Paarl Gimnasium vs Paarl Boys’ High Historic Overview

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Saturday 5^th August 2017 will dawn on another Premier Interschools match. Arguably the biggest of the lot Paarl Gimnasium versus Paarl Boys’ High. The Galpille against the Bloedworse, South vs North. This is the time of year when the town of Paarl is divided into the two camps for a whole week. A Rivalry that exists for more than 100 years culminates in the main rugby match between the two schools at the Faure Street Stadium at 4:00 PM on Saturday. The first match was played in 1915 when masters, schoolboys and old boys all played together. This was the format up to 1927 after which it was decided that the Interschools matches should only comprise of schoolboys. The current format as we know today started officially in 1929.

The Interschools was only interrupted for one year in 1928 when for some reason lost in the mist of time, the derby did not take place.

The intensity of this derby is reflected in the average winning margin in 99 games of only 5 points. There are no easily won Interschools games. Each point gained is precious and defense is usually rock solid. There have been three matches that ended in a 0-0 draw, the last one in 1986. This shows the commitment and pressure that can build in these games. Overall Paarl Gimnasium has won 49, Paarl Boys’ High 39 with 11 draws since 1915.

During the week, there will be functions and reunion get together’s with old friends and foes reminiscing about the days went by. The first battle on the rugby field is fired on the Wednesday evening as the two Old Boy teams lock horns in what can only be described as a friendly, but the fierce game. Thursday afternoon sees the “Goffels” and “Hommels” (G and H teams) play their own unique brand of rugby before Friday morning when it kicks into the business end of the weekend. This is the time when the two schools have their Big Brags in the school hall. Here the Rugby and Hockey warriors that will represent their respective teams on Saturday are introduced and the first teams get capped for Interschools.

Friday afternoon it is off to the rugby fields of the host schools to watch all the rugby games, the two big matches on Friday afternoon is the u14A match and the “main” match of the day is the rugby games between the school’s third teams, known among the locals as the “Chiefs” vs “Chippies”. There are only four rugby matches played on the Saturday at Faure Street Stadium. The games usually start around 12h00 with the u15A match, followed by the u16A, the Seccies and then the main match commencing at 16h00.

Results through the Years

Paarl Gimnasium 2017 Season:

The Gimmies preferred to start their season under the radar playing in some local tournaments. They kicked off their season with a good win against a strong Stellenberg outfit before they tackled Affies in the Premier Interschools season opener. They scored in the dying seconds to clinch the match with captain Muller du Plessis leading from the front and lock Adriaan Ludick scoring the winning try.

They cruised through their next two matches at the North/South tournament winning comfortably against Garsfontein and EG Jansen. Then again in their Premier Interschools derby match against Paul Roos, they scored with time up on the clock to snatch the victory away from their opponents.

At the Wildeklawer tournament, they ran out of steam against a very good Grey College and could just not keep up with the pacy game played by the boys from Bloemfontein. They had a bit of a hiccup in their midseason when coach Pieter Rossouw had to leave for four weeks and young Helmut Lehman had to take up the reigns on his own.

They suffered two unexpected losses against SACS and Boland Landbou during this period, but with the coaching team once again at full strength, one can expect them to be at their best for the upcoming Interschools match.

Five players represented WP at Craven Week this year in Muller du Plessis, Dawid Kellerman, Henco Martins, Chris Rossouw and Hugo Pienaar. Du Plessis and Martins were both also selected for the SA Schools team.

Results to Date:

Paarl Boys 2017 Season:

Paarl Boys’ High went on a pre-season tour to New Zealand with three u19 and one u16 team. They did very well and only losing one match in the dying seconds due to some dubious local rules. The tour helped set up a season in which they had to sometimes dig deep to rescue a game that looked lost. They showed the same grit, determination and fighting spirit that was evident in the last two unbeaten seasons, 2015 and 2016. This team may not have all the individual stars that previous teams had, but they play as a unit and for each other. This again can be contributed to their coaching team of Sean Erasmus and Elmo Wolfaardt. Add the inspirational leadership skills of Francke Horn and it is evident why this team is still unbeaten to date in South Africa.

They lost their playmaker No 10 Henry “Boeta” Chamberlain early in the season due to a knee injury, but newcomer Abner van Heerden stepped up to the plate and took the pivotal role onto himself and directed the back line very well.

A Further loss of key players like flanker Evan Roos, hooker Wilhelm Barnard and Captain Fantastic himself Francke Horn will mean that Paarl Boys’ High goes into the Interschools a little under strength, but still more than capable of winning this great derby.

Four players represented WP at the Coca-Cola Craven Week in Johannesburg over the school holidays in Adriaan Alberts, Joshua du Preez, Vian Fourie and Thakier Abrahams.  Alberts and Fourie were also selected for the SA Schools team.

Results to Date:

Rugby at Paarl Gimnasium

Paarl Gimnasium, is without doubt, one of the Big Five rugby schools in South Africa. They have produced 23 Springboks of which 21 have been capped in tests for South Africa.

Rugby started at the school in 1902 and 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.

Paarl Gim Springboks

Rugby at Paarl Boys’ High School

Rugby is an integral part of the Paarl Boys’ way of life. It is important to win, but that should not be the primary objective. A sportsman may never be abused to ensure the success of a team. The primary objective at Paarl Boys’ High must be one of enjoyment, for both player and coach. Whereas they agree with the legendary Vince Lombardi when he said: ‘’Winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing’’ they hold winning to be more than just points on the board. Winning relates to the values, commitment and the pursuit of the best of one’s abilities.

PBHS has produced 20 players that have represented South Africa since 1906 of which 18 have been capped for tests. They have provided some of the legends and most famous Springbok rugby players ever to have played in the Green and Gold. Players like Oom “Boy” and Fanie Louw, Piet “Spiere” du Toit, Mannetjies Roux, Ryk van Schoor, Carel Du Plessis and Corné Krige.

Paarl Boys’ High Springboks.

Legendary “Oom” Boy Louw and Carel du Plessis also coached the Springboks. Corné Krige is still the only SA Schools captain who went on to captain the Springboks.

The game will be broadcast live on Saturday 05 August on SuperSport Ten from 15:50 (kick-off at 15:55)

Match Schedule including repeats

You can also catch the build-up Premier Interschools Magazine Show from Wednesday 02 August at 19:45 on SuperSport One featuring Jean de Villers, Dewald Duvenhage, JD Schickerling, Ernst van Rhyn, Fran Malherbe, Thomas du Toit and SP Marais.

Preview Magazine Show schedule

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