The annual President Steyn sports day will provide the first meaningful glimpse of what several of the Free State’s leading rugby schools have in store as the 2026 schoolboy season gets underway.
Hosted in Bloemfontein, the traditional early-season fixture has become a key marker for provincial depth and direction, offering supporters and coaches alike an early read on emerging talent and collective progress.
| PRESIDENT STEYN S/D | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13h50 | GRF | Beth. Voortrekker | vs | Louis Botha | FS |
| 15h00 | GRF | Welkom Gim | vs | Fichardtpark | FS |
| 16h10 | FS | Jim Fouche | vs | Hentie Cilliers | GRF |
| 17h20 | FS | Grey College | vs | Trio | GRF |
The main game of the day will see home town team Grey College take on Trio (Kroonstad) in what has developed into something of a festival derby. The two schools have faced each other regularly at President Steyn in recent seasons, with Trio once again earning plaudits for their willingness to test themselves against the province’s benchmark outfit at the very start of the campaign.
Elsewhere on the programme, a youthful Jim Fouché side will use their home-town fixture against Virginia’s Hentie Cilliers High School as part of their final preparations ahead of their opening league clash against Burgersdorp on 7 March. While 2026 may be a season of consolidation, the emphasis for Jim Fouché will be on playing with freedom and flair, with an eye firmly on building towards a potentially strong 2027 campaign.
Bethlehem Voortrekker High School enter their encounter against Bloemfontein’s HTS Louis Botha as clear favourites. However, for yet another season, the Griffons powerhouse find themselves without a key player. The most notable departure is that of PJ Strauss, a highly rated prospect who would likely have covered lock or flank in the starting line-up before his move to Paarl Boys’ High School. Another former Voortrekker, Shellvon Mabooi, is also expected to make a significant impact in the Western Province Premier League this year, wearing the colours of Rondebosch.
The fixture many expect to deliver the most intrigue is the clash between Fichardtpark and Welkom Gimnasium. Fichardtpark enjoyed one of the standout school seasons in the country in 2023, the year in which towering lock Jaco Grobbelaar earned national honours. Less widely noted was their achievement in 2025, when the Bloemfontein co-educational school captured the Free State Liga title for the first time in their history. That success is further underpinned by the fact that much of their forward pack returns in 2026.
Fichardtpark’s coaching structure remains a strong point, with André du Plessis at the helm, supported by the experienced Zandre Pienaar and director of rugby Jaco Kotze, who continues to play a key role in the school’s sustained progress.
Welkom Gimnasium, meanwhile, are led by brilliant veteran coach Roean Bezuidenhout, now in his ±twentieth season and widely respected for his consistency and player development. Bezuidenhout hails from Hoërskool Bothaville, a school that also produced former Springbok prop Wessel Roux, currently making his mark as a forwards coach at the Lions. While Welkom Gim are known for taking on heavyweight opposition early in the season, they concede that a strong focus on summer sport has complicated their rugby preparations. Like Bethlehem Voortrekker, they have also lost a key figure, with Grade 12 centre Byron Klaasin departing for Durban High School. Without obvious individual game-breakers, Gimmies will rely heavily on collective effort and are optimistic about steady improvement.
In another friendly, this time in the Northern Free State, Witteberg of Bethlehem, fresh off a historic 2025 season in which they claimed the Griffons title for the first time, face a stern test against Wesvalia. The hosts enter the new campaign hampered by no fewer than seven injury setbacks, a factor expected to have a significant influence on the contest against their North West opponents. Wesvalia are approaching the match as a trial and also have a few injuries heading into the season.
Witteberg will be without several key players, including JC van Rhyn, who featured at Craven Week in both 2024 and 2025, as well as prop Mila Oerson, a member of the Griffons Under-17 side last year. Flank Divan Marais, who represented at Craven Week in 2025, is also unavailable.
The match is expected to be a highly physical encounter. Witteberg recorded a 22–7 away victory over Wesvalia in Klerksdorp in 2025, a result that is likely to provide strong motivation for payback among the visitors.
