Affies shock Grey, Boishaai halt Stellies

WRAP: Affies claimed their first win against Grey College in over a decade while Paarl Boys ended Stellenberg’s streak on another action-packed weekend of schoolboy rugby.

The 2026 schoolboy season continues to serve up surprises.

Affies have blown hot and cold this year, and will regret early-season lapses against the likes of Paul Roos, Michaelhouse, Paarl Gim and Garsfontein.

That said, the Wit Bulle have hit form in recent weeks, beating Outeniqua, Paarl Boys, Jeppe and Grey College.

The 28-21 result against Grey College in Pretoria this past Saturday was especially significant, as it marked Affies’ first win against the boys from Bloem since 2015.

In that respect, the Affies class of 2026 will go down in history.

By contrast, Grey College are having one of their worst seasons in recent memory.

Two defeats are said to signify a bad year for Grey – but the Free Staters have recorded as many as four in the space of three months.

They will be desperate to win their last five games of the season – although the final fixture against Paul Roos in Stellenbosch may be their toughest assignment yet.

Down in the Western Cape, Paarl Boys rebounded from their recent defeat to Grey College to thump Stellenberg 29-7.

The game was marked on the calendar after Stellenberg claimed the scalps of Paarl Gim, Grey College, Paul Roos and Oakdale.

The Jade Brigade travelled to Paarl with an opportunity to beat Boishaai and to claim a rare clean sweep of South Africa’s leading schools.

On the day, however, Boishaai scored 24 unanswered points in the first half and eventually finished the game with four tries.

The result at Brug Street ended Stellenberg’s seven-game winning streak, and they have work to do if they’re going to finish the season with the No.1 ranking.

The Jade Brigade may go on to win their remaining seven matches – six of those at home – but fixtures against Rondebosch, Boland Lanbou (away) and Outeniqua loom as potential banana peels.

While Paarl Gim lost 19-20 to Stellenberg in the season opener, they may well go on to pip the Jade Brigade for the No 1 ranking in the coming months.

Since that loss, Pieter Rossouw’s charges have dominated their next nine opponents, winning by margins of 15 points or more and surpassing 50 on eight occasions.

This past Saturday, Gimmies thrashed Bishops 66-14 in Paarl to extend their winning run to nine matches.

They will travel to Wynberg and Oakdale in the coming weeks, before hosting Paul Roos – and while they won’t look past those fixtures, they will be building towards the big Paarl derby at Faure Street on 1 August.
Up north, Monument claimed their eighth-consecutive win when they beat Jeppe 47-29, while Garsfontein bolstered their position in the Noordvaal Cup standings via a 44-17 victory over Noordheuwel.

Hilton thumped Pretoria Boys 44-7 to maintain their unbeaten run (nine matches), and at this stage they are well placed to finish as the leading team in KwaZulu-Natal.

DHS bounced back to beat Kearsney 36-24 this past weekend, while Westville thrashed KES 40-0. Martizburg College claimed their third-consecutive win when they claimed a somewhat surprising 27-24 victory at Northwood.

Graeme College boosted their winning record to 10 from 11 games when they hammered Hudson Park 54-19, while Dale beat Stirling 19-8 to rack up their 10th victory in 12 matches..

The meeting between Graeme and Dale on 1 August may well amount to an Eastern Cape decider, if both teams continue to build over the next couple of months.

SELECTED RESULTS MAY 16

NOORDVAAL
Affies 28-21 Grey College
Menlopark 10-36 Waterkloof
Helpmekaar 36-24 EG Jansen
Middelburg 48-41 Rustenburg
Garsfontein 44-17 Noordheuwel
Monument 47-29 Jeppe
Pretoria Boys 7-44 Hilton
St. John’s 14-34 Michaelhouse
St Albans 24-8 Clifton

CENTRAL
Sentraal 28-38 Jim Fouche
Witteberg 17-40 Trio
Goudveld 21-40 Bethlehem Voortrekker
Diamantveld 40-15 Fichardtpark

EASTERN CAPE
Selborne 19-17 Queens College
Dale 19-8 Stirling
Graeme 54-19 Hudson Park
Pearson 55-17 Muir
Cambridge 19-73 St Andrews

KWAZULU-NATAL
Northwood 24-27 Maritzburg College
Westville v 40-0 KES
Kearsney 24-36 DHS
St Charles 26-26 Glenwood

WESTERN CAPE
Bosmansdam 14-47 Parel Vallei
Wynberg 41-17 Grey High
Paarl Gym 66-14 Bishops
Boland Landbou 26-22 SACS
Rondebosch 17-41 Paul Roos
Paarl Boys 29-7 Stellenberg
Oakdale 27-21 Outeniqua