Paul Roos set for Affies litmus test

SPOTLIGHT: Paul Roos and DHS will be hard-pressed to maintain their winning runs when they travel to the Wildeklawer Festival this week, with Affies and Paarl Gym waiting in the wings.

In the lead-up to the 2025 season, Corné Uys, who coached Paul Roos to an undefeated season in 2024, told @rugby365 that the gap between the ‘big’ and ‘small’ schools is closing a little more each year.

Meanwhile, the competition at the top of the pyramid is as fierce as ever.

The current season has already served up some surprising results.

It’s hard to look past the most recent upset – a 43-31 win for Paarl Gym against Grey College.

The result ended Grey’s seven-game winning streak in 2025 and marked their first loss at home since 2017.

Elsewhere, we’ve seen Boishaai stunning Affies, Stellenberg downing Wynberg and SACS, KES beating Rondebosch, and Durbanville taking down Monument.

As things stand, Paul Roos (six matches) and DHS (nine) are the only leading schools who are yet to lose a match in 2025.

But with some tough fixtures scheduled for the Wildeklawer Festival, it remains to be seen whether either team will emerge from the tournament with their winning streak intact.

@Rugby365 takes a closer look at the fixtures at the Kimberley showpiece:

AFFIES VS PAUL ROOS

Paul Roos has beaten Stellenberg, Drostdy, Garsfontein, Noordheuwel, and Bishops to date. That list includes a few traditional powerhouses as well as some rising stars – Stellenberg and Noordheuwel certainly bear watching.

That said, Paul Roos is yet to tackle any of the big dogs – namely Grey College, Affies, Paarl Gym, and Boishaai.

While they beat all of those teams in 2024, they have lost a number of senior players in the lead-up to the 2025 season.

The upcoming showdown with Affies should reveal where Paul Roos stands in the national pecking order.

Affies have racked up some mixed results, though – drawing with Paarl Gym and losing to Boishaai, while winning their other six matches by comfortable margins.

GREY COLLEGE VS GARSFONTEIN

Garsfontein went down 25-41 to Affies at home last week.

They’ve had a reasonably good season, winning four of their six games – a run that includes a narrow defeat to Paul Roos in Stellenbosch.

Given what transpired in Bloem last week, they may well be victims of a Grey College backlash.

The boys from Bloem should be desperate to set the record straight in the wake of a big loss to Gimmies.

The last time these teams met – at the 2024 Wildeklawer Festival – Grey beat Garsies 38-10.

DHS VS PAARL GYM

DHS were the best side in KwaZulu-Natal last season, and have carried that form through to 2025.

They’re yet to face one of the traditional juggernauts, though, and one gets the feeling that their streak will come to an end at this week’s festival.

A win over the Paarl powerhouse would be monumental, but the smart money is on Gimmies getting the job done.

Since last week’s result in Bloem, some schoolboy rugby experts have installed Paarl Gym as the leading side in the country.

This seems premature, given that Gimmies’ 2025 record includes draws to Rondebosch – in a truncated match – and Affies.

A convincing sweep of DHS and Northwood this week, of course, will strengthen Gimmies’ claim to the top spot.

MONUMENT VS PAARL BOYS
Both of these teams were talked up at the start of the season.

Monnas have gone on to win just three out of eight matches, losing to Grey College, Durbanville, Gimmies, and DHS, and drawing with Glenwood.

More recently, Monnas were pushed to the brink in their 26-21 win over Milnerton. Meanwhile, a young Boishaai side, which struggled in 2024, appears to be coming of
age.

The Paarl team has won five out of six – a run that includes wins over Waterkloof, Affies, and Rondebosch.

Their only loss came against Oakdale in Riversdale.

WILDEKLAWER FESTIVAL FIXTURES

Wednesday 30 April
Marlow vs Welkom Gym
Glenwood vs Nico Malan
Diamantveld vs Waterkloof
Affies vs Paul Roos
Thursday, 1 May
EG Jansen vs Drostdy
Framesby vs Boland Landbou
DHS vs Stellenberg
Outeniqua vs Monument
Oakdale vs Garsfontein
Paarl Gym vs Northwood
Rustenberg vs Voortrekker Bethlehem
Paarl Boys vs Noordheuwel
Martizburg College vs Jeppe
Grey College vs Helpmekaar
Saturday, 3 May
Stellenberg vs Waterkloof
Outeniqua vs Noordheuwel
Rustenberg vs Welkom Gym
Monument vs Paarl Boys
Framesby vs Helpmekaar
Diamantveld vs Maritzburg College
Drostdy vs Northwood
Affies vs Boland Landbou
Marlow vs Glenwood
Oakdale vs Jeppe
EG Jansen vs Paul Roos
Grey College vs Garsfontein
DHS vs Paarl Gym

RESULTS (25-26 APRIL)
Grey College 31 Paarl Gym 43
Garsfontein 25 Affies 41
Bishops 10 Paul Roos 41
Rondebosch 12 Paarl Boys 55
SACS 7 Stellenberg 29
Durbanville 31 Wynberg 37
Oakdale 75 Framesby 0
DHS 22 Northwood 19
Kearnsey 32 Glenwood 31
Pretoria Boys 28 Maritzburg College 45
Nelspruit 31 Waterkloof 24
Helpmekaar 33 Menlopark 36
Dale College 3 Grey High 43
Queen’s College 40 Selbourne 22