Finally Bloemfontein’s Sentraal have been working extremely hard behind the scenes to get their rugby up to standard and process has been good. First up for them is a tough challenge in the form of Lichtenburg. Sentraal will field a notably young first team this season, with between eight and ten Grade 11 players expected to feature in the final squad. Despite their relative inexperience, the first team is anticipated to remain competitive, supported by strong depth across the second and third teams, and potentially a fourth team where fixtures allow.
Encouragingly, for the first time in many years, coaching and rugby structures are firmly established from Under-14 through to Under-19, providing a solid foundation for long-term success. This depth was evident last season, when the school won six of nine matches against Witteberg, with victories by the U14A, U15A and U16A sides.
As these younger teams progress through the ranks, there is growing confidence that the first team will develop into a consistently competitive unit over time.
@boerboel (Comment #19)
Geensins suur. Ek het ‘n afversie in snobs soos jy. Mense soos jy wat dink julle is beter as ander gee ons meerderheid Kapenaars ‘n slegte naam. Wees liewer nederig, dis al. En jy weet jy lieg met ‘n straight face. Jys baie ver vd feite af.
@Eden Park (Comment #18)
ai ek noem die feite- jy klink suur- ontspan die jaar wen julle weer
SKAAM
Ek skaam my dat jy ‘n mede Kapenaar is en so optree. Ek dink die boishaai manne skaam hulle ook vir jou Eloff. Jy weet netso goed soos die hele wereld dat boishaai groot gekoop het weereens. Dis niks nuut nie. Seuns word wel genader en seuns kry beurse. Almal weet dit. Erken en aanvaar, live and let live. Eks net dankbaar dat my Gimmie maters nie soos jy maak nie.
@boerboel (Comment #16)
ry nie met busse en papsak wyn om kinders te kom koop nie-
@BereFan (Comment #15)
dis soos skuif v Grens na die WP- natuurlike evolusie-die kinders is nie genader om te kom nie- visa versa
@Snelvuur (Comment #14)
Ouers wat “skuif vir werk” maar tog bly die een se jonger boetie in Menlo. Dis eintlik snaaks hoe hulle stories spin om hulle te pas. Maar nou ja mens kan nie net die waarheid praat as mens al vir soveel jare ander skole oor presies dieselfde uithaal nie!!
@boerboel (Comment #12)
Tel jy die res van die skool as die 95%, of praat jy net van die rugbyspan?😉 Want dan sê jy net één man in daai span is nie homegrown nie. Terloops, was die vorige storie nie dat die ouens se ouers is wat skuif vir werk nie? Elke week is daar ook ‘n nuwe een…
@boerboel (Comment #12)
Na Garsfontein of ander skole dan is dit koop. Na julle beter geleentheid. Hypocrite.
@Snelvuur (Comment #11)
ontspan 95 p homegrown – paar manne wat geskuif het v beter geleenthede- dis hoe die lewe werk
@Ystervark (Comment #3)
As I have it, it’s a few more than 7…double figures…HJS may need to sing the national anthem after their matches rather than the school song, just to make sure that their first team can sing along as well 😂
@Grizzly (Comment #9)
ag nee wat kom vanself niks gekoop nie- dis nie gapswannabees nie
@boerboel (Comment #8)
Dit was nag na daai span van julle almal matriek was laas jaar toe gaan koop julle n span.
@boerboel (Comment #7)
julle manne nog naamplaatjies aan? Mammas se hare al 5 kleure gedye?pappas se jean kortbroekies reg en hare gejel?
@BereFan (Comment #6)
dis nie gapswannebees nie
@boerboel (Comment #5)
all of them.
@Ystervark (Comment #3)
how many in first team?
@Ystervark (Comment #3)
Is it similar numbers for DHS as well?
@ForeverHorseFly (Comment #2)
By my count Boishaai have 7 boys who have come in since the middle of last year. Boys from Grey Bloem, Boland Landbou, Affies, Maritzburg College, Menlopark, Trio, Bethlehem Voortrekker
@Ystervark (Comment #1)
Care to elaborate on this? Curious to know what are those numbers.
How many imports is that for Boishaai and DHS in 2026? Crazy