Captain's profile: Tiaan Trollip
Trollip is in his second year of playing in the first XV and has previously donned the orange and white of the Free State and believes it will be the execution of the little things that will see his side over the line.
"It [the Classic Clash against Sentraal] is always a massive occasion and a challenging match because the competition between the schools is enormous. That sense of occasion promotes the match by itself because both schools are that strong.
"And that reflects in the results over the past few years. It is more or less 50/50 at this stage. It is going to be a tough game but that's the best part of the game – to play against a team that challenges you.
"They are going to bring their A game and choose their best players for the match. So we need to focus on the little things that we worked on during practice. That, combined with positive reinforcement throughout the game, will be essential to a preferred outcome.
"This game will come down to standing together as a unit and working hard for each other. Also, we must not forget to enjoy the occasion and to bring honour to the school's name," Trollip said.
The 18-year-old flank is looking forward to leading his fairly youthful side as he continues to share his knowledge and experience of the game with them as they continue to steadily improve their performances.
"The season has been relatively good as we have picked up as many victories as losses. Despite the results, we have steadily improved as a team. The team itself is a nice blend of youth and experience and even though the younger players outnumber the seniors, the experience is certainly there.
"Part of that experience is me transferring the knowledge I have to the younger players because I have been fortunate enough to play in the first XV for the last two years," he added.
Trollip is well on his way to achieving his goals, having already played representative rugby and being named captain of Jim Fouche's first XV – two goals he set himself.
"It is a huge honour to captain this team and it was a goal I set myself a few years ago. Now that I have achieved it, it is certainly a milestone in both my rugby and schooling careers. Obviously the position comes with a lot of responsibility but the feeling of knowing that you are helping a team mate improve his game, far outweighs the captaincy pressure," he stated.
