Outeniqua vs Paarl Gimnasium

Paarl Gimnasium (Gim) travels to George on July 22 to face Outeniqua as the school rugby calendar gets underway after the school holidays.. The home team celebrates their 100^th birthday this year and they have one unbelievable team to represent them for their centenary year. This group was very strong as juniors and hardly lost a match coming through Under 14, Under 15 and Under 16 age groups. The two sides have a very even record over the last 10 matches with Paarl Gimnasium having won five, four victories going to Outeniqua and a draw.

Results over Last 10 Encounters:

Outeniqua 2023 Season so Far:

Outeniqua started their season well with four wins in a row until they encountered a very slick Grey College at home. In a very closely contested match, the boys from Bloemfontein just edged out the home team for a two-point win. At the Wildeklawer tournament they were not at their best and lost against a rampant Garsfontein to succumb to their second loss of the season. Their upcoming game against Paarl Gim could defy the success of their centenary year and get their season back on track with a good win.

Paarl Gimnasium 2023 Season so Far:

Paarl Gim played 13 matches so far and after a close call against Stellenberg at the start of the season, they struggled to contain the mighty Grey College at the North-South festival. They have won everything since then, racking up 10 wins on a trot and are in good form. They did have to dig deep against Paul Roos away, but came up trumps at Markotter. A demolition of SACS and Bishops was followed up by a well fought win against Oakdale in Riversdale. They would want to continue their good form going into the big Interschools against Paarl Boy’ High in early August.

Rugby at Outeniqua 

Outeniqua have a proud rugby tradition and are perennially found in the top 20 ranks of SA Schools, more often than not in the Top 10. To date they have produced six Springboks in Faan Conradie (1965) Johan Heunis (1981), Marco Wentzel (2002), Warrick Gelant (2017), Akker van der Merwe (2018) and their current and latest player, Manie Libbok who made his debut for the Springboks in November 2022. They also produced Scottish International and brother to Akker, Duhan van Der Merwe who also represented the British and Irish Lions on their tour to South Africa in 2021.

The school also hosts an annual Under 14 festival over the Easter Holidays which is highly regarded and the top tournament for the age group in the country. Schools like Paul Roos, Paarl Gim, Paarl Boys’ High, Waterkloof, Monnas, Affies, Grey College and Glenwood all send their youngsters to George during Easter to compete against the best.

Rugby at Gimnasium

Paarl Gim is without a doubt one of the Big Five rugby schools in South Africa. They have to date produced 25 Springboks of which 23 have been capped in Tests for South Africa.

Rugby started at the school in 1902 and in the early years no strict age-groups were defined and the schools operated as a rugby club, the staff frequently turned out in the colours of the school. The headmaster back then, FC Wahl also captained the school’s 1st XV.

In 2012, while still at school, their captain and pivot Handre Pollard represented South Africa at the Under 20 World Cup tournament with aplomb. Called up for the injured Johan Goosen, Pollard played a vital role in SA winning the final against New Zealand. He again represented the Junior Boks in 2013 and captained the side in 2014 thus becoming Paarl Gym’s 20th Springbok. Paarl Gym’s latest contribution to the Springbok family is Grant Williams, who was capped in 2022.

Paarl Gim Springboks

Their biggest rival is Paarl Boys’ High situated in the Southern Paarl. Their annual Interschools have the unofficial title of “Biggest Interschools” in South Africa.

The rugby derby will be broadcast live on Saturday, 22 July from 13h05 on Variety 4.

The Premier Interschool Magazine Show will broadcast from 19 July at 19.00 on SuperSport Schools (channel 216)