Two of Eastern Province’s best-represented schools at this year’s two U18 provincial youth weeks in Middelburg face off when Nico Malan travels to Makhanda to take on Graeme College.
Somerset Field has proven to be an impenetrable fortress for Nico Malan’s Bloutrui in recent years. The boys from Humansdorp have lost on their last four visits to the venue. That said, the 2025 Nico Malan side is a class outfit. They boast eight provincial representatives, six of whom are in their formidable forward pack. It’s no surprise, then, that they bring serious physicality and are difficult to contain up front.
Graeme College, meanwhile, has six players heading to the provincial youth weeks—four to Craven Week and two to Academy Week. The Makhanda side plays an enterprising brand of rugby filled with flair, accurate handling, and well-crafted attacking lines.
Both schools are enjoying excellent seasons, making the race to be crowned Eastern Province’s top school a tightly contested one. Queen’s College have also entered the conversation after notching up two major wins in consecutive weekends—against St Andrew’s and Grey High. However, they are not scheduled to play Nico Malan but they are making a trip to Somerset Field to face Graeme during August, so determining the best could still be in the form of an interschools match as opposed to who impressed the most in the court of public opinion.
In the other mouthwatering clash of the weekend, Grey High hosts St Andrew’s College on the Kolisi Field. Like Nico, Grey are a powerful unit up front, with their entire front row selected for Craven Week. Their Achilles heel, however, is a backline that has often looked sluggish and short on ideas.
St Andrew’s are fielding a solid side this season. Their pack is more than respectable, and they’ve long been known for their ability to shift the ball effectively in the wider channels. If they can withstand the inevitable pressure that will come from Grey’s imposing forwards, they could well find themselves in with a chance. The private school will also draw confidence from having won two of their last three encounters against Grey in Gqeberha.
| # | SCHOOL | REG | AVG | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TTL | AVG | LOCAL MATCHES | |||||||
| 1 | Nico Malan | EP | 3.76 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 135 | 63 | 72 | 18.8 | 3.76 | KIN | DAL | MUI | PEA | MAR | GRA | DAN | BW |
| 24-10 | 24-22 | 43-14 | 18-10 | 26-07 | – | – | – | |||||||||||||
| 2 | Queen’s | BOR | 3.74 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 170 | 111 | 59 | 22.4 | 3.74 | PEA | BW | SEL | DAL | STA | GHS | HP | MAR |
| 17-20 | 29-15 | 40-22 | 21-13 | 38-17 | 25-24 | – | – | |||||||||||||
| 3 | Graeme | EP | 3.30 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 119 | 83 | 36 | 13.2 | 3.30 | DAN | BW | STA | HP | NM | KIN | PEA | DAL |
| 51-17 | 31-27 | 10-17 | 27-22 | – | – | – | – | |||||||||||||
| 4 | Brandwag (EP) | EP | 3.21 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 161 | 134 | 27 | 22.4 | 3.21 | DAL | GRA | QC | MAR | MUI | DAN | KIN | MUI |
| 16-07 | 27-31 | 15-29 | 36-31 | 26-10 | 22-19 | 19-07 | – | |||||||||||||
| 5 | Grey HS | EP | 3.04 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 112 | 62 | 50 | 9.1 | 3.04 | HP | DAL | QC | STA | DAN | FRA | MUI | SEL |
| 45-34 | 43-03 | 24-25 | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||||||||
| 6 | St Andrew’s | EP | 2.86 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 145 | 100 | 45 | 14.3 | 2.86 | MAR | FRA | GRA | QC | SEL | GHS | KIN | DAL |
| 25-25 | 46-17 | 17-10 | 17-38 | 40-10 | – | – | – | |||||||||||||
| 7 | Marlow | EP | 2.80 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 85 | 113 | -28 | 11.2 | 2.80 | STA | SEL | BW | NM | DAL | QC | PEA | FRA |
| 25-25 | 22-26 | 31-36 | 07-26 | – | – | – | – | |||||||||||||
| 8 | Framesby | EP | 2.57 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 115 | 79 | 36 | 7.7 | 2.57 | STA | DAN | HP | PEA | GHS | MAR | NM | |
| 17-46 | 52-12 | 46-21 | – | – | – | – | ||||||||||||||
| 9 | Selborne | BOR | 2.56 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 125 | 131 | -6 | 15.4 | 2.56 | HP | MAR | PEA | QC | DAL | STA | HP | QC |
| 12-03 | 26-22 | 40-13 | 22-40 | 15-13 | 10-40 | – | – | |||||||||||||
| 10 | Pearson | EP | 2.55 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 64 | 89 | -25 | 10.2 | 2.55 | QC | SEL | NM | MUI | FRA | DAN | GRA | MAR |
| 20-17 | 13-40 | 10-18 | 21-14 | – | – | – | – | |||||||||||||
| 11 | Hudson Park | BOR | 2.21 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 114 | 145 | -31 | 11.1 | 2.21 | SEL | GHS | MUI | FRA | GRA | QC | SEL | DAL |
| 03-12 | 34-45 | 34-15 | 21-46 | 22-27 | – | – | – | |||||||||||||
| 12 | Dale | BOR | 1.94 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 58 | 119 | -61 | 9.7 | 1.94 | BW | NM | GHS | QC | SEL | MAR | STA | GRA |
| 07-16 | 22-24 | 03-43 | 13-21 | 13-15 | – | – | – | |||||||||||||
| 13 | Kingswood | EP | 1.64 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 43 | -26 | 3.3 | 1.64 | NM | BW | GRA | STA | ||||
| 10-24 | 07-19 | – | – | |||||||||||||||||
| 14 | Daniel Pienaar | EP | 1.31 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 76 | 155 | -79 | 5.3 | 1.31 | MUI | GRA | FRA | BW | PEA | GHS | NM | BW |
| 28-30 | 17-51 | 12-52 | 19-22 | – | – | – | – | |||||||||||||
@RuggaFreak (Comment #3)
@Palma (Comment #1)
Yeah sorry guys. I’m on a bit of a bad streak at the moment.
If Graeme can break NM hearts, it could set up a huge game on 09 August.
Queen’s is playing Graeme this year in Makhanda
CRAVENWEEK SPELERS
Are Queens not playing Graeme on the 9th of August?