Schools Rankings - May 17

SPOTLIGHT: Another unforgettable weekend of schoolboy rugby. The spotlight first fell on “Brug Street”, where Paarl Boys’ High brought an emphatic end to Stellenberg’s giant-killing run.

Meanwhile, at Boereplaas in Pretoria, Affies finally got one over Grey College in front of a packed home crowd, while in KZN, Maritzburg College edged Northwood in a thrilling local derby.

Let’s get into it.

Paarl Gymnasium may well be thanking their neighbours this week after Boishaai’s convincing victory over Stellenberg helped propel them to the summit of the rankings.

From the opening whistle at Brug Street, Boishaai moved the ball beautifully through the hands, making their intentions abundantly clear.

The Paarliete struck early, racing to a 14–0 lead after two early tries in the opening ten minutes. Costly mistakes from Stellenberg—both on Boishaai’s twenty-two and on their own try line, gifting the hosts an easy seven-pointer did little to help the Jade Brigade find their rhythm or launch a meaningful fightback.

*Article continues below…

Boishaai halts Stellies while Affies shock Greyhttps://t.co/XuateClef5

— Rugby365 (@rugby365com) May 17, 2026

Boishaai’s ball distribution was simply exceptional. By the time they had stretched their lead to 24-0, the psychological damage had already been done. While Stellenberg showed admirable fight in the second half, they never truly looked like the nation’s number one side. As a result, we have moved them down to third in this week’s rankings.

After a convincing 66-14 victory over Bishops, we welcome Paarl Gymnasium to the top of our rankings. Although it was not a faultless performance and they lost some of their structure at times, we all know what they are capable of – and they did more than enough with this dominant display to claim the number one spot.

Paul Roos did enough with their dominant performance against Rondebosch to secure them the number two spot.

At Boereplaas, Affies finally secured their long-awaited revenge in front of an electric crowd of 15,000 spectators. Grey College held a narrow 14-7 advantage at the break, but the trademark Affie-guts proved decisive. The hosts dug deep in the second half to claim a deserved 28–21 victory.

In KwaZulu-Natal, Maritzburg College overcame the Knights of Northwood in a tightly contested encounter, winning 27-24 at Knights Park. Elsewhere in the province, Hilton and Westville both delivered convincing performances over their rivals from Gauteng, defeating Pretoria Boys High and KES, respectively.

In the Virseker Noordvaal Cup, Kloof continued their push toward a top-10 ranking with a dominant 36–12 victory over Menlopark. Meanwhile, the Bere of Garsfontein showcased their quality with an impressive 44-17 win over Noordheuwel.

This week’s rankings see a reshuffle within the top 10, though there are no new entrants to the top 30. Selborne also caught the eye with an excellent victory over Queen’s College, firmly placing themselves on the Rugby365 radar.

As always, these rankings remain, by nature, an informed opinion – what many might call a “thumb suck” – but they are grounded in careful analysis, taking into account strength of opposition, consistency, and head-to-head performances. Debate and discussion are always welcome, so feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

Best of luck for the week ahead – recover well, stay fit, and we look forward to another thrilling round of schoolboy rugby.

As the late Zanberg Jansen so famously said: “Nag, ou Grote.”

– In memory of Paul Dobson –

Image credit Hoër Jongenskool Paarl Boys’ High School FB