Emerging rugby powerhouses gear up for highly anticipated schoolboy tournament at Paul Roos

Over the weekend, Paul Roos Gimnasium in Stellenbosch will host the Noord-Suid tournament, one of the biggest interprovincial schools festivals of the South African season.

Grey College of Bloemfontein, Pretoria’s Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool (Affies) and other national juggernauts will descend on the town for the five-day showpiece, as will regional powerhouses such as Paarl Gimnasium and Paarl Boys’ High School.

It is here where the best First XVs in South Africa will go head to head and the Springboks of tomorrow will get the chance to showcase their skills in front of thousands of fans.

How 2024 shaped the narrative

Who could forget the last instalment of this tournament, which served up the upset of the 2024 season?

Jeppe High School for Boys beat Grey College 22-19 to send shock waves through the South African rugby community. Although Jeppe boasts a proud history as one of Johannesburg’s oldest institutions, Grey is recognised as one of the world’s premier rugby factories, having produced more Springboks than any other school since 1992.

There were other David versus Goliath battles in 2024 that ended in victory for the underdog.

Milnerton High secured historic wins against Bishops and Rondebosch in Cape Town’s southern suburbs, and Wynberg ended a 36-year drought when they won in Paarl.

Durban High School (DHS) rose to the top of the KwaZulu-Natal pyramid, and Waterkloof in Pretoria dominated the Noordvaal Cup before losing to defending champions Garsfontein in the final.

Grey recovered from the loss to Jeppe and went on to make a statement against other leading teams such as Affies and Paarl Gimnasium. But in the last game of the season — recognised by many aficionados as the unofficial schoolboy final — Paul Roos thrashed the boys from Bloem 36-3 in Stellenbosch. The result capped a perfect season for Paul Roos, as they finished with 15 consecutive wins.

Reflecting on the season that was, Paul Roos coach Corné Uys noted how much the South African rugby landscape had changed in recent years.

Ian Smith of Paul Roos during their Premier Interschools match against Grey College on 17 August 2024 in Stellenbosch, South Africa. (Photo: Ashley Vlotman / Gallo Images)

For better or worse, some of the bigger schools have become de facto academies that employ coaching and conditioning programmes that mirror those of professional rugby.

Thousands of fans flock to major fixtures: the annual Paarl derby draws 20,000 people for what is recognised as the biggest schoolboy rugby fixture on the planet. These days, a wider variety of schools rugby matches are available to watch on DStv and the SuperSport Schools app.

As was witnessed in 2024, the pool of highly competitive teams is bigger than ever.

“The gap between the so-called bigger and smaller schools is closing,” Uys said. “More schools are investing energy and resources in their rugby programmes and are reaping the rewards.

“Paul Roos had a good year in 2024, but when we look at the 2025 schedule, we know that we can’t take anything for granted. Anyone can beat anyone else on the day, and if you lose concentration you will catch a hiding.”

The season so far

Grey College began their 2025 campaign in February and have gone on to claim convincing wins against Welkom-Gimnasium, Oakdale and Monument. Meanwhile, Affies have beaten Diamantveld and Helpmekaar by substantial margins.

DHS have carried their 2024 form into the new year, as have Northwood, who fought back to beat Maritzburg College in a thrilling derby last weekend. Some of the Eastern Cape schools have already competed at various festivals, with hosts Graeme College edging Brandwag in an especially memorable fixture in Makhanda.

In the Western Cape, Rondebosch held Paarl Gimnasium to a draw at the WP Rugby Day in Stellenbosch, before beating Oakdale at the Wynberg festival.

The fixtures at the Noord-Suid festival, however, should reveal a bit more about where the respective teams stand in the regional and national pecking order.

It will be interesting to see how the coaches manage their squads over the two matches, given the short turnaround, but there are several head-to-heads that could shape the wider schoolboy rugby narrative in 2025.

Paarl Boys will battle Waterkloof on 28 March, with the former looking to improve on their underwhelming 2024 showing and the latter trying to show all and sundry why last year’s run of results was no fluke.

Jeppe could have their hands full with Rondebosch on 29 March, and Paul Roos may be in for a tough time against Garsfontein. Monument will face off against Paarl Gimnasium, and Paarl Boys face another stern test against Affies on 31 March. After what transpired at last year’s tournament, Grey will have a point to prove when they tackle Jeppe on 1 April.

Meanwhile, prominent Cape and KwaZulu-Natal sides will collide at the festival staged at Grey High School in Gqeberha over the weekend of 29 March. Michaelhouse have a tough draw against the hosts and Bishops, but it remains to be seen whether Bishops have improved after a disastrous campaign in 2024 that witnessed 12 losses, including back-to-back defeats in the highly anticipated Bish-Bosch double-header.

Harnessing South Africa’s talent

South Africa’s age-group structures are the envy of the wider rugby world. Young talent continues to be developed and harnessed at schools, academies, universities and provinces around the country.

Although there is a perception that one or two schools hold sway, the number of competitive teams has grown considerably, as has the pool of future professionals.

What’s more, SA Rugby has taken significant steps to improve the pipeline between the schools and the provincial and national age group teams over the past decade.

In a recent podcast, Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus referred to the Elite Player Development (EPD) programme that was implemented in 2014. Damian Willemse is one of the poster boys for the programme, having represented Paul Roos, Western Province and the Stormers, before winning back-to-back World Cups with South Africa.

More recently, we’ve seen 2024 matriculants such as Riley Norton (Paul Roos), Cheswill Jooste (Noordheuwel), Pieter van der Merwe (Grey College) and others representing the Junior Boks side.

Most of the players in that U20 squad have come through Erasmus’s EPD programme, and it shouldn’t be long before Ethan Adams makes the step up. The promising centre is in his final year at Grey and will join the Bulls at the end of the season. DM

Fixtures:

First teams only: all on Paul Roos A Field.

TV: DSTV channel 216

Friday

08:30 Parel Vallei v Mali Foundation XV

10:00  SACS v Welkom Gim

11:30   Outeniqua v Menlo Park

13:00  Boland Landbou v EG Jansen

14:30  Durbanville v Monument

16:00   HTS Drostdy v Affies

17:30  Paarl Boys v Waterkloof

19:00   Paarl Gim v KES

Saturday

08:00  Framesby v Duineveld

09:30  Diamantveld v Rustenburg

11:00   Worcester Gim v Marais Viljoen

12:30   Nico Malan v Helpmekaar

14:00   Stellenberg v Voortrekker

15:30   Oakdale v Nelspruit

17:00   Rondebosch v Jeppe BHS

18:30   Grey College v Noordheuwel

20:00  Paul Roos v Garsfontein

Monday

08:30  Melkbosstrand v Mali Foundation XV

10:00  Outeniqua v Welkom Gim

11:30   HTS Drostdy v Menlo Park

13:00  Durbanville v EG Jansen

14:30  Boland Landbou v Waterkloof

16:00  SACS v KES

17:30   Paarl Gim v Monument

19:00  Paarl Boys High v Affies

Tuesday

07:30  Brackenfell v Marais Viljoen

09:00  Nico Malan v Rustenburg

10:30   Duineveld v Voortrekker

12:00   Framesby v Diamantveld

13:30   Rondebosch v Nelspruit

15:00   Stellenberg v Garsfontein

16:30   Oakdale v Helpmekaar

18:00   Grey College v Jeppe BHS

19:30   Paul Roos v Noordheuwel