Cross-border rivals lining up for battle

WHILE Grey High and Framesby tackle Western Cape opponents, there will be several exciting cross-border battles when Eastern Province schools meet their neighbouring rivals tomorrow.

One of the most interesting contests will be in Queenstown, where St Andrew’s will pit their renowned running skills against the all-round game of Queen’s College in a rivalry which goes back to 1936.

In that time, a total of 77 matches have been played, with St Andrew’s winning 38 and Queen’s 34.

This suggests there is nothing in it, yet the Grahamstown lads have won the last three in a row and that is a streak they would like to continue.

The Queenians, however, are never easy on the Rec ground and this should be one that goes down to the wire.

In Grahamstown, after two big wins, home team Graeme are coming off a loss to St Andrew’s and East London outfit Port Rex may feel the backlash of that on the Marais field.

Another close contest should unfold at Pearson in Summerstrand when the Port Elizabeth school host Hudson Park.

Pearson suffered a disappointing loss against Despatch last weekend and they will not have it easy against a competitive Hudson lineup.

In Cape Town, Grey will need to come back to earth after their exhilarating win over Paul Roos Gymnasium when they tackle Wynberg in their annual derby.

The Port Elizabeth team have generally had the better of the contests against the Western Cape side, but anything less than full attention to the basics will be a recipe for disaster.

Framesby will have their hands full when they take on Boland Landbou outside Paarl.

The agricultural school are always a competitive unit and the visitors will have to be at the sharpest to return home with a victory.

In Uitenhage, the action will take place at Brandwag, who face their other major city rivals in Muir College.

Last week, Brandwag went on the rampage against Daniel Pienaar and it will take a massive effort by Muir to keep them at bay. This weekend’s fixtures are (home teams first, 11.30am start unless stated): Alexander Road v Linkside, Andrew Rabie v Despatch (11.15), Molly Blackburn v Arcadia, Otto du Plessis v Bertram, Brandwag v Muir (1.15pm), Cillie v Humansdorp, Punt v Daniel Pienaar (12.10pm), DF Malherbe v Victoria Park (12.10pm), Boland Landbou v Framesby, Gamble v Solomon Mahlangu, Kirkwood v Newton Tech, John Walton v St Colmcille, Gill v Winterberg, Marlow v Nico Malan, Ndzondelelo v Uitenhage High, Woodridge v York (12.15), Kingswood v Union High (1.45pm), Graeme v Port Rex, Wynberg v Grey High (3.30pm), Queen’s v St Andrew’s (2.30pm), Pearson v Hudson Park (2.30pm)