Wet and windy conditions set the scene for a Paarl panoply - Weekend Wrap Western Cape Edition
A Saturday stacked with top quality matchups saw the Western Cape host huge derbies in damp and dark conditions
(An electric home atmosphere helping Paarl Boys defeat the challenge of Grey College - Photo credits: www.instagram.com/paarlboyshighschool )
Mud-caked shirts and windy skies engulfed two particular rampant rivalries on Saturday the 10th of May. Four of the country’s top 5 were in action in the Western Cape, specifically in Paarl and Stellenbosch, as Paul Roos hosted rivals Paarl Gimnasium while Paarl Boys hosted heavyweights Grey College. Other games in the province saw Bishops host SACS, Stellenberg take on Rondebosch and Oakdale play Durbanville High School.
Starting off in Paarl where rain and wind created an ominous atmosphere for what was to be another devastating loss for Grey College. After recently going down 43-31 to Paarl Gim, Grey would suffer another humbling result to a Paarl side. This time away to Paarl Boys’ High. A tremendous effort took place for Boys’ High as an unified forward pack dominated Grey’s from start to finish. Particularly being ruthless in the second 35, scoring two converted tries with Iwan Jordan also scoring two penalties to bury Grey’s hope of an away win. College has now lost twice in the space of three weeks and will be looking for an immediate bounce back against high-flying Affies on the 17th, who drew against Paarl Boys. As for Boys’ High, this victory will give the side major confidence going into a huge derby against Paul Roos in a couple weeks time.
Fellow Paarl giants, Paarl Gimnasium, would also see victory in one of the most circled fixtures on all of rugby fans’ calendars as the maroon machine of Paul Roos played hosts. After 33 years, 2024 saw Roos have an unbeaten season, however 2025 seems to be bringing back slight deviances in Paul Roos’ results within a season. Gim on the other hand was still riding high after making history a couple weeks back away at Grey College. After the majority of the morning was subject to rainfall, the Markotter fields were barely visible under a layer of mud. Which was soon to be the case for the players’ shirts after the match. As expected, the muddy field played a huge part in the game’s action. ‘Safety first’ approaches by flyhalfs were frequent throughout the game and at the last lineout before the close of the first half, you could barely make out who was who. After an eye-catching performance from captain Markus Muller against Grey College, the captain once again shone bright in a dark Stellenbosch. Kicking superbly throughout the game and ultimately causing the play of the day as he forced a turnover from speedster Keenan Stoffels which would lead directly to Paarl scoring and taking a 17-5 lead early in the second. Muller would go on to convert the try in the windy conditions, the only conversion from both sides. Paul Roos would respond with a try of their own and despite the home support’s noise, would go down to Paarl Gimnasium. Now firmly out in front for SA rugby school sides and led by the most in form schoolboy rugby player currently, Markus Muller.
The day also saw some other highly notable results. A southern suburb deby saw Bishops save a home draw against SACS with the last play of the game (14-14 end score) after tremendous away support from the SACS boys. Stellenberg successfully gained a third win over Southern suburbs teams this season as they edged out Bosch in a thriller, 23-22. This performance followed a 24-10 win against Wynberg and a 29-7 compressive victory over SACS earlier in the season. The Western Cape rugby fans also saw a big home performance from Oakdale against Durbvanville (43-7 end score) and an efficient victory from Parel Vallei against Bellville 43-20. Next weekend is sure to excite as well as Boland Landbou host Paul Roos in one of three King Price Derby Series fixtures set for the 17th of May.
