Bishops host hurtingr Paarl Gim

Normally when Southern Suburbs schools play the country big four, they do their best, knowing that they have only a slim chance. And then, last week, SACS beat Paarl Gim, creating perhaps a chink of hope. It will be interesting to see how Paarl Gim react. They are likely to come back with great zest.

For one thing, their captain and star player, Muller du Plessis, who played for SA Schools last year, is back at fullback where he is the fons et origo of much of Gimmies' best play.

At the moment Paarl Gim is second on the Top 20 rankings, behind Paarl Boys' High while Bishops are in the pressure group just below the Top 20.

This season, Bishops have played nine matches, four of them in the Top 20. Paarl Gim has played 10 matches, six of them against Top 20 teams.

Common opponents

Stellenberg: Bishops won 29-28; Gim won 31-19

SACS: Bishops drew 24-24; Gim lost 22-19

Teams

Bishops: 15 James Ipser,  14 Matt du Plessis, 13 Rob Macdonald (C), 12 George Spencer, 11 Reece Meyer, 10 Aydan Labuschagne, 9 Ross Goodwin, 8 Felix Burt, 7 Matt Norton, 6 Justin Muller, 5 Tim Sharples, 4 Aidan Neill, 3 Oliver MacRobert, 2 Ghaalieb Kenny, 1 Ross Doyle

Replacements: 16 Terrence Pettersson,  17 Murray Bruce, 18 Victor Allen, 19 Lukhanyo Mntonintshi, 20 Bingo Ivanisevic, 21 Alex Castle,  22 David Courie,  23 David Nivison  

Coaches: Richard Smith, Wesley Chetty

Paarl Gim: 15 Muller du Plessis, 14 Stravino Jacobs, 13 Dawid Kellerman, 12 Francois Marais, 11 Hanco Hanekom, 10 Daniel Beukes, 9 Jean van Rensburg, 8 Henco Martins, 7 Corné Uys, 6 Dean Nieuwoudt, 5 Rayno Beukes, 4 Adriaan Ludick, 3 Adriaan Staples, 2 Chris Rossouw, 1 Daniel Wessels

Coaches: Pieter Rossouw, Helmut Lehmann

Date: 3 June 2017

1st XV kick-off: 11.30 (The match will be streamed live.)

Venue: Piley Rees Field at Bishops

Expected weather conditions: Heavy (8 mm) rain is expected with a high of 22°C and a low of 12°C. The whole of the Western Cape aches for rain.

Rugby Programme – Saturday, 3 June 2017

Piley Rees

09.00: 3rd XV

10.10: 2nd XV

11.30: 1st XV

Sahara

08.00: Under-16C

09.10: Under-16B

10.20: Under-16A    

Avenue

09.10: 5th XV

10.20: 4th XV

Cemetery

08.30: Under-14B

09.30: Under-14C

10.30: Under-14A    

Range

09.30: Under-15B

10.30: Under-15A    

Lutgensvale A

08.00: Under-15C

09.00: Under-16D

Lutgensvale B

08.00: Under-14D

09.00: Under-15D (Paarl Gym vs Curro)

Lutgensvale C

08.00: 6th XV

09.00: 7th XV