Taking into account that eight of the top ten 1stXVs are present at the Wildeklawer Festival, it is no surprise to see the large number of spectators lining the sides of the fields. The final day of the Wildeklawer Festival is known to produce some of the best matches in SA schoolboy rugby. The final day of this year's Wildeklawer Festival will be no different and the results will surely be remembered for many years to come.
07h00 Welkom Gim vs Framesby
Although Welkom Gim has shown an ability to come back in a game, their attacking ability will be no match for Framesby who is expected to win with relative ease.
08h10 Boland Landbou vs Noord Kaap
Boland Landbou will use their dominant forwards to set up a good platform to provide quality attacking ball for the speedsters in their backline. They will also use their forward pack to starve the dangerous Noord Kaap backline of quality attacking ball.
Boland Landbou will run the ball aggressively at the Noord Kaap defence, whilst Noord Kaap should play the ball wide to avoid the aggressive contact of Boland Landbou, which served them well against Grey College.
It is expected that Boland Landbou will have an easy day at the office and should win by 20 points.
09h20 Maritzburg College vs Helpmekaar
Helpmekaar seems to be struggling to find their feet and rhythm with their new coaching staff and it was evident in the lack of decisiveness displayed against Paarl Gim.
Maritzburg College in turn appears to be a well-trained side however the lack of grunt of their forwards will be no match for the Helpmekaar pack of forwards, but only if the Helpmekaar forwards can replicate their form against Affies.
It is expected that this match will be a very close and exciting encounter which should see Maritzburg Colege taking it by 5 points.
10h30 Drostdy HTS vs Waterkloof
Waterkloof has been disappointing in the season so far and it showed in their close win against Diamantveld. However, these are shortcomings that can be addressed on during practice.
Waterkloof will have to weather the expected initial onslaught of the Drostdy HTS forwards, which faded in the latter part of the match against Welkom Gim.
Waterkloof's fighting spirit which clinched the win for them against Diamantveld should serve them well against Drostdy HTS. However, the defence of Waterkloof will have to be in top form and if this is the case, they should take the match with 10 points.
11h40 Stellenberg vs Menlopark
Stellenberg has shown that they can take on the "big guns" of SA schoolboy rugby. Apart from showing tremendous passion, they are also a well-balanced and coached side that sticks to their structures despite whatever pressure is exerted on them.
This does not bode well for Menlo Park as they were beaten by a well-coached and structured DHS. Menlo Parks has also not lived up to the pre-season expectations and predictions of the pundits.
It is expected that Stellenberg will outplay Menlo Park in all aspects and should win by 15-20 points.
12h50 Outeniqua vs Diamantveld
A long day is expected for the hosts with the unfortunate and unfair pairing against Outeniqua, which we are not used to from the Wildeklawer fixtures.
14h00 Oakdale vs DHS
DHS has become the favourite of the crowds performing well above expectations since Peter Engledow's appointment as Head of Rugby.
Unfortunately, we think that the match against Oakdale will not be part of the fairy tale season which they have thus far enjoyed. The size and speed of the Oakdale players will be too much to handle for DHS and we expect Oakdale to seal a good win by 20 points.
15h10 Affies vs Glenwood
Glenwood has surprised all with their speed and aggression displayed against Paul Roos and they only faded in the latter part of the match.
However, Affies has shown that they can match the speed and aggression that Paul Roos displayed against them. They also showed against Oakdale that their well-structured and speedy defence can be used as a form of attack with dangerous counter-attacks.
We expect that the match will follow the same pattern as the match between Glenwood and Paul Roos with Affies cruising to an easy win during the last 20 minutes.
16h20 Paul Roos vs Garsfontein
Garsfontein did not convince in their match against Framesby but it is suspected that this may be due to some key players being rested against Framesby.
If this preview was done just after the Noord/Suid Tournament it would have been an easy win for Garsfontein, however, Paul Roos has shown with the recent inclusion of several injured players that they will be a force to be reckoned with.
Despite the expected dominance of the Garsfontein forwards, any mistakes in the defence at the back will not only be costly but could also result in defeat. The match is expected to be a very close battle with Garsfontein taking it by 5 points.
17h30 Paarl Boishaai vs Monnas
Paarl Boishaai is one of the surprises of the season. A sub-standard season was expected, however, a big fuss was made with the return of Sean Erasmus as Head of Rugby which gave Boishaai a glimmer of hope. They initially followed a conservative game plan that has since evolved into the exciting rugby that Sean Erasmus is well known for.
Monnas' loss against Outeniqua surprised many as the expected dominance of the big forward pack did not materealise. Without their forward dominance, the Monnas backline looked fairly ordinary.
At this stage according to performances, Boishaai must be the favourites to win, however, Monnas is known to be on top form against the top schools in SA and will certainly not underestimate the quality of Boishaai. After all that is said and done the match will be an extremely close encounter, with the deciding factor possibly being the astuteness of the coaching staff.
18h40 Grey College vs Paarl Gim
Defence...defence...defence!
Grey College is known for overrunning their opponents with flair and aggression, however, they have shown their weakness against teams which have stood up to them with solid and smothering defence as shown against Oakdale and Stellenberg. A Grey College that cannot run with the ball is a Grey College which is beatable.
Paarl Gim has shown that they can play the same devastating attacking game plan as Grey College. However, they can also very quickly change their game plan to conservative and structured play which will smother the game and we think that Grey College may not be able to adapt to this change.
Therefore if Paarl Gim's defence can contain Grey College, we may see a 20 pointer going the way of Paarl Gim which will see them as the new No1 1stXV team in SA schoolboy rugby.
Article by Francois du Toit
