG Badenhorst | 3 | Francois le Roux |
| 4 | Alexi Tyropolis | 4 | Ruan Swart |
| 5 | Claude Steyn | 5 | Diaan Augustyn |
| 6 | Xander Smit | 6 | Jannes Snyman |
| 7 | Adem Nieuwoudt | 7 | Liam Lightley |
| 8 | AJ Booysen | 8 | Jacobus de Villiers |
| 9 | Sherwin Buys | 9 | Jandrian Goosen |
| 10 | Jan-Hendrik vd Linden | 10 | CT Vosloo |
| 11 | Thristan Maree | 11 | Lee-Winn Pretorius |
| 12 | Toriq Schambreel | 12 | Christian Vorster |
| 13 | Ethan Adams | 13 | Anrich Scheffer |
| 14 | Benjamin vd Berg | 14 | Wayne Ganniwa |
| 15 | Lamla Mgedezi | 15 | Reinhart Viljoen |
| 16 | AJ Hendriks | 16 | Kyle Burger |
| 17 | Hennie Bredenhann | 17 | Daniel Keyser |
| 18 | Marinus Oosthuizen | 18 | Zivan Grobbelaar |
| 19 | Prestan Bennett | 19 | Rico Ferreira |
| 20 | Steven Muller | 20 | Lohan Gerber |
| 21 | Bernard Wessels | 21 | Caleb Williams |
| 22 | Darius Erwee | 22 | Warren Labuschagne |
| 23 | Siyabonga Kenny | 23 | Myburgh Eksteen |
| 24 | 24 | Andre van der Merwe | |
| Coach | JANNIE GELDENHUYS | Coach | MALAN DU PLESSIS |
Oakdale need to be 15 points better than Grey in Bloem (same as Oakdale in Riversdal).
Backlines match up evenly imho.
Oakdale can easily score 2 maul tries, but then need to convert them.
Which means it is coming down to the kickers for me.