Bosch, Wynberg collide as Cape Town schools battle heats up

PREVIEW: Rondebosch will look to strengthen their bid for southern suburbs supremacy when they tackle Wynberg on Saturday, while Outeniqua will have their hands full against Oakdale in George.

In the coming weeks, the schoolboy season will take a break in most parts of the country, as the focus shifts to exams and some of the players gear up for the Craven Week tournament in July.

Grey College thrashed Selborne 103-14 in Bloemfontein last week, while Affies fought tooth and nail to clinch a 38-36 win over Jeppe in Johannesburg.

Neither of these leading schools will be in action again until the third term.

Paarl Gym and Paarl Boys bolstered their respective positions at the top of the national rankings when they beat Oakdale and Stellenberg respectively.

Paul Roos made it a clean sweep for the Winelands trio, when they downed SACS 22-3 in Stellenbosch.

All three teams should extend their winning records this weekend.

That said, the derby in Cape Town’s southern suburbs could serve up a significant result, while another important local clash will play out in George.

Below, @rugby365com takes a closer look at some of the match-ups scheduled for Saturday.

RONDEBOSCH V WYNBERG

Rondebosch held Paarl Gym to a draw at the start of the season, but have recorded mixed results in subsequent months.

They’ve managed to beat a strong Oakdale side, but have fallen to KES, Boishaai and Stellenberg.

In the more familiar setting of the southern suburbs, Rondebosch have been completely dominant as far as results are concerned.

Last season, they completed a clean sweep of the other big schools in the areas, and are well placed to repeat the feat in 2025.

Having won 40-17 at SACS last month, they may fancy their chances against Wynberg this Saturday.

Wynberg recorded some impressive results last season, the long-awaited win at Paarl Boys chief among them.

They’ve been less consistent this year, beating Bishops, Durbanville and Grey High, but losing to Stellenberg, Helpmekaar and Boishaai.

As far as the southern-suburbs battle is concerned, Wynberg beat Bishops 34-5 a couple of weeks ago.

If they manage to upset Rondebosch this weekend, they will move ahead in the race for a clean sweep, given that the return leg against Rondebosch will be staged at Wynberg on 23 August.

OUTENIQUA V OAKDALE

The Kwaggas have already claimed the significant scalps of Boland Landbou and Monument, and most recently beat Framesby in George.

When they hosted Grey College earlier this season, they held their own, before losing by a respectable 18-29 margin.

The latter result may provide them with confidence ahead of a meeting with Oakdale, who are currently one of the leading teams in the country.

Oakdale began their season with losses to Grey College and Rondebosch.

Since then, they’ve won seven, drawn one and lost one.

Their most notable victories came against Boishaai and Stellenberg. Gimmies are the only side that has beaten Oakdale since March.

The last time these two sides met in 2024, Oakdale smashed Outeniqua 60-8 in Riversdale.

However, the Kwaggas won 25-14, when the derby was staged in George back in 2023.

WESTVILLE V KEARSNEY

The KwaZulu-Natal season will continue in the coming weeks.

The way things stand, Westville are on track to finish the schedule as the leading side in the region.

Durban High School may have started the season as favourites, having bossed every other local opponent over the course of 2024.

But when Westville faced DHS last month, the former emerged as 33-28 winners.

Westville have won all 11 of their completed fixtures this season – the games against Glenwood and Jeppe were cancelled.

That successful run includes notable interprovincial victories over EG Jansen and KES.

All things considered, Kearsney may struggle to live with Westville this weekend.

While Kearsney racked up some encouraging results at the Grey High and Kearsney festivals staged earlier this season, they have battled against the better local teams throughout the season.

Kearsney have lost their last three matches – against Michaelhouse, DHS and Maritzburg College – by 15 points or more.

Nevertheless, this is an important match-up in the context of the KwaZulu-Natal schedule.

If Westville add another win to their tally, they will edge closer to an unbeaten season.

After hosting Kearsney, they will travel to Michaelhouse next week for their final game.

SELECTED FIXTURES (JUNE 7)

Pretoria Boys v Jeppe
Waterkloof v EG Jansen
Helpmekaar v KES
Westville v Kearsney
Northwood v Hilton
Michaelhouse v Maritzburg College
Kingswood v Graeme
Queen’s College v Port Rex
Bishops v Paarl Gym
Paarl Boys v Boland Landbou
Outeniqua v Oakdale
Paul Roos v Stellenberg
Rondebosch v Wynberg
Bellville v SACS

RESULTS (MAY 31)

Pretoria Boys 24 Michaelhouse 31
Jeppe 36 Affies 38
EG Jansen 45 Noordheuwel 55
Menlopark 27 Transvalia 47
Garsfontein 32 Nelspruit 20
Monument 43 Helpmekaar 53
Grey College 103 Selborne 14
DHS 26 Hilton 18
Maritzburg 35 Kearsney 20
Westville 42 Glenwood 25
Grey High 27 St Andrews 28
Hudson Park 18 Queens 32
Stellenberg 0 Paarl Boys 27
Paarl Gym 29 Oakdale 9
Paul Roos 22 SACS 3