Boishaai brace for Gimmies juggernaut in big Paarl derby

PREVIEW: Gimmies will start the annual Paarl derby at Faure Street Stadium as favourites, while top spot will be up for grabs in the penultimate round of the Noordvaal Cup.

The South African schoolboy season will reach a watershed this weekend.

Some of the top-performing schools – such as the Paarl heavyweights, Durban High School and Jeppe – will play their final game of the year, while others will continue to build towards bigger clashes that could make or break their season.

@Rugby365com looks ahead to some of the biggest match-ups this Saturday.

BOISHAAI V GIMMIES

Gimmies have been among the most consistent teams in the country this season, and secondly only to Paul Roos in the Western Cape.

But stranger things have happened in a Paarl derby, and it would be foolish to write off Boishaai completely.

The Paarl rivalry spans 109 years, and both teams have enjoyed periods of dominance.

Gimmies won the derby five consecutive times between 2004 and 2008, and four times between 2011 and 2014.

Boishaai won four derbies between 2015 and 2018.

There’s been very little between the two teams in subsequent years, with Gimmies winning 18-17 in 2019, Boishaai 26-24 in 2022, and Gimmies 20-17 last year.

Gimmies have dominated most teams in 2024.

They were fiercely competitive in the fixtures against Paul Roos and Grey College, which they ended up losing by two and six points respectively.

As their results suggest, Boishaai have failed to operate at that elite standard.

They sustained a home loss to Wynberg for the first time in 36 years and went on to lose to Paul Roos, Affies and Grey College by 12 points or more.

Have they saved their best performance for the last game of the season?

We’ll find out this Saturday.

Down in Cape Town’s southern suburbs, the four ‘top’ schools in the region will begin a three-week bloc of locals derbies.

Rondebosch are the favourites to emerge at the top of this particular pile, having cruised through the first round of matches against Bishops, SACS and Wynberg earlier this season.

This weekend, they should be too strong for SACS, while Wynberg will fancy their chances against a battling Bishops.

OAKDALE V GREY COLLEGE

Paul Roos could extend their winning run to 14 matches this week, when they host Boland Landbou, who lost 3-12 to Boishaai last week.

Beyond that, Paul Roos will build toward a season finale against Grey College in Stellenbosch on 17 August – although both of these sides may be without top players, who are set to feature for SA Under-18 in the upcoming international series.

Grey College will travel down to Riversdale this weekend to face Oakdale.

Since losing to Jeppe earlier this season, the boys from Bloem have been ruthless, and will be favourites to add another scalp to their tally.

DHS V JEPPE

DHS and Jeppe have enjoyed memorable seasons, and both will be aiming for one final win that consolidates a Top 10 position in the unofficial rankings.

DHS have won 12 of their 15 fixtures to date, and are yet to lose a match at home. They recently edged Northwood 18-11.

Jeppe is coming off an important 23-13 win against KES and a 69-7 victory over Parktown.

A big result against the form side in Durban would mark a great end to a fine season, but they will start this match as underdogs.

NOORDVAAL CUP

The Noordvaal Cup reaches the penultimate round this weekend. Several teams remain in the running for top spot.

EG Jansen, who host Nelspruit this Saturday, will be favourites to maintain their position at the head of the standings.

Waterkloof are only one log point ahead of third-placed Garsfontein, and will be under pressure to beat Marais Viljoen. Garsies will host Helpmekaar.

Meanwhile, Jim Fouche will face Burgersdorp in the Free State league final.

Burgersdorp won 22-17 when the two sides met earlier this season.

Down in the Eastern Cape, Grey High will have their hands full with Selborne College, who are coming off a 70-5 win against Dale.