Grey vs Paul Roos in FNB Classic
Match preview
On Saturday Grey College of Bloemfontein play Paul Roos of Stellenbosch in a top-of-the-table clash in Bloemfontein. It could be a great match even if both sides are short of their stars.
History favours Grey, but in such matches you never know. Home ground favours Grey but Paul Roos have won in Bloemfontein – a decade ago.
The two teams met earlier this year – at the St John's Easter Festival. Then Grey College won a thriller 24-23. It was a match which Paul Roos could well have won. They lost their own line-out and powerful eighthman Deon Stegmann burst through three tackles to score. Frans Steyn, playing flyhalf that day, converted to make it 24-23. Just after that Paul Roos missed a penalty attempt which would have given them victory.
This time things favour Grey more – home ground, the backlash of their defeat at the hands of Grey PE in their last match, and the emotion of their last match for the school they so love.
The Grey PE match was a tough one for Grey Bloem to swallow. They lost 17-14 in a match which they could and probably should have won. It was their first defeat in over four years. It hurt.
Paul Roos travel by train, leaving in a train of 17 packed carriages on Thursday afternoon, arriving in Bloemfontein at lunch time on Friday. There are many activities from debating to soccer, many teams in action and then the climax of the 1st XV match on Saturday afternoon, after which they get back on the train to arrive back in Stellenbosch on Sunday afternoon.
There is a second train of supporters who will hit Bloemfontein, a great event in the capital of the Free State.
The two schools have it in common that universities grew out of them. Stellenbosch University grew out of Paul Roos, which was then Stellenbosch Boys' High, and Free State University out of Grey as the Grey University College.
This year Grey have played 12 matches in South Africa, losing just the one, to Grey PE. Paul Roos have played 14 matches, losing three. They lost their first match of the year against Kearsney, then the match in Johannesburg against Grey and 15-10 to top-ranked Paarl Gim. Both sides have been having good seasons.
Both sides will be without some players who are playing in the match between SA Schools and SA Academy at Ellis park in a curtainraiser to the Tri-Nations match between South Africa and New Zealand.
Grey will be without their whole, outstanding loose trio of Deon Stegmann, captain Regardt Strauss and Heinrich Brüssow plus centre Herman Pretorius and wing Renaldo du Preez.
Paul Roos are without flank Pieter Myburgh and scrumhalf Allister Siegelaar. In addition flyhalf/centre Jody Rose, who played for SA Schools last year and for SA Under-19 this year, will miss the match as his injury at Craven Week required an operation to his shoulder.
Grey are confident that the players in the side in their place are up to standard. After all the Cherries – their second team – is the second best schools side in the Free State. They will still have nine players from the Free State Craven Week side who were the top performers at Craven Week.
Paul Roos have two players from the side which Free State beat in the final match – prop Deon Viljoen and flank Johan Stofberg, son of the great Springbok Theuns. But Danny Theron, who replaces Allister Siegelaar, was in the Western Province Academy side along with Gerber Basson, Kobus Dippenaar and captain Cameron Peverett.
The match will kick off after the Tri-Nations Test.
Some results:
1991: Paul Roos won 20-3
1992: Paul Roos won28-9
1993: Grey won
1994: Paul Roos won 31-29
1996: Grey won 18-10
1997: Paul Roos won 12-8
1998: Grey won 23-15
1999: Grey won 29-26
2000: Grey won 42-13
2001: Grey won 15-6
2002: Grey won 19-8
2003: Grey won 18-17
2004: Grey won 24-23
The teams:
Grey College: 15 Frans Steyn, 14 Rynhardt Strydom, 13 JW Jonker, 12 Pieter van Zyl, 11 Phillip Snyman, 10 Frikkie van Ton der, 9 Donald Stevens, 8 Fritz Kamffer, 7 Bennie Piek, 6 Danie Crous, 5 Pote Human, 4 Ruan Pretorius, 3 Kudu Alexander, 2 Hercu Liebenberg (captain), 1 Seves Oosthuizen.
Paul Roos: 15 Anton Kriel, 14 Andy de Bruin, 13 Jason de Villiers, 12 Pieter Engelbrecht, 11 Nico Katzke, 10 Christopher Brigl, 9 Danny Theron, 8 Cameron Peverett (captain), 7 Johan Stofberg, 6 Marcelle du Preez, 5 Nel Coetzee, 4 Kobus Dippenaar, 3 Gerber Basson, 2 Morné Erasmus, 1 Deon Viljoen.
Date: 14 August 2004.
Kick-off: 14.50
Venue: Grey College, Bloemfontein
Expected weather conditions: Scattered clouds with a high of 23°C dropping to 7° C and, strangely, a wind of 36 km/h
Referee: Lourens van der Merwe (Free State)
