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Boland await the Bulls

The biggest-name two fixtures featuring Western Cape schools might be taking place outside the province, but that doesn’t detract in the slightest from a local programme packed with interschools showdowns and southern suburbs derbies.

Paul Roos can hardly consider a defeat at Drostdy two weeks ago as ideal preparation for their match against Grey College in Bloemfontein.

Not only have their Free State hosts long since recovered from an abnormally ordinary start to 2012, but the Maroon Platoon has regularly failed to impress. Normally this curtain-closer would generate massive interest, but this year it’s hardly worth mentioning.

Having strummed the Struisies 68-14 at Interschools, mighty Outeniqua head for Uitenhage to play HTS Daniël Pienaar in the Burger semi-final.

Statistics can be misleading, but one common fixture stands out. The Eastern Cape boys lost 7-32 to Oakdale in Riversdale, while the Quaggas beat the Bulle by the same margin at the same venue. Irrespective of whatever this may or may not tell you, the pride of George are likely to demolish their hosts, setting up a possible home final against Paarl Gym, should the latter see off Hugenote.

Both top local attractions take place some 12 kilometres apart.

Oakdale arrive at Windmeul to face Boland Landbou in both sides’ final outings of a season in which neither has attained great heights.

Recent form provides little to go by. The Bulls went down 20-22 in Port Elizabeth to Framesby last Thursday in a game many people would have expected them to win, while the Windmeul Warriors were not subjected to a particularly searching examination by a Hugenote side forced by injuries to play a makeshift midfield, cantering home 30-10.

The odds probably favour the hosts, provided that their front row of Evert Grobbelaar, Arno van Wyk and Matthys Basson, which has been responsible for much of Landbou’s success this year, manages to take control early on.

Landbou also have the edge when it comes to the kicking tee, flyhalf Tian Nel having reveled in his return to the position in which he started the year. The confidence shown in his two trademark long-distance penalties against the Blackies spells trouble for the SWD visitors.

Oakdale’s most impressive weapon is no 8 Jandré Rudolph, who sounded a warning by scoring no fewer than four tries against Punt a fortnight back, but the visitors are going to have to come up with a lot more if they are to maintain their recent dominance in this fixture.

Down the R47 in Wellington Hugenote might not be quite as confident of beating Swartland as they would have been four weeks ago. Three defeats in four outings have served as a cruel reality check, but it is the sudden spate of injuries that will be causing coach Lance Sendin more concern.

In the home defeat against Strand the Blackies at one stage had only two first-choice backline players on the paddock. Against Landbou ten days later, that number was up to four, but they are going to need their best seven if they are to contain the potential threat posed by the return of Duncan Matthews for the visitors from Malmesbury.

Even without SA Schools lock Gideon Koegelenberg, the Blackies pack is larger, plus they boast a more lethal loose trio than the Rockies, which is where the form of one youngster could be absolutely pivotal in the outcome of the match.

Last August Blackies no 8 Larry Maralack announced his presence by scoring three tries in the corresponding fixture in Malmesbury. Criminally overlooked by the provincial selectors this year, he will be relishing this opportunity to rub their noses in what may well be nice muddy sludge.

However, one can never discount the incomparable fighting spirit displayed by generation after generation of Swartland players. Not one of the Rockies will give an inch in what promises to be an epic encounter.

Nearer the Mother City Paarl Boys’ High will have to put the disappointments of Faure Street behind them as they welcome tough-as-nails Drostdy to Brug Street. While it is pretty well universally accepted that the Donkeys are a different proposition away from Trappespark, the Strepies’ mental approach to this match will quite possibly play a telling part in the result.

Part two of round two of the southern suburbs derbies sees Bishops try to hold off impressive SACS on the Piley Rees field and Rondebosch visit Hawthornden to face a Wynberg team that looks up for just about anything.

Pretty close contests are likely in many of the rural Boland Interschools events, the most intriguing being Overberg’s visit to Hermanus and the Piketberg – Porterville face-off.

In Mossel Bay the Punt game against Oudtshoorn’s Langenhoven Gym appears fairly evenly poised, especially after the hosts managed to come back after being whacked 41-5 by Oakdale two weeks ago to shade high-riding Overberg 12-11 in Caledon last Thursday.

Fixtures for Saturday 18 August

(Home teams first)

Bellville vs DF Malan

Bishops vs SACS

Boland Landbou vs Oakdale

Bonnievale vs Goudini

Dirkie Uys vs Hopefield

Durbanville vs Tygerberg RFC

Grey College vs Paul Roos

Hermanus vs Overberg

Hottentots Holland vs Strand

HTS Bellville vs Stellenberg

HTS Daniël Pienaar vs Outeniqua

Hugenote vs Swartland

Jan van Riebeeck vs Augsburg Gym

Montagu vs Bredasdorp

Paarl Boys’ High vs HTS Drostdy

Piketberg vs Porterville

Punt vs Langenhoven Gym

Stellenbosch vs Montana

Swellendam vs Robertson

Tygerberg vs Milnerton

Vredenburg vs Monument Park

Worcester Gym vs Charlie Hofmeyr

Wynberg vs Rondebosch

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