Paarl Gimnasium from the Paarl has been steadily building to become one of the top rugby schools in South Africa. A little bit more bling or the bounce of the ball could see Paarl Gim's 1stXV crowned as the best in South Africa in 2025.
A brilliant team coached by an established coaching staff led by Pieter Rossouw who is often underestimated by the public. Paarl Gim has made several small changes in the recent seasons to their gameplan, transforming a boring gameplan to a gameplan still built on strong forward play, supplemented with some shiny bling at the back.
Paarl Gim's 1stXV was ranked third after the 2024 season, winning fourteen from sixteen matches. Their only two losses were against Grey College (27-29) and Paul Roos (17-23). Some Gimmies supporters will claim their win against Paar Boishaai (30-08) was the highlight of the season.
Both their U16A and U14A teams were ranked 1st on the Ruggas.co.za rankings at the end of the 2024 season showing exactly how healthy their feeder system is.
Paarl Gim had two six boys who attended the U16 EPD camp in September and for boys who were invited to the U17 EPD camp in December.
The provisional fixtures do not show any surprises, with the regular victims in the queue.
EPD Squad players with positions in brackets: Charles Whitehead (2), Hendre van Zyl (8), Jeerahno Jagers (14), Julius Monroe (15), Lehan Nieuwoudt (1), Mickey Booise (9), Quintin Potgieter (7), Ruan Lindeque (7), Zheemo Isaacs (9), Markus Muller (12).
Fixtures 2025:
18/03 Rondebosch @ WP Rugby Day
28/03 KES @ Noord/Suid - Paul Roos
31/03 Monnas @ Noord/Suid - Paul Roos
12/04 Affies @ Paarl Gim
26/04 Grey College @ Grey College
01/05 Northwood @ Wildeklawer - Diamantveld
03/05 Durban High School @ Wildeklawer - Diamantveld
10/05 Paul Roos @ Paul Roos
31/05 Oakdale @ Paarl Gim
07/06 Bishops @ Bishops
14/06 SACS @ SACS
21/06 Stellenberg @ Paarl Gim
26/07 Wynberg @ Paarl Gim
02/08 Paarl Boishaai @ Paarl Gim