Schools rugby reboot: Paarl derby, northern play-offs loom large
PREVIEW: Paarl Gimnasium will be out for revenge against Paarl Boys this August, while Garsfontein will be gunning for a fourth-consecutive Noordvaal Cup title.
The U18 Craven Week has come and gone, and many of the leading schools teams will resume their schedules from next week.
While the second phase of the season is a lot shorter than the first, there should be plenty of action and drama over the next six weeks.
Paarl Gim finished the second term as the top-ranked team in the country, followed by Stellenberg, Paul Roos, and Garsfontein.
Results in the coming weeks will shape the final standings – although some of the teams may be preoccupied with one or two marquee fixtures.
Gimmies boast a 13-1 win-record at this stage, and will head into the next match against Rondebosch on July 25 as favourites.
Pieter Rossouw and company may be more concerned with the game that follows – namely the annual Paarl derby, which will be staged at Faure Street Stadium on August 1.
Paarl Boys haven’t been at their best in 2026, winning eight of their 13 fixtures.
Boishaai won last year’s Paarl derby 35-33, but they have a young team this season, and may be hard-pressed to live with a rampant Gimmies outfit.
That said, these derbies tend to be unpredictable – and Gimmies should be wary of buying into the hype that the biggest game on the 2026 calendar is theirs to lose.
Paul Roos will play SACS away and Boland Landbou at home before finishing their season with a big showdown against Grey College in Stellenbosch.
The Maroon Machine have had a good year, although their losses against Gimmies and Stellenberg have served to confirm that they are currently outside the top bracket.
Paul Roos should be desperate to beat Grey College on August 15 and end their year on a high.
The Bloemfontein powerhouse have had a disappointing season by their own standards – losing four matches.
Their most recent game match ended in defeat, after they went down 21-28 to Affies in Pretoria.
Grey will look to gather momentum in the coming weeks when they play Harrow and Outeniqua (both at home) – although the latter fixture could be especially challenging, given the Kwaggas’ seven from 10 record.
Garsfontein finished the interprovincial phase of their season with wins against Stellenberg and Boishaai.
They also managed to beat Affies, and will have the opportunity to bolster their status as Kings in the North when they compete in the latter stages of the Noordvaal Cup.
While Garsies have two league matches against Middelburg and EG Jansen remaining, they are well placed to advance to the knockouts and push for a fourth-successive title.
Monument are currently second in the Noordvaal Cup standings, followed by Noordheuwel and Waterkloof.
It will be interesting to see who advances to the semifinals. Fifth-placed Helpmekaar are only two points shy of Waterkloof at this stage, and will travel to Klofies in the final round of the league phase on August 1.
The Noordvaal Cup is set to finish in late August, long after some of the other provinces have concluded their schedules.
The four-way battle in Cape Town’s southern suburbs, however, will continue for several weeks yet.
Wynberg have won their initial derbies against Rondebosch, Bishops and SACS, and may well complete a clean sweep of southern suburbs victories over the next month.
In the Eastern Cape, Dale will be building towards a crucial fixture at Graeme College on August 1.
Graeme (12 wins, one draw and one loss) are currently the leading team in the region, and are unbeaten in their last eight matches.
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