Rampant Gimmies brace for Boland Landbou test
PREVIEW: The Paarl heavyweights will host the two biggest schoolboy clashes of the weekend, as normal service resumes in the wake of several action-packed Easter festivals.
The Easter 'break' is a thing of the past, and the regular season will resume in earnest this weekend.
It will be interesting to see how some of the teams cope, having competed in two to three matches at the respective Easter festivals staged across the country.
The teams that enjoyed a rest throughout the long weekend may have the upper hand.
@Rugby365com runs the rule over some of the biggest match-ups.
PAARL GYM V BOLAND LANBOU
Paarl Gymnasium and Boland Landbou will meet in Paarl on Saturday. Both have won all of their matches to date, and the smart money is on Gimmies to extend their winning run.
Pieter Rossouw's side has already beaten Stellenberg, Monument and Pretoria Boys High – winning each of those matches by 17 points or more. In their most recent game staged in Pretoria, Gimmies racked up 66 points.
Boland Landbou have won four matches this season, with their only loss coming against Hilton at the Easter festival held at St John's.
While they finished that tournament with a resounding 59-0 victory over Hans Moore, it remains to be seen whether they will be as physical and as ruthless against a more polished outfit. By contrast, Gimmies have had an extra week to rest and prepare for this clash.
The odds are against Boland Landbou winning this Saturday – and ending a losing steak against Paarl Gym that stretches back to 2017 – but stranger things have happened in the schoolboy game.
PAARL BOYS HIGH V OAKDALE
Paarl will play host to another clash of the schoolboy titans, with Boishaai taking on Oakdale.
Boishaai proved too strong for Pretoria Boys High and hosts KES at the recent Easter festival. Earlier this season they beat Jeppe 45-19 and thrashed Durbanville 73-7.
Oakdale also boasts a flawless record, having beaten Helpmekaar and Ligbron, as well as two of the country's stronger sides in Garsfontein and Rondebosch away from home.
They'll need to be at their best to win in Paarl, and should be fresh after having a break over the long weekend.
GARSFONTEIN V AFFIES
The Pretoria derby at Garsfontein is bound to attract a lot of interest – especially since Garsfontein and Affies are ranked by some experts as two of the top 10 teams in the country.
Last year's derby was a high-scoring affair, with Garsfontein winning 45-38. Garsfontein also won the season before, edging Affies 20-19.
This season, Garsfontein has struggled in the big matches, losing to Paarl Boys High as well as Oakdale at home.
Meanwhile, Affies have picked up wins against Stellenberg, Helpmekaar and Diamantveld, and may feel that they have the momentum to score a big win against their local rivals.
GLENWOOD V MARTIZBURG COLLEGE
Maritzburg College will head down to Durban this weekend to tackle Glenwood.
College enjoyed some mixed results at the recent festival at St John's, beating SACS and a Golden Lions Invitational XV, but losing to Boland Landbou. Earlier this season, they thrashed Clifton 83-10 and edged Kearsney 16-14.
Glenwood were less successful at the tournament staged at KES, losing to Nico Malan and EG Jansen, and scoring a consolation win against Marlow. They claimed a narrow win against Westville earlier in the season and went down to Welkom Gym at home.
The last time these teams met in 2023, College romped to a 42-15 victory. The Durbanites will hope that home advantage counts for something this weekend. In 2022, they managed to beat College 23-22 when this fixture was staged at Glenwood.
Given the form of both teams, however, Martizburg College will be overwhelming favourites to claim the win and continue their winning run against the biggest teams in the province.
FIXTURES 6 APRIL
Central
Fichardtpark v Jim Fouche
Hentie Cilliers v Goudveld
Kalahari v Duineveld
Sentraal v Louis Botha HTS
Trio v Voortrekker Bethlehem
Upington v Diamantveld
Welkom Gim v Witteberg
Eastern Cape
Bergsig v Daniel Pienaar
Brandwag v Marlow
Cambridge v Hudson Park
Dale College v Grens
Muir v Grey High
Pearson v Selbourne
Port Rex v Graeme College
Stirling v Queen's College
KwaZulu-Natal
DHS v Westville
Glenwood v Martizburg College
NoordVaal
Centurion v Dr Malan
Garsfontein v Affies
Die Anker v Lichtenburg
Heidelberg Volkies v Hugenote Springs
Jeppe v St Stithians
Jeugland v Potch Volkies
KES v St John's
Marais Viljoen v Zwartkop
Middelburg v Oos Moot
Middelburg HTS v EG Jansen
Nelspruit v Eldoraigne
Noordheuwel v Klerksdorp
Northcliff v Parktown
Pietersburg v Potch Gim
Pretoria Boys High v St Albans
Rustenburg v Montana Bulls
Secunda v Piet Retief
St Benedicts v St Davids
Waterkloof v Transvalia
Wesvalia v Oosterlig
Western Cape
Brackenfell v Bellville
Hugenote v Drostdy HTS
Paarl Boishaai v Oakdale
Paarl Gim v Boland Landbou
Parel Vallei v DF Malan
Rondebosch v Milnerton
Stellenberg v SACS
Strand v Charlie Hofmeyer
Swartland v Worcester Gim
Wynberg v Durbanville