Even without injured ace flyhalf Achmat Behardien, Wynberg look well placed to launch their Southern Suburbs title defence on a strong note. Alongside the familiar comforts of Hawthornden Field, they carry the advantage of extra recovery time, having last taken the field on Saturday against hosts St Stithians at the latter’s Easter Festival. In contrast, their opponents, Rondebosch, were involved in the Monday showpiece fixture at the highly successful Pretoria Boys’ High 125th Rugby Festival.
Perhaps most telling, however, is the difference in experience between the two sides. Wynberg are set to field a notably older outfit, while Rondebosch will include no fewer than eight U17 players — a factor that could prove decisive over the course of a physically demanding derby.
With Bishops yet to hit anything close to top gear in 2026 and SACS still building towards what promises to be a brighter future, this Berg-Bosch clash is shaping up as a potential pivot point in the Southern Suburbs season. It may well go a long way towards determining the second-term Triple Crown winner and, ultimately, the balance of Cape Town’s SS4 bragging rights by the end of August.
| TEAM | WYNBERG | TEAM | RONDEBOSCH | ||
| 1 | Boitumelo Mabohlo | u18 | 1 | Finn Watermeyer | u18 |
| 2 | Naeem Mohammed | u18 | 2 | Kwaza Gobingca | u18 |
| 3 | Solam Kegana | u18 | 3 | Matthew Pelser | u17 |
| 4 | James Orwin | u18 | 4 | Bjorn Morkel | u17 |
| 5 | CJ Kotze | u18 | 5 | Bertus Versfeld | u18 |
| 6 | Alvin Machinja | u18 | 6 | Linakho Mehlomakulu | u18 |
| 7 | Alex Barrett | u18 | 7 | Ben Gray | u17 |
| 8 | Esa van der Schyff | u18 | 8 | Kirwan November | u17 |
| 9 | Rauf Ahmed | u17 | 9 | Ateeb Julius | u17 |
| 10 | Luke Gertze | u19 | 10 | Eathon Williams | u18 |
| 11 | Zach de Kock | u18 | 11 | Caleb Bell | u18 |
| 12 | Cayleb Buys | 12 | Kean van Zyl | u17 | |
| 13 | Ithandile Nkohla | u18 | 13 | Nkwana Kelebongile | u17 |
| 14 | Matthew Farah | 14 | Jayden Wyngaard | u18 | |
| 15 | Laeeq Davids | u18 | 15 | Josh Kirby | u17 |
| 16 | 16 | Andrea Parrello | u18 | ||
| 18 | 18 | Sebastian Vermeulen | u18 | ||
| 22 | 22 | Tyler Heynes | u18 | ||
| Coach | JUSTIN VAN WINKEL | Coach | CLINTON VAN RENSBURG |
@beet (Comment #4)
It will be interesting, but by that stage there may be more injuries. Campbell, the first choice wing, was injured against Drostdy and I’m not sure if/when he’ll be fit to slot into the side again.
@Toffee (Comment #3)
I had the same thought coming into this game, but I think this age group has bullied Bosch through their high school journey and perhaps that muscle memory kicked in.
@Toffee (Comment #3)
Yeah Berg profited from their driving maul in the redzone. To get to those positions, they were doing more things right than Bosch were. But overall it was quite a close game.
It will be interesting to see how Justin van Winkel rearranges the backs once Berhadien is back. Perhaps Gertse to 15 and the dangerous Laeeq Davids to wing???
On pre-season form I thought Rondebosch would win comfortably. The Wynberg forwards and scrumhalf/flyhalf combination were impressive on the day. I watched a few of the age group games as well and I understand Bosch only won about three games on the day which surprised me. I expect in the second term game at home Bosch will do a lot better.
Must say Luke Gertse is a very decent flyhalf. I’m not sure many schools have Wynberg’s quality depth in that position.
Kean van Zyl, the u17 inside centre for Bosch is another really good prospect.
Well done Wynberg!
Leading the SS4 charge for some years now.