Tough assignments for Brandwag, Dale, Framesby & Grey High

April 2024

After a forgettable start to 2024, Dale College are now on a three-match winning streak which includes a treasured 32-25 win against Grey High at the Graveyard. Spirits will be high in the Tickbirds camp ahead of a potentially difficult trip to Komani to face their great rivals Queen’s in one of SA schoolboy rugby’s biggest and best derbies.

The Kudus have stuttered a bit in bigger games this season. They are yet to hit the best form. However they too must feel like they are about to turn a corner and start to pick up form ahead of the challenging fixture list month of May.

This week is the 166^th Reunion celebration at Queen’s. Saturday will be a big day with a big crowd in attendance. It will be a first opportunity for many visitors to see the “new” Rec complete with a beautiful new burnt orange like tartan track.

Queen’s new tartan track and the Rec in the background

Grey back in Cape Town

Grey High are on the road again. After a 250km x 2 trip to Qonce (KWT) last Saturday, they make the 750km x 2 journey to the Cape Town Southern Suburbs over this weekend. Not ideal planning! In CT they will face annual opponents Wynberg. Grey won their match against CT locals SACS (7-3) a month back but this time in unbeaten Wynberg they face the prospect of a team that have the form and talent to finish in the Top 10.

Grey is rated as the overall seventh best rugby high schools in South Africa since 2010. Their potential and form of late is substantially below that marker. After Wynberg, they will face an equally tough test against Paul Roos in Gqeberha. School pride and love for the jersey suggests they will put up stiff resistance but there is every chance they come out on the losing end in the two matches. Perhaps not great for the morale of the first team players but sometimes the introspective it creates leads to action and a brighter future from which all connected with Grey will benefit.

Framesby have their work cut out

Coach Louis Gerber’s boys return from disappointing result in Worcester to face a daunting task at home. The farm boys from Riversdale are in town and they are looking good. Two years back Framesby beat Oakdale 11-7 and will be hoping for more of the same. It will be a tall order though.

No upsets in Kariega this weekend

After two weekends and two results that went against the grain in local derbies in Kariega, Brandwag and Daniel Pienaar square off in a Tinara Cup match where there isn’t a clear favourite. Hosts Brandwag are under a bit of pressure to win, as a defeat will see DP go further ahead on the table and place the latter in a strong position to lift the inaugural trophy.