The two Paarl schools dominated the South African schoolboy rugby to such an extent that they occupied the second and third spots on the ruggas.co.za 1stXV 2022 rankings. We look at the top schools in the area that should be credible contenders to the Western Cape crown.
Paarl Gim was a favourite of many to end first on the Ruggas.co.za rankings at that stage. However, the loss to Paarl Boishaai cost Paarl Gim their number-one ranking. This loss resulted in one side of the Paarl claiming that the first-ranked 1stXV in South Africa was the second-best in the Paarl.
Paarl Boishaai will have an added advantage in 2023, in that Sean Erasmus and "Uncle Johhny" had a whole year to "develop" their squad for 2023. Erasmus could rightly claim that the 2022 1stXV was an "average" team and ending 2022 ranked as the third-best 1stXV in South Africa was a brilliant effort by all involved. Expect Paarl Boishaai 1stXV to up the tempo with which they play with a rock solid defence, one of the best in South Africa if not the best. A definite candidate to end 2023 as the top 1stXV not only in the Paarl.
Paarl Gimnasium will most probably not change much to the way they play rugby. Their forwards will slowly strangle you while their backline will wait for you to make a slightest of an error to attack with brilliance. A few of their grade 12 group of 2023 already showed in 2022 that Paarl Gim will once again have several SA Schools players in their squad. The big question which will remain is, can they beat Paarl Boishaai on 05 August to become number one in Paarl and South Africa?
Paul Roos is working hard to return to their former glory and it said that their u/17 age group is the group that will see them return to the top spot on the Ruggas.co.za 1stXV rankings at the end of 2024. However, Grey College will be the first to remind everybody any Paul Roos 1stXV is good enough to beat the best in South Africa.
Boland Landbou will be the first to admit that their 2022 year was not the best in recent history. Their 2023 fixture list is not as demanding as that of 2022 with their absence at the Noord/Suid a big surprise. Boland Landbou ended 2022 at number 20 in the country and should be able to end 2023 close to the top 10. Do not ever write the boys from the "plaas" off, especially at the "plaas". It is also important to note that only Boishaai of the top four Western Cape schools will be played away. I smell a surprise or two.
The new boys on the block, Stellenberg are booked for a bumper season with a crazy 20 matches scheduled. Their first year as a Premier "A" school will be their toughest ever with their depth to be tested to its limits. In 2022 they faced seven "top class" teams while in 2023 they will face eleven with no "easy" matches to rest their injured players. I expect Stellenberg to take at least two years to adapt to the Premier "A" environment before they start storming up the ranking ladder to a top-five school. Expect Stellenberg to phase out the games against the Premier "B" schools to lessen the load on their players in most probably the most competitive league in the world.
The three southern suburb boys schools, Rondebosch, Bishops, SACS and Wynberg are slowly "catching up" to the Paarl Schools and are quite optimistic to repeat and even improve on their performances against the "Big Four" from Stellenbosch and Paarl. The battle for the king of the "Burbs" title should be between Rondebosch and Wynberg while Bishops and SACS must be enjoying the tags as underdogs. What is a certainty is that the crown of the King of the suburbs will not be decided by an R5 coin toss or more.
