Jean Rossouw – Paarl Gim captain
On Saturday there will be the usual massive turn-out at the Faure Street ground in Paarl when Gim play Boys' High in Interschools, an FNB Classic Clash. Super-captain Jean Rossouw captains Gim.
We spoke to Jean Rossouw in the lead-up to the Paarl derby, when Gimnasium face Boishaai in one of the most fiercely contested schools rugby fixtures in South Africa and probably the world. Having recently been elected South African Schools captain and having led them to a good win over Italy he is on a bit of a rugby high, but he sounded relaxed in the lead-up to another tough game.
Looking back on Craven Week Jean said that despite Western Province’s poor performance he enjoyed the week. He blamed lack of preparation time for their slow start to the week when they lost to the Pumas. According to Jean Western Province threw the game away against Free State with some silly mistakes and then clicked in the final game against the Falcons. It was to little to late for the team but at least four Western Province players were selected for the South African Schools team. Jean enjoyed his rugby and played well throughout the week. He scrummed really well but it was his pace around the park and high work-rate, which really made him stand out and ultimately saw him selected to lead the South African Schools team. Jean said it was a huge honour to be selected for the team and an even bigger surprise to be selected to lead the team.
South African Schools played the Italian schools team in Bloemfontein a week later, and Jean said the team came together well, the four Western Province boys fitting in comfortably with the abundance of boys from the north. They had to work hard to subdue a very physical Italian side in the first half but the class of their backs, particularly their wings Wynand Willis and replacement Cecil Afrika was too much for the Italians in the end, South African Schools running out 38-13 winners.
Jean returned to Cape Town and was immediately thrust into action against high-riding Bishops. Gim have been on a high themselves ever since beating Outeniqua towards the end of last term. According to Jean they dominated the game against Bishops with a good display of total rugby. Gim were up 15-5 at half-time but Bishops produced some of their renowned interplay in the second half and unleashed their quick wings to score two tries and eventually draw the game 15-all.
This Saturday Jean leads out Paarl Gimnasium, one of South Africa’s premier rugby schools against traditional and local rivals Paarl Boys' High or Boishaai as they are now more commonly known. Both schools are steeped in rugby history and both have produced numerous influential Springboks. This will be Jean’s first inter-schools in the 1st XV having played for the Gim second team last year. Naturally Jean is very proud and honoured to be leading out such a big rugby school in such an important fixture.
Jean has a busy week ahead of him with numerous interviews, photo shoots and functions. Despite the expected crowd of 15,000 people, the television coverage and the expectation from old boys and parents alike he is trying to remain calm and focus on the game. He knows that by virtue of their better results this season Gim are favourites but he is at pains to emphasise that form and previous results count for nothing at inter-schools. Down the years the underdogs have won more than their fair share of games and no team has ever run away with the game.
Jean knows that like his teams the Boishaai players will be playing for the pride of their school on Saturday. To a large extent their season will be judged and remembered by what happens on Saturday. The somewhat ordinary season that the Boishaai team are having by their standards this year will all but be forgotten if they are able to win inter-schools. Everything is there to play for!
Fortunately for Gim they have the level-headed Jean Rossouw to lead them into battle. He may have played lots of rugby this year and he may have captained his country but you can be sure leading his school and his friends into the cauldron at Faure Road on Saturday will eclipse anything he has done to date.
Jean Jacques Rossouw was born in George on 4 June 1988.
For some information on Paarl Gimnasium, click here.
