While lock Reuben Winter was crowned the King of the Match for his dominance in the lineouts and open play, it was arguably the loose forwards who won Paul Roos Gimnasium (PRG) their King Price Derby Series clash against Grey College, with the Stellenbosch school triumphing 37-29 on home soil on Saturday.
Most aspects of the match were pretty even when the Bloemfontein locals went into the break with a 14-13 lead. In the second half, Ou Polla’s Boys overtook the visitors and went on to win by eight points, thus avenging a narrow 25-26 loss in Bloemfontein last year.
It was a third successive home win for Paul Roos over Grey College, who last won in Stellenbosch in 2019.
Eighthman Gerard Bekker scored a brace for PRG, while blindside flank Stef de Villiers also powered over for five. Bekker’s second try was a brilliant intercept from the halfway line, which seemingly killed the contest by taking the score from 25-17 to 32-17 in Paul Roos’s favour.
Both schools showed their cohesion in their rolling mauls. Hooker AJ Hendricks scored a maul try for the visitors, while prop Zak Steyn and Bekker finished from mauls for the hosts.
Tries for the Maroon Machine’s left-wing Cadynn Samuels and outside centre Jean Hamman ultimately made the difference. Both were examples of how quickly the hosts could get the ball out wide, a feat which Grey couldn’t replicate well enough.
The visitors fought hard to claw their way back into the game during the last 10 minutes, and they were rewarded with tries from scrumhalf Jonathan Drysdale and blindside flank Preston Bennett. Unfortunately, for Grey, it was too little too late.
With competition at the top heating up in recent years, the traditional powers have come under increasing pressure. For Grey, that meant five losses from their 16 matches in 2026.
Paul Roos completed their campaign with 14 wins from their 16 fixtures.
Scorers:
Paul Roos Gimnasium 37 (13) – Tries: Gerard Bekker (2), Cadynn Samuels, Jean Hamman, Zak Steyn, Stef de Villiers. Conversions: Daniel Whitehead (2). Penalty: Whitehead. Grey College 29 (14) – Tries: AJ Hendricks, JW Coetzee, Jonathan Drysdale, Preston Bennett. Conversions: Christoff Crous (3). Penalty: Crous.
Other results:
U19
II: Paul Roos 17 Grey 15
III: Paul Roos 26 Grey 17
IV: Paul Roos 29 Grey 5
V: Paul Roos 26 Grey 7
VI: Paul Roos 38 Grey 5
VII: Paul Roos 29 Grey 8
VII: Paul Roos 17 Grey 15
IX: Paul Roos 91 Grey 0
X: Paul Roos 31 Grey 17
U16
A: Paul Roos 49 Grey 52
B: Paul Roos 20 Grey 36
C: Paul Roos 19 Grey 20
D: Paul Roos 24 Grey 7
E: Paul Roos 12 Grey 15
U15
A: Paul Roos 35 Grey 26
B: Paul Roos 23 Grey 17
C: Paul Roos 52 Grey 0
D: Paul Roos 21 Grey 5
E: Paul Roos 17 Grey 24
U14
A: Paul Roos 28 Grey 5
B: Paul Roos 41 Grey 15
C: Paul Roos 33 Grey 0
D: Paul Roos 40 Grey 10
E: Paul Roos 28 Grey 19
F: Paul Roos 10 Grey 22.
