Case of David v Goliath when Selborne tackles Grey
SELBORNE College’s impressive run will face its biggest challenge this weekend when they head into battle against the seemingly unstoppable Grey College in their annual derby match in Bloemfontein.
Selborne banked a fifth win on the trot this past weekend, comfortably brushing aside College rivals Dale 47-6 to continue their dominant recent form, but that could come to a screeching halt on Saturday.
In Selborne’s last five games their defence has been the most impressive aspect of their game, not allowing in a single try.
They have only conceded 12 points in total during that time, starting with a 73-0 win over Grens, followed by a 54-0 win over Queen’s, 29-3 victory against KES and a 19-3 win against Jeppe before this past weekend’s result.
So they will head into the Grey match in the best possible form.
However, Grey could prove to be a bridge too far, with them arguably the form schools team in South Africa at the moment.
Grey has comfortably won all eight of their games this season and head into the match off a superb performance against Paarl Boys High, beating them 34-20 in Paarl.
It was the first time that a South African school team had beaten Paarl Boys since 2014, and pretty much confirmed that Grey College would be the team to beat in SA schools rugby this year.
Selborne will thus have their work cut out for them, and will have to be at the very top of their game if they are to cause what would be a massive upset.
Another big match coming up will see Dale take on Queen’s in their reunion encounter in King William’s Town.
Both teams have had difficult seasons so far and come into the game off losses. However, Queen’s would arguably be the happier of the two, having pushed Grey High School all the way in their match in PE, eventually going down 45-38, while Dale were thumped by Selborne.
But form does not usually play a part in the reunion matches as they are always close, and usually come down to a moment of brilliance on either side, and that should be the same this weekend.
Hudson Park High School will be hunting a win to bounce back after losing their last two games.
A three-match winning run was brought to an end when they lost against Parktown at the Grey High Festival, before following that up with a disappointing 41-20 loss against Kingswood in Grahamstown this past weekend.
They welcome Pearson to East London for their derby on Saturday and will be eager to claim a strong win over them to get back on the winning trail and build momentum ahead of a clash against Queen’s next weekend.
An exciting local derby should be on the cards when Stirling take on Cambridge.
Stirling enjoyed the past weekend off after taking part in the annual Grey Festival, where they lost two close games, and they will be keen to get back on the winning trail with a victory over their close rivals.
Cambridge claimed a solid 36-10 victory over Port Rex this past weekend and will thus head into the Stirling match with momentum and plenty of confidence.