Preview: SACS v Wynberg

 

With victories over the other two Southern Suburb schools Rondebosch and Bishops under the belt and just three defeats so far, this is shaping up as a golden season for SACS.

 

They will be wearing an unfamiliar favourites tag against their big rivals Wynberg, who they have not been able to beat for three years, when the two oldest schools in the country resume their rivalry this weekend.

 

By contrast Wynberg have lost to both Bishops and Rondebosch this year, as they undergo a rebuilding phase after their Grand Slam success in recent years.

 

This year's SACS age-group only lost to their counterparts from Wynberg in Under-15, which means that they know what it takes to perform on the big derby day.

 

However, Wynberg's side has just a handful of Matrics and is dominated by the current Grade 11 group, who have never tasted defeat against SACS.

 

Wynberg have won seven of their 12 matches this year and are coming off a string of defeats against top schools such as Paul Roos and Paarl Boys, with their best wins this year coming early on against St Andrew's and Pretoria Boys High.

 

SACS captain Jordan Chait and flank Liam Larkan have both been chosen in the Western Province Academy Week squad, and will be the only two players on the pitch with provincial colours this year.

 

Flyhalf Chait has guided his team to nine victories in their 12 games so far, with scalps such as Affies and Dale at the Kearsney highlights along with their wins over Rondebosch and Bishops.

 

Both teams have lost to Paul Roos, who are ranked second on the FNB Top 20, but the key in common opponents is how they have fared against fellow Southern Suburbs rivals, with SACS beating both Bishops and Rondebosch and Wynberg going down to both of them.

 

However, those on both sides are clear that although you can pick a favourite, this match does not necessarily go to form with either side capable of rising and taking it on the day.

 

The well-drilled Wynberg side will be direct and physical, while the hosts are expected to try and run the ball in what should be an intriguing clash of styles in front of thousands of spectators with the weather predicted to be fair.

 

 

SACS: 15 Athi Gazi, 14 Tumi Mogoje, 13 Ciaran Dayaram, 12 Kyle Boyd, 11 Thomas Waterkeyn, 10 Jordan Chait (captain), 9 Rua-Ees Arendse, 8 Alex Halvorsen, 7 Liam Larkan, 6 Dylan Hadzigrigoriou, 5 James Brewer, 4 Tommy Posen, 3 Duncan Ferguson, 2 Lance Steytler, 1 Sihle Lonzi.

Replacements: 16 Dane Brouwer, 17 Seb Schultz, 18 Cameron Laurenson, 19 Elliot Avery, 20 Michael Haasbroek, 21 Liam Abrahams, 22 Justin Bendeman.

 

Wynberg: 15 Daniel Jamieson, 14 Tristan Turner, 13 Mushtaq Rossier, 12 Jordan Holgate (captain), 11 Dian Fourie, 10 Dominic Coetzer, 9 Labib Kannemeyer, 8 Stephen Mathew, 7 Shaine Orderson, 6 Callum Steyn, 5 Connor Thalrose, 4 Gideon Boshoff, 3 Mathew James, 2 Christian Botha, 1 Romario Henriques.

Replacements: 16 Adeeb Isaacs, 17 Yanga Ngcayisa, 18 Dominic Boulle, 19 Michael Scholtz, 20 Troy Kotze, 21 Mika Ekstrom, 22 Craig Vinnicombe.