Bishops await Boishaai
It could be seen as Bishops turn to suffer at the hands of a side that keeps on winning, three times breaking the sixties, once the seventies. Or it could be seen as Bishops turn to unseat the giant and bring him to earth with other mortals.
Paarl's are now into the third season of successive wins on South African soil – more than 50 of them. The team that does lower their colours will be remembered for ever. It will be a victory to form part of their school's rugby legend.
Last week Bishops succumbed to Paarl Gim. The score (44-24) looks comprehensive but it was really just a burst near the end that blew it out. Boys' High won – but only 36-31 against Oakdale. This may be just the shock that the side needs to throw off any complacency that may be affecting it.
Rain is forecast for the match. The Piley Rees field is one of the best playing surfaces in the Western Province, blest as it is with almost perfect drainage. But if the rains belts down during the match it could just change the nature of the game.
Bishops are not weak. In their 10 matches they have beaten two Top 20 sides – Stellenberg and St Andrew's – and drawn with SACS. They played three other Top 230 sides and lost to them – Drostdy, KES and Paarl Gim.
Boys' High have also played six other sides in the Top 20 and beaten them all. Those victories include a comprehensive win over Grey Bloem in Bloemfontein – a rare feat.
The only opponent the two have in common are Wynberg. Paarl Boys' High beat them 67-25; Bishops won a far more circumspect 24-20.
Teams
Bisdhops: 15 James Ipser, 14 Reece Meyer, 13 Rob Macdonald (captain), 12 George Spencer, 11 Murray Bruce, 10 Aydan Labuschagne, 9 Ross Goodwin, 8 Matt du Plessis, 7 Francois van der Merwe, 6 Matt Norton, 5 Aidan Neill, 4 Ross Doyle, 3 David Courie, 2 Ghaalieb Kenny, 1 Terrence Pettersson
Replacements: 16 Alex Castle, 17 Oliver MacRobert, 18 Victor Allen, 19 Lukhanyo Mntonintshi, 20 Bingo Ivanisevic, 21 Justin Muller, 22 Tim Sharples, 23 Felix Burt
Coaches: Richard Smith, Wesley Chetty
Paarl Boys' High: 15 Thaakir Abrahams, 14 Stuart Tait, 13 Divan Enslin, 12 Le Roux Malan, 11 Luka Ferreira, 10 Abner van Reenen, 9 Eric Myburgh, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Cornel Kotze, 6 Fredrich du Toit, 5 Adrian Alberts, 4 Armandt Conradie, 3 Joshua du Preez, 2 Cullen van der Merwe, 1 MJ Strauss
Coaches: Sean Erasmus, Elmo Wolfaardt
Date: Saturday, 10 May 2017
1st XV kick-off: 11.30
Venue: Piley Rees Field at Bishops
Expected weather conditions: Heavy rain with a high of 16°C and a low of 12°C
Programme for Saturday, 10 June 2017
Piley Rees
08.45: 3rd XV
10.00: 2nd XV
11.30: 1st XV
Sahara
08.30: Under-16B
09.45: Under-16A
Avenue
08.45: 7th XV
10.10: 6th XV
Range
08.30: Under-15C vs Paarl Boys' D
09.30: Under-15B
10.30: Under-15A
Cemetery
08.30: Under-14C vs Paarl Boys' D
09.30: Under-14B
10.30: Under-14A
Lutgensvale A
08.45: 5th XV
10.10: 4th XV
Lutgensvale B
10.00: Under-16C vs Paarl Boys' D
Lutgensvale C
08.30: Under-14E vs Paarl Boys' F
10.00: Under-14D vs Paarl Boys' E
