Paarl duo plentiful in sinking Southern Suburbs’ sides - Weekend Wrap Part 1
The city of Paarl hosted two King Price Derby Series fixtures as curtain raisers for next weekend’s momentous interschools showdown
Boishaai power past SACS 51-8 in their fourth 50+ point performance this year - Credits - Poppie Terblanche
The entertainment of school boy rugby has returned for another term, beginning with four top derby clashes. Schools from around the country begin to regroup from their respective holidays and buckle down for 6 weeks of high gravitas rugby action. Of these four introductions to the new term, two saw the action appear in the picturesque scene of Paarl. As Southern Suburbs’ sides Wynberg and SACS traveled out to play Paarl Gim and Paarl Boys’ respectively.
Already signs and flags are decorating the Paarl town for next week’s interschools weekend. One of the biggest in terms of rugby for decades. With runaways Gim and Boys’ High leading this year’s school rankings, fans of the game are keenly awaiting the 2nd of August. For now though, both sides had opportunities to try to find their term 2 momentum, as Wynberg and SACS came to play. Under blue skies, the blue shirts of Boishaai and SACS 1sts entered into the Buco Brug Street Stadium. Despite the opposition, SACS had put up decent performances against the formidable outfit, specifically last year at home after a close 20-12 defeat as well as March’s three try loss, 15-0. Also on their agenda would be starting the term fresh and with a new impetus to grind out some victories for their support, leaving behind a rather disappointing term two. With rafters packed with College and Boishaai fans, the match got underway. Surprisingly, SACS delivered blows early on. A penalty from Mikey Skeeles, helped by a further try from the away side a few minutes before the 10 minute mark, saw College take a 8-5 lead. The calm before a blazing Boishaai domination. 46 unanswered points from the home side across the two halves followed on from this, seeing an end score of 51-8. A total of nine tries throughout the match. A clear sign that Paarl Boys’ are more than ready for next week. Dominance personified as Boishaai makes a further statement for the top school in our country. Nonetheless, SACS still walked away from Paarl with a feather in their cap as their future first XV, in the current form of the u16As, beat Paarl Boy’s U16s 36-35 in an instant classic. However Boishaai will be firmly focused on August’s opening rugby weekend. A win for their 1st XV then, and the coveted bragging rights of ‘best in the country’ would be all theirs.
Having said this however, the same applies for a try-ladden Paarl Gim side. With constant 50+ point games last term, Gim matched and went further than Paarl Boys’ against Wynberg. A side who ended term two as outright Southern Suburbs leaders. Berg were keen to test their highflyers against a top XV. Unfortunately, led by Markus Miller who was fresh from being announced captain of the SA schools side, Gim weren't keen to drop their levels in the new term. Led now by 5 players who made the two SA school sides, the home guns were firing on all cylinders. A 17 game unbeaten streak made 18. Narrowly missing the 70 point mark, Muller solidified another 20 plus-point performance as Gim reached 68 points over the course of the afternoon. Wynberg with three tries ensuring not all dignity was lost on the day, ending with a total score of 22 points. The attack of Craven Week trio Morne Noble, Achmat Behardien and Yaqeen Ahmed doing their part to the best of their ability despite heavy suffocation from the home defense. In the end, Gim once again proved their strength in a 68-22 thrashing. The Paarl sun shone brightly once more on Boishaai and Gim, and will no doubt make an appearance as the town intensifies over the next week. Be sure to catch one of the biggest rugby games in the past few years on Supersport School channel 216. Saturday 2nd August. A coronation for the best XV in South Africa.
Even off the King Price Derby Series spotlight, the Boland region rocked the Southern Suburbs over the course of Saturday’s action. Paul Roos, who had fallen third fiddle this year to the aforementioned titans, hosted Rondebosch while Bishops faced Boland Landbou. The maroon machine marched on, beating Bosch 48-10 while Boland bullied Bishops 45-19. Creating a rather comical 212-59 scoreline across all four Boland battles. Another devastating reminder how far off the ‘SS4’ are from the giants from the Winelands region.
