The derby between Grey College and Outeniqua scheduled for 8 August has been saved.
It was confirmed that only the A and B teams of Outeniqua will travel to Bloemfontein to face the might of Grey College.
Whispers sent shockwaves through the schoolboy rugby community earlier when insiders revealed that Outeniqua faced an outright grounding. Citing severe financial constraints, the Kwaggas indicated they could not afford the massive cross-province trek from George to Bloemfontein for the full school contingent.
Sources now confirmed that despite leadership from both schools desperately hoping to find a compromise to save the 8 August derby, Outeniqua confirmed via a letter on their Facebook page that they are unable to travel to Bloemfontein.
For Outeniqua, the hurdle is purely economic.
For Grey College, the stakes are purely competitive, and the timing is catastrophic. Grey is scheduled to face a clinical Paul Roos Gymnasium outfit just two weeks later, on 15 August. Hitting a two-week competitive freeze in the absolute peak of August would kill Grey's match sharpness and tactical rhythm. Because finding an alternative opponent with Grey's sheer team depth is an absolute logistical impossibility at this stage of the season, Grey needs this fixture to happen.