SACS go to Wynberg for Season's End
The oldest two schools in South Africa, situated a mere three kilometres from each other and with a similar number of boys, will battle it out on the Hawthornden Field for the noble right to end the year on a high!
Wynberg, who ruled the roost in the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town from 2012-2014, have had a difficult season recording a mere five wins in eighteen outings. Four of them are distant memories having occurred way back in April at the KES Easter Festival (Marlow and Noordheuwel) and at their own Festival (Windhoek and Lydenberg). Their most recent win was a come-from-behind upset win over Selborne College at Cape Schools Week in early July.
SACS by contrast have won thirteen of nineteen matches played, plus two draws, and are on track to have their best season since the days of Peter Kirsten in 1974, should they win on Saturday. Somewhat bizarrely these results will have been achieved with relatively meagre pickings on their own doorstep in the Southern Suburbs, their only win to date coming against Wynberg in their first encounter at the end of the second term.
SACS have hit a bit of a wobble having won only one of their four matches played since returning from the July holidays. Having lost at home to Bishops and Rondebosch on consecutive weekends, their confidence can’t be much higher than that of Wynberg at present and the hosts must be sniffing blood and an opportunity to get one over their archrivals and end their disappointing season on a high.
Wynberg’s key players are No.8 Cameron Bowes and captain and inside-centre Christian Colborne. They are both experienced campaigners and strong ball-carriers who will be looking to lead their team to an upset victory. They will face off against two fellow matrics in the SACS team in Oliver Schuurmans and Chad van der Loo. Van der Loo and Colborne are similar players who will be fighting for gain-line supremacy while Bowes and Schuurmans have relatively contrasting styles.
With no rain predicted for Saturday the match will hopefully be an open and free flowing encounter. May the better team on the day win!
*Wynberg Rugby will be collecting boots and other rugby equipment for Mfuleni and Langa rugby clubs. Boxes will be placed on the Hawth tomorrow in front of the scaffolding on the halfway line.
Teams
Wynberg: 15 di Livio van Wyk, 14 Chivanga Patrick, 13 Siya Nombakuse, 12 Christian Colborne (captain), 11 Dylan Munro, 10 David Botha, 9 Matthew Doyle, 8 Cameron Bowes, 7 Inga Halu, 6 Saeed Fakier, 5 Mika Schubert, 4 Liam Lotz, 3 Nic Witte, 2 Jason Alexander, 1 James Pearse
Coaches: Justin van Winkel and Craig Childs
SACS: 15 Michael Abrahams, 14 Kabelo Mokoena, 13 Ben Mazzullo, 12 Chad van der Loo, 11 Aaron Zeederberg, 10 David Hayes, 9 Vusile Dlepu (captain), 8 Oliver Schuurmans, 7 Declan O'Connor, 6 Craig Bylin, 5 Jean Minnaar, 4 Ethan Burger, 3 Josh Hay, 2 Ethan England, 1 Josh Barrett
Coaches: Nick Maurer and Matt Currie
Date: Saturday, 26 August 2017
1st XV kickoff: 12.30
Live streaming: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pb4o3990jnk
Venue: Hawthornden Field, Wynberg
Weather: 16 degrees with a light southerly breeze, no rain
Referee: Dyllan Francke (Western Prtovince Referees' Society)
By Graeme Wepener
