In the Central Region, we will witness two of the giants of schoolboy rugby wakening up after a dull summer. Affies face Diamantveld in Kimberley in what everybody expects will be an easy victory for Affies. Diamantveld will be playing their 4th game of 2017 in what most will describe as trials, winning 1, drawing 1 and losing 1. One cannot help to think that the Diamantveld boys will be exhausted and already travelled more than most of the other "super" schools will in a year. Affies who finished their internal trials on Saturday last week chose a team with only 2 grade 11's in the starting fifteen and only two of the "Witblitse" in the team. De-An Ackerman of Diamantveld is already displaying top form at centre and is the one boy Affies and the spectators need to watch closely.
In the other big matchup, Grey College meets Waterkloof. Grey will be playing the first match with Waterkloof playing their second. Waterkloof's first game ended up in an easy win against Montana in Pretoria. Meeting Grey in Bloemfontein is a daunting task and one could not help to think it will be a great game with both sides known for their running rugby but Grey College with (9) Ross Braude, (10) JW de Jager, (11) Richard Kriel, (12) Rikus Pretorius, (13) Janco v Heynigen, (14) Henk Cilliers, (15)David Kriel starting will be quite a handful especially after Waterkloof showed some early season miscommunication in their backline.
In the Eastern Cape, it will be the rugby day at Gill College where most spectators will be. 25 minutes a side always deliver exciting running rugby. In the matchup between Marlow and Hudson Park, one could be excused to concentrate on Marlow after their convincing victory two weeks ago against Upington at the Fichardtpark Rugby Day. Muir College should also have an easy day when facing Otto du Plessis.
In KZN there should not be any surprises at the Voortrekker Night Series with easy wins for Maritzburg College and Westville. DHS will look to return to the expected winning ways after their close loss against Glenwood last weekend. Kearsney is taking on a very good Welkom Gim on the Hill and will have to be at their best because Welkom Gim's season is already in full swing and showed against Monnas on Tuesday at the Blue Bulls Prestige evening that they will again be a side to be taken notice of.
In the Noordvaal region, there is a lot of action this weekend. In The TUKS series Nelspruit will want to show that although they lost against Middelburg HTS at home they will be part of the playoffs. They meet Klerksdorp who lost against Florida last weekend. Garsfontein in their 1st full rugby game should have more than enough firepower to beat a Rustenburg team that is without 7 athletes. The other games' results should not surprise anyone with the favourites expected to win comfortably.
In the Puk Prestige series, the match between Centurion and Wonderboom should be a close match but Centurion needs to show that moving from the TUKS series is producing the wanted results. Then we have the two big friendlies. Helpmekaar is visiting a highly rated Eldoraigne in their first match. A lot has been said regarding the Helpmekaar "dream team" and the pressure on these boys will be tremendous. Noord Kaap is visiting Menlopark and this match will be played at a high pace with a lot of fire. Menlopark showed against Jeppe that they will not back off from any challenge put to them, and certainly has the talent to upset a few schools.
In the Western Cape, Stellenberg is playing Bellville Suid in its first match of the season. A lot is expected from this team and will be watched closely. I am sure a few spies might be next to the field on Saturday.