Can the Quaggas take the trophy?
The stage is set for a dramatic showdown between Outeniqua and Paarl Gym in the Burger Big Schools Final in George on Saturday 1 September 2012.
The two Paarl giants’ very different fortunes against Drostdy over the last fortnight notwithstanding, Gym fully deserve their nomination as Western Province’s participants in this annual competition, Boishaai’s Interschools defeat putting paid to the Strepies’ claims. The contempt with which Gym brushed aside Boland pretenders Hugenote (58-0) in last Wednesday’s semi-final further dispelled any lingering doubts.
Outeniqua have had a magnificent winter and it was indeed fitting that they should win their semifinal against HTS Daniël Pienaar not only away from home, but also by a convincing (45-22) margin.
By now plenty of both sides’ players have become household names to aficionados.
Both schools boast two SA Schools squad members. The Quaggas have stunning left wing Duhan van der Merwe and tricky Ricky “Boogie” Gelant at centre; Gym feature acclaimed flyhalf Handré Pollard and rangy lock JD “Jakkals” Schickerling.
The hosts start as favourites, if for no other reason than that Gym had to dig deep to salvage a 17-17 home draw against the George lads in July.
The home backline always offers a touch of mystery when one factors in the positional versatility of Leighton Eksteen and Remu Malan, both of whom have proved equally devastating whatever the numbers on their jerseys.
The Gym backs might be just as adept at running rings round opponents – pocket dynamo Loek van der Merwe on the left wing being a shining example – but their success in countering their enigmatic hosts will depend to a greater extent on the defensive skills of Altus Momsen and his fellow threequarters.
Up front Gym’s perceived edge in size has taken a huge knock with the injury to No.8 Rikus Bothma. The Winelanders may still be larger up front, but the tenacious leadership of home captain No.8 Tinus Vermeulen is as good as an extra man when it comes to firing his troops up in the tight phases.
Predictions can come back to bite one, but home advantage should clinch it for the Quaggas.
The Medium Schools final between Nico Malan of Humansdorp and Clanwilliam’s Augsburg Gym is set to be just as exciting.
The Eastern Province lads’ strength lies in their accomplished wings, Selvyn Davids and Philip Solomons. The latter has crossed the line 15 times this season, whereas 18-try Davids, who played a key role out on the left for the SA Schools team, is poised to pass the 200 point mark for 2012.
Wings don't score tries without a healthy supply of good clean possession, and so you can't discount the contribution of their forwards either.
Although scrumhalf Corné Sharp takes a lot of the responsibility for calling the shots for Augsburg, they boast a very well-balanced unit in which the forwards, in particular, forage relentlessly as one.
In all likelihood, the task of containing Davids will fall to Izaan Tieties. The degree of success with which he acquits himself of this task will quite possibly determine the destination of the trophy.
To be honest, little information is available about Port Elizabeth’s Ndzondelelo, Dirkie Uys’s opponents in the Small Schools match, but they must be pretty formidable to have seen off pretenders of the ilk of Itembelihle.
Dirkie Uys pride themselves on their stingy defence. The skill with which diminutive centre Jayson Marcus nullified the threat posed by Tygerberg’s Edwin Sass at Tony Stoops Rugby Festival 2012 will live long in the memory. However, they are just as polished on attack, with flank Pierre du Preez always in the vanguard.
Halfbacks Flippie Jacobs and Du Toit Maree have built up an almost telepathic understanding over the last two seasons and, with the likes of Wian van Schalkwyk and Dirk de Jager outside them, look set to wreak some havoc among their opponents.
However, the Moorreesburg Tigers will need to take a long hard look at their discipline during this week’s preparations. They might have beaten Bellville South 27-22 in the semis, but the losers’ fullback Nigel Giddion’s five penalties nearly toppled them, and they were on the wrong end of the whistle on numerous occasions in the course of their 10-20 Interschools defeat at the hands of Jan van Riebeeck.
If George is beyond the reach of your petrol budget, you could opt for the somewhat shorter trip out to Bredasdorp on Saturday 1 September 2012 for the local school’s annual Glaskasteel Sevens Day, sponsored by Overberg Agri and Santam Landbou.
The ever-increasing popularity of this event among Western Cape schools can be seen in the names of some of the attendees. Outeniqua, Paarl Boys’ High, Paarl Gym and Tygerberg, one of the leading lights on a national level in this format of the game, will join twelve teams drawn from the cream of the Overberg region of the Boland.
Organiser William Matthys is delighted with the quality field the competition has attracted and promises everyone a whale of a time – quite possibly literally as well as figuratively.
Just make sure you're up early: play starts at 08.00 with proceedings expected to close at 15.00.
For those of you who still don't know, there is a site devoted entirely to Western Province, Boland and South Western Districts schools rugby. While it contains the same Western Cape articles that appear here, there are plenty of statistics, enough at least to settle any arguments about who beat whom, when and by how much: stoopstats.com.
By Tony Stoops