South African schoolboy rugby is slowing down in anticipation of the June/July youth weeks, and this week, we do not expect any upsets; however, the influence of the selection or not for the U18 Craven Week’s provincial teams will play a significant role in the performance of teams. Boys who have already secured their places will try to avoid injuries, while those not selected will have a point to prove.
In a match that could become a banana peel for Paarl Gim, Oakdale will host Paarl Gim on De Eike veld on Saturday at 13:30 (SA Time).
Paarl Gim must be the favourites to secure a “good” win, their 12th in a row. The only loss Gim suffered was in their first match of the season against Stellenberg (19-20), while Oakdale won 5 of the 10 matches played.
Oakdale was not in action last weekend; however, they did play some of the top schools recently and lost to Stellenberg and Paul Roos with only 2 points while beating Outeniqua 27-21 at home 2 weeks ago. Paarl Gim was very active coming into their trip to Oakdale. However, Paarl Gim were not tested during their three matches before their trip to Oakdale, beating Boland Landbou (64-15), Bishops (66-14) and Wynberg (66-14).
Expect Oakdale to use their big boys up front to test Paarl Gim’s defence before spreading the ball wide to their exciting backs; however, they will face the best balanced 1stXV in South Africa, and best balanced means top talent being coached by arguably the best coaching staff to perfection. The first 40 minutes will be close, and if Oakdale do not manage to dominate, Paarl Gim will accelerate in the second half to secure a “comprehensive” win, reclaiming the number 1 spot on the ruggas.co.za 1stXV rankings.
Teams:
Oakdale: 1 Kyle Burger, 2 Adrian Smith, 3 Francois(Vleis) le Roux, 4 Ruan Groenewald, 5 Rico Ferreira, 6 Kane du Plessis, 7 Bernard Badenhorst, 8 Jacobus de Villiers (c), 9 Mich v Eden, 10 Caleb Williams, 11 Luan Mortlock, 12 Andre vd Merwe, 13 Myburgh Eksteen, 14 Luan v Tonder, 15 Nathan-Lee Gordon.
Paarl Gim: 1 Jayden Steyl, 2 Charles Whitehead, 3 Sebastian Bekker, 4 Bernhardt Schulze, 5 Jean Dreyer, 6 Corné Niemand, 7 Dirk Hugo, 8 Hendré van Zyl, 9 Mickyle Booise, 10 Louis Koen, 11 De Waal Vivier, 12 Ethan Barker (c), 13 Derik Cloete, 14 Corné De Beer, 15 Thomas Saunders.
Other Western and Southern Cape fixtures for the weekend ending 31 May 2026
Charlie Hofmeyr vs Bredasdorp
DF Akademie vs Milnerton
Drostdy HTS vs Worcester Gim
Oakdale vs Paarl Gim
Parel Vallei vs Brackenfell
Paul Roos vs Bishops
Rondebosch vs Durbanville
SACS vs Paarl Boishaai
Stellenberg 2ndXV vs Bellville HTS
Strand vs Hugenote
Swartland vs Schoonspuit
Tygerberg vs Bellville