SA Schoolboy rugby: Why the era of the ‘unbeatable’ powerhouse is over

SPOTLIGHT: Grey College first team coach, Jannie Geldenhuys, believes changes in the South African schoolboy rugby landscape are levelling the playing field and keeping traditional powerhouses on their toes.

Less than two months in, the 2026 season has already delivered some shocking results and shaken things up across the country.

The top five-ranked sides from last year, which included Paarl Boys’ High, Paarl Gym, Grey College, Affies, and Paul Roos, have all suffered at least one defeat, and that means not a single side will end the season with a clean slate.

Stellenberg have been the fairytale story thus far after downing three powerhouses in the space of a month.

In March, they stunned Paarl Gym 20-19 at home before picking up a gutsy 26-21 win against Grey College at the North-South Tournament in Pretoria.

Last week, the Jade Brigade rubber-stamped their presence with a 20-10 win against Paul Roos.

“I think this change in the game is important for SA rugby as a whole,” Geldenhuys told Rugby365.

“We can’t afford to have a model where five or six schools are dominating the schoolboy scene, and the rest are just playing second fiddle.

“This season alone, we’ve seen Outeniqua do well, and the Garsfontein win against Stellenberg was one I didn’t see coming, and it opened up the whole field.

“There are no easy matches because every school has a proud rugby programme and the people involved are pulling their weight and giving kids the best opportunities as possible.”

Grey, themselves have faced some challenging opponents early on in the season.

Putting aside the Stellenberg defeat, they also came up against Helpmekaar at North-South and defeated the Gauteng school 51-19.

Soon after, the Bloemfontein school headed to the St John’s Easter Rugby Festival and took on Australian side, Nudgee College, in a match that will be remembered for ages.

Grey lost that encounter 26-29. Reflecting on the last couple of weeks, Geldenhuys says there are lessons learned.

“If you talk about the Stellenberg game, I think they are a balanced side that plays amazing rugby. There are certain aspects that we took from that game after we fell behind on the scoreboard, and we’ve discussed them.

“It was amazing to test ourselves against Nudgee because they’ve been ranked as the best rugby school in the world. I think we made two or three crucial mistakes that cost us in the end, but I’m very proud of how the boys grafted.”

Coach Geldenhuys and his side enjoyed a bye last week but will return to action with a massive interschools clash on Saturday.

They will make the trip to the Western Cape to face a high-flying Paarl Gym side that recently brushed aside Affies 51-24.

The following week, Grey will compete at the Wildeklawer Rugby Tournament before a demanding schedule against Paarl Boys’ High, Affies and Selborne in May.

Geldenhuys, however, believes the quick turnaround of matches during the Easter period has put them in good standing.
“We knew we had to have fixtures that prepare us for big matches right on top of one another,” he added.

“While a lot of factors played a role and we didn’t end the festivals the way we would’ve wanted, but we got used to playing high-intensity matches and that will bode well for us.

“Paarl Gym will be our first challenge. I call them the Ireland of SA Schoolboy rugby because they are a well-coached side and can keep the ball for long periods of time.

“There’s no bigger challenge than playing them at their home ground.”