Captain's profile: WP van Heerden

The 18-year-old loose forward is no stranger to pressure matches as he just returned from representing South Western Districts at the Under-18 Craven Week. All that experience will be needed on Saturday though, in a match that has become known to be a hard, physical battle.

"It [playing at Craven Week] was a wonderful opportunity for me to measure myself up against some of the best school players in the country.

"It [the match against Marlow] has never been an easy fixture. You can always expect a physical battle up front and considering that it is one of the last matches for both teams, you can also expect them [Marlow] to give their best on the field.

"But we will be up for the game. We are a well-balanced side that have had a fairly good season, winning 13 of our 16 games. I feel we could have done better but I'm still more than happy with the effort the boys put in every week.

"History is on our side because we have won all the Classic Clash matches since I have been at the school," van Heerden said.

The matriculant is a natural leader and has been given the captaincy in each of the sides he has played in since U-13. However, the biggest honour of all came when he was handed the captaincy at Oakdale.

"It's a big honour to captain Oakdale. Since I could remember, I looked up to the men in the white jersey and being able to captain this side is a tremendous experience. I think that being captain makes me a better player because I try to lead by example.

"I always try to handle each game equally but the boys know they have to give more than extra this week. My message to my team will be the same as any other week, 'play and practice as it's your last'," he added.

Van Heerden has a firm head on his shoulders as he wants to shift his focus to his studies but still remain active in the sport where and when he can.