Can Gym finish unbeaten?

PAARL GYM enter the final round of the Western Province Under 19A league with an unbeaten record.

They meet Worcester- based Drostdy today and will be favourites on home turf to clinch their 20th win of the season.

Gym coach Christoff Lötter isn’t taking the threat posed by Drostdy lightly. Then again, he never does.

“Respecting each and every side we face is a non-negotiable. That’s not how we conduct business. Over-confidence is a recipe for disaster. Therefore we go into this final match expecting nothing less than a tough fight,” Lötter said.

In the meantime, spare a thought for Bishops, who have endured a winless run in the 10-team A league.

Having held Paul Roos to a draw and coming close to upstaging Paarl Boys’ High, the prospects of a fine season lay ahead.

It wasn’t to be, however, as they went on to lose seven in a row. For coach Dave Mallett, trying times indeed.

Where has it all gone wrong for Bishops? Mallett’s encouragement to his boys to express themselves and play with abandon is great, as long as the team has the required talents to employ the 15-man brand of rugby for which the school has become renowned.

The trouble is that the opposition know this and plan accordingly. The Bishops boys can’t be faulted, but the gameplan can. Maybe the derby against arch-rivals Rondebosch may see Mallett change the script as he searches for just his second win in two years at the top level. He’s got nothing to lose. Rondebosch, though, will be out to spoil the party. In a season that has produced more highs than lows for them, the matric-laden Rondebosch side would love nothing more than to wipe the deck with Bishops.

Another derby of interest sees Wynberg at home to SACS.