Perfect Paul Roos settle No.1 debate

WRAP: Paul Roos saved their most emphatic performance for last when they thumped Grey College 36-3 to finish the season with a flawless 15-0 record.

Few would have backed Jeppe to stun Grey College 22-19 earlier this season, or Milnerton to beat the likes of Bishops and Rondebosch.

Some may have expected Paul Roos to win the ‘final’ staged in Stellenbosch on Saturday – but nobody could have predicted that they would thrash Grey College by 33 points.

The margin of victory, rather than the result itself, is something of an upset.

That said, Paul Roos have been pushing the boundaries for much of the 2024 season.

They beat a strong Affies side 30-25 in March, before going on to pummel Boishaai 25-10 a month later.

After they clinched a 23-17 win at Gimmies, many in the schoolboy community started to mark the meeting between Paul Roos and Grey College on 17 August as a potential decider.

And that’s exactly how the season has panned out: Paul Roos and Grey went unbeaten in the lead-up to the showdown at the Markotter Stadium.

On the day, there was only one team in the contest.

Paul Roos bossed the scrum and used their maul to set the platform for a couple of tries.

Their thumping defence generated a series of counter-attacking chances, with centre Sam Badenhorst making the most of a turnover in the first half to race 70-plus metres to score.

The scoreline may suggest otherwise, but Grey are a top side.

After losing to Jeppe earlier in the season, they went on to win 10 games on the bounce.

The quality of the side was certainly evident when they claimed away wins at Affies and Gimmies – who are among the form teams in the country.

Before the finale in Stellenbosch, Grey scored 20 or more points in all but one of their 13 fixtures.

Their defence limited opponents to 28 points or less in every match.

But in the showdown with Paul Roos, Grey had no answer the hosts’ physicality. Their defence was dented and breached with alarming regularity.

Both teams were without a few key players, who had been called up to represent South Africa Under-18 in the current international series.

The wet weather certainly added to the challenge. Credit must go to Paul Roos for managing the conditions, and making their scoring chances count.

Even in the latter stages, when the result was already in the bag, Paul Roos showed remarkable focus and discipline to stick to the plan, and play the game deep in Grey’s half.

Many have said that the team has achieved some special and enduring, and it’s hard to disagree.

By going through the season unbeaten, the class of 2024 has replicated the feats of the great Paul Roos side of 1991 – which included prop Cobus Visagie and fullback Justin Swart.

Visagie and Swart later went on to represent the Springboks. Some of the current players may also go on to wear the green and gold in the coming years.

Three months ago, there would have been a lot of questions about how the season was going to pan out.

At that stage, there were four outstanding teams in Paul Roos, Grey, Gimmies and Affies – and all four were in the race for the No 1 ranking.

As the season draws to a close, however, there is only one team left in the conversation.

Having won all 15 of their matches, and having beaten all of the other major contenders for the unofficial title, Paul Roos are the undisputed schoolboy champs for the 2024 season.

For once, there is no debate.

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