When the two sides last met in May of 2024, Boland Landbou won the contest 32-10 against Wynberg Boys’ High in Paarl.
However, the southern suburb side has shown consistent improvement in the last couple of seasons.
This time around, they’ll meet at Hawthornden Field for a 14:00 kickoff in a King Price Derby Series clash on Saturday.
Catch all the action live on SuperSport Schools (www.supersportschools.com) or on DStv Channel 216.
The Farmers’ head coach, Nico Breedt, shared his flattering thoughts on the strength of the hosts, stating: “As I am a new coach to this league, my opinion is limited, but what I can say is that they are widely respected and that winning at Wynberg is extremely difficult.”
‘Berg flyhalf, Achmat Behardien, returns from his stellar performances in the Western Province (WP) Craven Week and SA Schools outfits. He was instrumental in WP going undefeated, resulting in them being labelled as the unofficial winners for a seventh consecutive time.
Against the Farmers, he’ll be looking to test out any new plays and skills that he may have picked up among his fellow WP and Schools peers.
Prop Solam Gegana is another key player for the hosts. His fellow members of the tight five will be reliant on him during scrum time, although the Farmers’ biggest threat they need to contain is the Wynberg rolling maul.
They used it to full effect in southern suburb derby victories, defeating Rondebosch Boys’ High 27-17 thanks to three tries from hooker Ridah Johnson, who will be out injured for Saturday’s affair.
They’ve also overcome Diocesan College by 38-20 with a hat-trick for flanker and hooker Naeem Mohammed. Johnson came off the bench to score a fourth try from the rolling maul on that day. Mohammed is more or less just as clinical off the back of the rolling maul, so the visitors still have their work cut out for them.
Landbou fullback Gehano van Bo stands out as a speedster who is tough to catch; however, he is also known for his flair and playmaking abilities, and will most probably fill in at flyhalf as Caleb Seroot is unavailable this weekend. If both Van Bo and Behardien are on song, then the audience may have many enjoyable tries to witness from both teams.
Prop Tiaan Malan opened the scoring in their 48-24 loss against Stellenberg at the end of last season. Hopefully for him, he’s maintained his strength and fitness over the holiday period; otherwise, he’ll be found lacking in the scrums and maul defence against Stellies props like Uzair Blanckenberg, who was also part of that WP Craven Week team.
Coach Breedt also noted the specialness of such an encounter: “Every derby is special, and we feel privileged to be a part of the top-tier schoolboy rugby circuit. These matches are special occasions that should remain embedded in the boys’ memories for probably the rest of their lives.”
On this occasion, Wynberg will rock up as favourites; however, the Farmers are fresh and amped up for the first of their last three fixtures this season.
The teams:
Wynberg Boys’ High (likely): 15 Matthew Anthony, 14 Zachary de Kock, 13 Ithandile Nkohla, 12 Luke Gertze, 11 Chad Campbell, 10 Achmat Behardien, 9 Rauf Ahmed, 8 Esa van der Schyff, 7 Bertus Versfeld, 6 Alvin Mahinja, 5 Jack de Beer, 4 James Orwin, 3 Solam Gegana, 2 Naeem Mohammed, 1 Boitumelo Mabohlo.
Boland Landbou (likely): 15 Divan Meyer, 14 Kobus Jordaan, 13 Erchel Hanga, 12 Cobus Immelman, 11 Steyn Lamprecht, 10 Gehano van Bo, 9 Oloff Bergh, 8 Josua Kruger, 7 Francois de Villiers, 6 Juan Visagie, 5 RW van Deventer, 4 Chad Meintjies, 3 Tiaan Malan, 2 MJ Terblanche, 1 Adrian le Roux.
Kick-Off: 14:00
Referee: Luvuyo Maceba.
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