Day two of the Noord/Suid Rugby Festival, hosted at Affies on Saturday 28 March, will have a completely different "feel" to it than day one. Day two has several "lesser" known schools to face each other in matches that will be remembered for the brilliance and interplay between forwards and backs. Attacks will start from anywhere on the field, with defence sometimes on the back burner.
At 09:00, Middelburg HTS, which is improving in leaps and bounds, will face Trio, who did not have the best start to their 2026 season. Trio lost to Grey College (12-48), Rustenburg (17-24) and Fichardtpark (19-22) and beat Diamantveld (41-40), which was a surprise to many. Middelburg HTS, on the other hand, did beat Ligbron (29-26) and Piet Retief (35-22) while their only loss was against Waterkloof (09-40). It is very difficult to predict an outcome as Trio’s losses were against, dare I say, better opposition; therefore, I will conclude using the old cliche, the team that “wants it more” should win. However, I must admit that NoordVaal rugby is a lot poorer with an average Rooibull team, but under Jano Vermaak’s guidance, there is a new “hope and belief” at Middelburg HTS.
Welkom Gim will face Nico Malan at 10:30, hoping or rather praying, for a better performance. They first lost to Fichardtpark (07-10) before being hammered by Grey College (03-109) and Monnas (22-87) before beating Potch Gim (29-10). Nico Malan lost to Outeniqua (45-00) and beat Queen’s College 26-19 a week ago. Nico Malan should be the favourite, but we know what will happen if Nico Malan allows the speedsters of Welkom Gim to start “expressing” themselves.
At 12:00, Middelburg should be the favourites against Witteberg. Middelburg lost 10-49 to the highly rated Hilton College before beating Transvalia 21-17. A week ago, they lost 20-21 to Oos Moot. Witteberg's only win was against Transvalia *17-12) in their season opener; whereafter, they lost to Helpmekaar (05-77), Sentraal (05-35) and Jim Fouche (19-24). My money is on Middelburg, but I will not bet more than R18,50 on Middelburg.
At 13:30, Rustenburg, who beat Trio 24-17 and lost to Noordheuwel 24-34, must face a very good Durbanville, which beat Boland Landbou (24-13) and Milnerton (30-05) before losing to Paarl Gim (12-45). Durbanville, who was just promoted to the Western Province Premier League and is preparing for their 200th celebrations in 2027, have a well-balanced team with big mobile forwards and backs with a lot of flair and speed. Rustenburg will not only have to match Durbanville’s “fight”, but if their defence is not top-notch, it will be a long day for Rustenburg.
The unbeaten Menlopark must be careful not to underestimate Boland Landbou at 15:00. Boland Landbou is still searching for its first win of the season, losing to Durbanville (13-25) and Bishops (20-25), while Menlopark did beat Eldoraigne (55-06), Ben Vorster (40-07) and St Alban’s (55-20). Unfortunately, Menlo’s opposition was not nearly the quality of a poor Boland Landbou's opposition, and Menlopark will have to be at its best to beat Boland Landbou. I am excited to see the influence of Duppie, ex-Garsfontein’s head coach, on several stars in the Menlopark backline, which could be the difference between winning and losing. Menlopark should win, but once again, no bigger bet than R 18,50 on the boys from Pretoria.
At 16:30, Paarl Gim, who had an early 19-20 oopsie against Stellenberg, followed by victories against SACS (30-05) and Durbanville (45-12) should have an easy cruise against Noordheuwel’s dream team, who beat Rustenburg 34-24 and lost to Garsfontein (03-41). If Noordheuwel does not improve a lot, this is going to be a massacre.
At 18:00, an unbeaten Grey College will face an unbeaten Helpmekaar. Grey’s form and brilliance in 2026 are well known; however, Monnas has shown the country how to beat Grey College, or did they? Grey's unbeaten run started against Trio (48-12), followed by wins against Welkom Gim (109-03), Oakdale (30-07) and Monnas (31-15), while Helpmekaar beat Wittenerg (77-05) and Maritzburg (31-19). Grey College play a fast game on the attack and defence, patiently absorbing the pressure of their opponents' big forwards and striking from broken play to score brilliant tries almost at will. The Helpmekaar of three years ago played a similar game plan; however, since a year ago, they have tried to play a more structured game plan that was more or less successful. This year, Tjaart van der Walt is in control, and one can expect brutal forward play with the ball being spread wide every now and then, or did Tjaart adapt to the Helpmekaar way? Helpmekaar will test Grey College, but in the end, Grey will “survive” with fifteen plus points.
The final match at 20:30 will be brutal with Oakdale’s pack of forwards on a mission, while Affies ' fifteen-man game plan could secure them a much-needed win following their 28-45 hiding against Paul Roos. Affies’ win against Waterkloof (34-20) was good but not impressive. Oakdale was outplayed by Grey College (07-38), followed by a win over Upington (50-00). Both teams are well prepared and coached for a difficult 2026 season, with maybe only a few small changes that can still be made. Therefore, this match will be more about the battle between two exceptional coaches, who I am sure have analysed the videos of each other 1000 times, than the talented boys who will leave everything on the field. A game of chess to be played by two brilliant brain surgeons with sledgehammers and bulldozers.
