While Oakdale Landbou is favoured for Saturday’s 14:00 derby showdown against Boland Landbou at the Perdeberg A Field in Paarl, the hosts have won six of the last 10 times the two have met.
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After a 46-22 victory over Hoërskool Framesby last weekend, Oakdale will feel well prepared for the King Price Derby Series affair, and they’ll be eager to avenge last year’s 27-34 loss.
Oakdale’s Head of Rugby, Malan du Plessis, shared his excitement about the fixture, stating: “It’s special to have a contest between two agricultural schools being played on a farm. With a new Director of Rugby, Boland will have new ideas and bring new energy. As always, we are looking forward to this fixture.”
The Paarl Farmers haven’t enjoyed the best of seasons. They’ve lost four on the trot, with the most recent defeat coming at the hands of an electric Paul Roos Gimnasium outfit, who walked away as 45-14 victors last weekend.
Oakdale’s captain and eighthman, Jacobus de Villiers, will miss the match to captain the South Africa (SA) u18 team in the u18 International Series. Last year, the Bulle had three key forwards on international duty when they went down to Boland Landbou.
With their regular tight five in the mix for Saturday’s clash, the Riversdal visitors will challenge the home side in the lineouts and with their effective rolling mauls. Locks Ruan Groenewald and Nico Ferreira could make the lineout a very difficult aspect of the game for their agricultural rivals.
Outside centre Divan Meyer is a key player for Boland Landbou. In addition to being the team’s most reliable goal-kicker, he has been in rich try-scoring form recently. Unfortunately for the home side, fullback Gehano van Bo, who scored a crucial five points in last year’s win over Oakdale, is unavailable for Saturday’s match.
Their elusive scrumhalf Oloff Bergh will have a big role to play in guiding the backline of the boys in black.
Oakdale is expected to own the lion’s share of possession, but openside flank Juan Visagie will hope to make life as frustrating as possible for the Bulle at the breakdowns. He often serves as the captain. However, lock RW van Deventer has been awarded that honour for Saturday’s game.
It will be a first experience of the derby for Boland Landbou’s Director of Rugby, Nico Breedt, who said: “Oakdale is a very proud institution and always produces tough rugby players.
“The inter-schools derby history between Boland Landbou and Oakdale Landbou is a rivalry that serves as the highlight on both schools’ calendars. For all the boys, it’s safe to say that the occasion is an experience they will cherish for the rest of their lives.
“Our side is settled, and our youngsters have gained invaluable experience, even though we didn’t achieve all the results we wanted to. I know the boys are ready and excited to deliver a memorable performance.”
Teams:
Boland Landbou: 15 Charl du Plessis, 14 Kobus Jordaan, 13 Divan Meyer, 12 Cobus Immelman, 11 Steyn Lamprecht, 10 Caleb Seroot, 9 Oloff Bergh, 8 Edrich Rix, 7 Josh Kruger, 6 Juan Visagie, 5 RW van Deventer (captain), 4 Chad Meintjies, 3 Tiaan Malan, 2 MJ Terblanche, 1 Adrian le Roux.
Oakdale Landbou: 15 Mark-Hein Fourie, 14 Nathan-Lee Gordon, 13 Myburgh Eksteen, 12 André van der Merwe, 11 Luan Mortlock, 10 Marky Kortjie, 9 Mich van Eden, 8 Bernard Badenhorst, 7 Callie Wannenburg, 6 Moeshan Mortlock, 5 Rico Ferreira (captain), 4 Ruan Groenewald, 3 Francois le Roux, 2 Adrian Smith, 1 Kyle Burger.
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