Classic Clash on the Vaal
Two schools on the Vaal River will be meeting in an FNB Classic Clash on Saturday in Vereeniging – Vereeniging Gimnasium and Transvalia.
One would expect a close encounter and yet last year Transvalia, at home then, beat Vereeniging Gim 40-19. On the evidence a much =]closer affair is expected this year.
This Season
They are amongst the very best rugby schools in South Africa. They are not in the FNB Top 20 but play schools that are. Vereeniging Gimnasium – the Gimmies – have played Dr EG Jansen and HTS Middelburg; Transvalia have played Outeniqua and Nelspruit.
Gimmies have played six matches, winning and losing three. Transvalia have played eight, winning four, drawing with Potch =Gim and losing to Outeniqua, Nelspruit and Kempton Park.
Opponents in Common
They have each played Pietersburg and Ermelo and have both won..
Gimmies beat Pietersburg 21-0 and Ermelo 32-22.
Transvalia beat Pietersburg 34-17 and Ermelo 19-13.
Experience
Both teams have players who represented the Valke in 2013.
Donovan Venter and Jacquine de Villiers of Vereeniging Gim were at the Craven Week and so was Marco Jansen van Vuuren of Transvalia.
Vereeniging Gim's flyhalf Erjee Heenop was at the Academy Week and so was hooker Stefan Jacobs of Transvalia.
Teams
Vereeniging Gimnasium: 15. DC du Plessis, 14. Jacquine de Villiers, 13. Pikkie Labuschagne, 12. Rudolf Lubbe, 11. Donovan Thompson, 10. Erjee Heenop, 9. Visser van der Bank, 8. Christiaan Boshoff, 7. Emile Nagel, 6. Juan Williams, 5. Ivan Radley, 4. Jaco Conradie, 3. Donovan Venter, 2. Stuart Delacey Lacey, 1. Dirk Potgieter
Replacements: MC Briers, Hardus van Aswegen, Marques Pereira, Drikus Olivier, Brendan du Plessis, Albert Lloyd, Dominic Britz, Theo de Winnaar, Philip Thompson, Johan Grobler, Charles Boon, Nicolai Botha
Coaches: Jan van der Schyf, Kees van der Walt, Johan Bisschoff
Transvalia: 15 Stephan Mouton, 14 Corné van Schalkwyk, 13 Danie Marais, 12 Sean Ritter, 11 AD Robbertson, 10 Wernich Human, 9 Marco Jansen van Vuuren (captain), 8 Delmond Venske, 7 Shaun Cox, 6 Raymond Labuschagne, 5 Johan Strydom, 4 Ruan Marais, 3 Stephan Schoeman, 2 Stefan Jacobs, 1 Gert Mulder
Replacements: 16 Anthony Saunders, 17 Edu Olivier, 18 Lee-Roy Hodgkinson, 19 Jaco Munnik, 20 Werner van Zyl, 21 Pleij van den Broek, 22 Hlonie Mathinye, 23 Hendrik Combrinck, 24 Edward Short
Coach: Jaco Kok
Date: 31 May 2014
Kick-off:
Venue: Vereeniging Gimnasium
Expected weather conditions: Sunny with a high of 24°C, dropping to 9°C
