Saturday is the last occasion on which Stellenberg face Premier A opposition this season. Apart from Cape Schools fixtures against Muir and Dale and a visit from HTS Drostdy early next term, the romantic part of their campaign is almost over and with it might come an impending sense of anti-climax.
Beaten by three of the four top-flight teams they have faced this winter, the Jade Brigade would dearly love to close this chapter with an emphatic bang. Hopefully, it would go some way to assuaging the self-doubt brought on by single point defeats at the hands of Bishops and Boland Landbou.
In both cases, the top tier sides launched stunning second-half fightbacks which were remarkable in equal parts both for the size of the deficits the two Bs had to wipe out and the Stellies’ apparent inability to stem the tide.
Stellenberg's last loss was against Bishops on the 22nd April 2017 before their loss against Boland Landbou last weekend. With wins against Middelburg HTS, Outeniqua, Menlopark during the season their quest to become a Premier A school must surely gain some ground.
Wynberg has had a hard time of it since returning from the KES Easter Festival, even if they can take a measure of comfort from two of their recent defeats - 30-40 to Grey High and 20-24 to Bishops. However, both these games were played at home. Wynberg losing their last 4 games in a row and only won 5 of their 11 matches this season could just travel to Stellenberg and suffer another defeat.
The strong probability that second-tier Stellenberg might beat them is hardly likely to lift their spirits. On the positive side, an away victory would provide just a glimmer of momentum for the trying months ahead in which the Berg face only fellow A-listers, starting with a trip to SACS on 24 June.
