The Noord/Suid hosted at Affies is widely acknowledged as one of the best schoolboy rugby festivals in South Africa, and the number of schools participating has exploded in recent years.
Day 1 will start with a bang and end with a nuclear explosion as the top teams in South Africa battle it out to validate their claim as the best in South Africa, eagerly supported by their supporters, on what will be the biggest stage these boys will ever play.
Two matches will be played at the Harlequins Rugby Club in the afternoon, while the action will start at 09:00 at Affies when Zwartkop will face Voortrekker Bethlehem. Zwartkop lost to Middelburg in 2025 in the Noordvaal Plate competition, which was their only loss in 2025. They continued this fine form in 2026 and are unbeaten in 2026, beating Wagpos (43-10) and Die Anker (52-00). Voortrekker Bethlehem did not have a great start to their 2026 season, losing two of their three matches. They started with a win over Lois Botha HTS, but then lost to Fichardtpark (21-31) and Diamantveld (20-59).
At 10:30, an unbeaten Nelspruit, EG Jansen (20-16) and Kempton Park (25-15), await Framesby, who is also unbeaten with the scalps of St Andrew’s (24-17) and Selborne (24-15) already in the bag. This will be a high-octane match with Nelspruit dangerous in the final quarter, not caring if the Fat Lady has started her song.
At 12:00, an interesting match between Waterkloof and Diamantveld will start. Waterkloof only lost to Affies (20-34) and has beaten Middelburg HTS (40-09) and Piet Retief (90-14), while Diamantveld has beaten Monnas (36-35) and Voortrekker Bethlehem (59-20) but surprisingly lost to Trio (40-41). Waterkloof is a well-coached team with several match winners in their squad, and showed that they can compete at the top when Affies was made to work hard for their win. Diamantveld surprised all with the speed at which they started against Monnas, keeping those big boys of Monnas on the back foot, while their backs showed they will punish you with great interplay and speed. Waterkloof must be the favourites; however, I will not be surprised if the boys from Kimberley sparkle, as only Kimberley diamonds can sparkle.
At 13:30, EG Jansen will want to get their season on track against Drostdy HTS. EG lost to Nelspuit (16-20) and has beaten Kempton Park (24-20), but according to their supporters, they are capable of a lot more. Drostdy HTS’ dream team lost to Paul Roos (07-24) and has beaten Wynberg 35-14 since the start of the season. Drostdy have a massive pack and slick backs; however, Paul Roos has shown that speed on the attack and defence was at that stage a bit too much for Drostdy to cope with. Hopefully, their coaches will play to their strengths, which could see them ending close to a Top 10 finish. This should be a cruise for Drostdy; however, if there is one school I will go to war with it is with the boys of EG Jansen. Expect them to fight until the end, with some bruised Drostdy bodies next to the field when the final whistle is blown.
At 15:00, an unknown KES team will face the Brutal Outeniqua team from George. KES only played St John's this season and had an easy day beating their neighbours 36-12. Outeniqua, on the other hand, started the season with a bang, beating Worcester Him (99-00) and Nico Malan (45-00) before they travelled to Paarl, and lost to Paarl Boishaai (22-26) in the final seconds of the match. Their forwards are massive and good, while they have some backs with blistering pace and dancing feet. Unfortunately for the men in red, this will be a long day.
At 16:30, the two schools that are credible challengers for a Top 5 spot, Garsfontein vs Stellenberg, will face each other. Garsontein did not have a great start to the season and lost to Jeppe 29-26, and followed that up with a massive 41-03 against Noordheuwel’s dream team. Stellenberg won four from four with the big 20-19 win over Paarl Gimnasium, definitely a memory that will be celebrated for a long time. Wins against Tygerberg (71-00), Bellville (40-00) and Worcester Gim (78-00) gave them enough time to sort out small niggles and hit Pretoria with a big bang. According to “skinner” Garsfontein have a big pack, with one or two boys at the back, quickly adapting to the new environment at Garsfontein, which will make their backline extremely dangerous. Stellenberg's strengths are well known, and they will more than match Garsfontein up front and at the back. What excites me about Stellenberg is that when Paarl Gim threw everything they had at Stellenberg, Stellenberg absorbed the pressure without panicking and stood their ground to pull off a historical win. I know this will definitely cost me a lot of snacks, but I do think that Stellenberg will have the edge.
Jeppe’s history-making antics at Noord/Suid are forever etched in all schoolboy rugby fanatics, and at 18:00, they are once again looking for their next big scalp when they face Paarl Boishaai. Jeppe edged Garsdontein 29-26 and cruised to a nice win over St David’s (62-14) while Paarl Boishaai have beaten Rondebosch (20-05) before they were made to work hard for a last gasp 26-22 win against Outiniqua. It is known that mr Erasmus loves to play with spectators in their early-season matches, and then, when it is needed, Boishaai will up their game and show the expected brilliance to outplay whatever is thrown at them, and this clash is exactly what will be needed to beat Jeppe. On current form, Jeppe must be the favourite; however, I will not be surprised if Boishaai continues on their quest to stay unbeaten in 2026.
At 19:30, the final match of a brilliant day 1 of the 2026 Noord/Suid rugby festival hosted at Affies will take place when Paul Roos will play in their third massive match of the year when they face an ever-improving Monnas. Paul Roos showed an astonishing early-season class when they beat Drostdy HTS (24-07), Wynberg (15-05), and Affies (45-28) while everybody wrote Monnas off following their loss to Diamantveld (35-36), thereafter they bullied Welkom Gim (87-22), but interestingly following their 15-31 loss to Grey College the schoolboyrugby community sat upright and said this team could become a giant of the 2026 season. Monnas have a massive pack and a match-winning backline that will shred any opposing defence; however, Paul Roos have already shown that they can handle the pressure of big forwards and silky backs. Grey College has shown Paul Roos how to play and how not to defend against Monnas, and unfortunately, although I think Monnas have a brilliant squad, Paul Roos is going to edge the Wit Bulle to keep their unbeaten streak.
