Unbeaten Grey take on out-of-form Queen’s

ON their reunion weekend, Grey High should not be fooled by a poor run of form by their Queen’s rivals when the first team rugby sides bring the curtain down on the weekend’s sporting celebrations in Port Elizabeth tomorrow.

Set to start at 3.30pm, the match will pit Bevan Prinsloo’s unbeaten Grey outfit against a Queen’s team whose narrow 25-24 win over Dale last month stands out like a beacon in a sea of dismal results.

Before the Dale win, the Queenians lost four matches and have lost a further four since then.

However, the visitors are never a team to be written off and have had an uncanny knack of spoiling Grey’s reunion weekend.

That is why Prinsloo’s team will be looking to deliver a far slicker performance than the showing against Graeme last week, when they scraped home 22-15.

If they allow their opponents any leeway, Queen’s will capitalise with alacrity as they, in reality, have little to lose.

The Grey Queen’s fixture rounds off a programme of intriguing encounters on Saturday, not least of which will be the St Andrew’s/Selborne clash in East London.

The home side will have to come back to earth from the high of defeating Grey College last weekend as they face a side running nicely into form.

Since losing to Bishops, St Andrew’s have put together seven wins on the trot, including a 45-22 dismantling of Queen’s, whom Selborne could only beat 14-12.

However, that will count for nothing tomorrow and the visitors can expect a searching test as Selborne strive to maintain the momentum from a rare win over the Bloem boys.

Another big showdown takes place at Framesby when the home side entertain Karoo side, Marlow Agricultural.

The PE side are fresh from an admirable win away from home when they defeated Boland Agricultural 19-16, which should install them as favourites against the Cradock side.

But Marlow often punch above their weight and recent wins include a 72-29 destruction of Nico Malan.

Westering will be looking to build on a narrow win over DF Malherbe when they visit Alexander Road, while Victoria Park and Woodridge, after close victories last Saturday, should have a cracking contest at Woodridge.

Graeme will have their work cut out on the trip to East London where they face Hudson Park, while Kingswood will have taken note of Stirling’s triumph last weekend over Queen’s when they clash in Grahamstown.

Muir will also have their hands full when they host the dangerous Dale side in Uitenhage.

This weekend’s fixtures are (home teams first, 11.30am start unless stated): Alexander Road v Westering, Andrew Rabie v Kirkwood, Arcadia v John Walton, Cillie v Despatch, Pearson v Daniel Pienaar (1.20pm), Gill v DF Malherbe (1.10pm), Framesby v Marlow (3pm), Grey High v Queen’s (3.30pm), Linkside v Newton Tech, Humansdorp v Ndzondelelo, McCarthy Street v Uitenhage, Nico Malan v Otto du Plessis (1.10pm), Woodridge v Victoria Park, Kingswood v Stirling (2.15pm), Hudson Park v Graeme (2.30pm), Selborne v St Andrew’s (2.15pm), Muir v Dale (12.15pm)