5) Grey College
Although made to work hard for their win, the class of the Grey College program stood tall against an exceptional Stellenberg team.
Our number 1 prospect Caleb Abrahams grabbed himself a hattrick while JF van Heerden and Lukas Meyer were incredible. From the Stellenberg side the halfback pairing on Smook and Muller were absolutely outstanding and with Damian Markus just outside them who knows how many scalps they will collect.
Detractors may say this was not Grey’s best performance, the fact is that Stellenberg came to play some serious rugby and the fact Grey withstood this onslaught showed tremendous character and bodes well for the rest of their season.
4) Kingswood
Winstanley’s impact has been immediate with wins over regional rivals Queens and Graeme laying the foundations for their first win over their arch rivals St Andrews College since the impressive 2016 team managed this feat.
Kingswood have several players that will become well known in rugby circles as the season continues no doubt, their flyhalf looks the real deal and of course Big Stan at prop we all knew about before the season started who continues to grow in his role as a front row enforcer.
3) Affies
The hosts had a big ask when facing Winelands giants Paul Roos. Affies in recent years many have felt have fallen behind the Southern schools but this year the tide seems to be turning.
An absolute arm wrestle and back and forth the giant Affies pack looks set to be the foundation of their strength with excellent flyhalf Heymans once again showing he is the general that will get the talented backline going.
2) Paarl Gim
Gimmies showed why many rate them as number 1 contenders in waiting with an absolutely outstanding performance against a very tough Monument team.
Monument will be no pushovers this year, their pack has quality in abundance and were aggressive in their play taking on Gimmies at all times never giving an inch. That being said the Gim pack has size, speed and mobility in spades and any pack trying to keep up with them are going to have a massive task this year.
But that backline, oh that Gim backline is a sight to behold. Liedemann at scrumhalf showed SA Schools pedigree, Liam Koen as usual was the general and the two provided a talented backline with quality ball. PA van Niekerk is an absolute wrecking ball at centre, moving Losper from outside back to 13 was a master stroke with the youngster providing some scintillating runs. Rookie Kyle Smith showed his class, he is going to be a star this year and next and is a name you should remember!
1) Garsfontein
In our nations capital its all about the Bull! Affies are the Witbulle (White Bulls) and of course you have the Blue Bulls that many of these youngsters will be playing for in the future but on the weekend poor Drostdy were to encounter Garsfontein’s “Raging Bulls”.
The speed and tempo at which these boys played was a sight to behold, there is hardly a weakness that exists in this outfit and Michail Damons and Maynard Kleynhans were two players who really stood out for me during this game. Damons is SA Schools quality and him and Liam Dick looked liked magicians conjuring up amazing plays from any position on the pitch.
Opponents beware, this years Garsies team knows how to ball!
