Powerhouses under pressure as North-South tournament sets stage for explosive schoolboy clashes

The 2026 South African schoolboy rugby season ramps up this weekend with the annual North-South tournament staged at the ­Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool (Affies) in Pretoria between 27 and 31 March. The first major interprovincial festival of the year will showcase a series of heavyweight clashes and, if recent results and performance are anything to go by, possibly a few upsets.

The build-up to this tournament has been dramatic. Paul Roos Gimnasium thumped Affies 45-28 in Stellenbosch last week, with the promising flyhalf Travis Pheiffer contributing 25 points.

Grey College have set out to make a statement in 2026, putting 109 points on Welkom-Gimnasium in Bloemfontein before beating the Hoër Landbouskool Oakdale 38-7 in Riversdale.

Just last week, Grey College were made to fight for a 31-15 victory against Monument, and in the aftermath, it was the Monnas flyhalf, Jaydon Viljoen, who grabbed the headlines after he slotted an audacious drop-goal from 10m inside his own half.

Meanwhile, a number of so-called smaller and less established rugby schools have made a big impression over the past few weeks.

Diamantveld have edged Monument; Jeppe have beaten three-time Noordvaal Cup winners Garsfontein; Durbanville have overcome Boland Landbou; Drostdy have stunned Wynberg; and in an early frontrunner for the upset of the season, Stellenberg have toppled national giants Paarl Gimnasium.

Pool of top schools has grown

As many experts and followers of schoolboy rugby have noted, the pool of competitive First XVs has grown in recent years.

Paarl Boys, Paarl Gimnasium, Grey College, Paul Roos, Affies and Oakdale have been the top dogs in the country for some time, with “Boishaai” emerging as the leading team in 2025.

That said, the likes of Durban High School, Noordheuwel and Wynberg have started to nip at their heels over the past few seasons, and Garsfontein, Westville, Helpmekaar, Diamantveld and Boland Landbou have joined the chasing pack. Regional leaders, such as Graeme and Queen’s College in the Eastern Cape, also bear watching.

“It’s not only about the top five or six teams in the country,” said former Springbok wing Pieter Rossouw, who has coached at Paarl Gimnasium since 2016.

“The media and public may look at other schools like Garsfontein, Noordheuwel, Helpmekaar or Stellenberg and say they aren’t in the same league, but results are never guaranteed at this level. Five years ago, maybe they weren’t as well known in this context, but they’ve improved their rugby programmes recently and have become very competitive.”

Jean de Villiers, who represented Paarl Gimnasium before going on to captain the Stormers and the Springboks, agrees that the number of competitive teams has grown and the standard of rugby is higher than ever.

“South African schoolboy rugby is the best in the world,” De Villiers said. “It’s always been competitive, but it’s become a lot more professional over the past few years, with more schools investing in their ­programmes and paying attention to strength, conditioning and nutrition…

“A lot of players are coming out of these well-coached school environments and walking straight into Currie Cup or United Rugby Championship squads,” De Villiers said. “For me, that just shows how well things are working at school level. Overall, while very few players make it at the highest level, one shouldn’t underestimate what that kind of environment does for you as an individual in terms of giving you other skills you can use in all walks of life.”

Maintaining a balance

Paul Roos coach Corné Uys has been with the Stellenbosch-based side for four years – working with the likes of Riley Norton, who led the Maroon Machine to an unbeaten season in 2024 before captaining the SA U20 team to the World Rugby Junior World Championship title in 2025.

Although the investment in schoolboy rugby has been good for the amateur game, Uys believes a balance must be maintained to protect younger players.

“It’s an ongoing debate,” he said. “This is an educational institution and we are trying to prepare the boys for the next phase of their lives. “We’re trying to protect them from the pressures, but we’re also looking to help them take their chance, should it arrive. Beyond the conditioning and the training, the nutrition or the rest management, we are mindful of protecting them, because although they are in a high-performance environment, they are still only boys.

“But we want them to be ready to take their chance. Some of our players will go into the WP system or even to the Varsity Cup. That is a fantastic opportunity, if you [keep in mind] the Varsity Cup gives the boys the chance to earn a degree while launching a potential career in rugby.”

Ronnie Cooke, the former Cheetahs and Southern Kings centre who works alongside a number of juniors in his capacity as a player agent, often comments on the situation with his insightful posts on social media.

“Each year, roughly 40 to 50 school players across the country sign professional contracts,” Cooke wrote in a LinkedIn article on 10 March. “Behind them, however, sits a massive talent pool. Thousands of players compete in school rugby systems every year.

“The harsh reality is that only a tiny percentage of players ultimately reach professional rugby. Studies and participation estimates suggest that well under 1% of rugby players ever become professionals, ­making it one of the most competitive career paths in sport.”

What this figure shows is that the overwhelming majority will be forced to follow alternative career paths – although, as Rossouw, De Villiers and Uys suggest, the values, skills and discipline they’ve acquired over the course of their rugby journey can be transferred and applied to other jobs and industries.

In terms of the big picture, the rise in schoolboy rugby standards throughout the country should result in a superior set of players – even if it’s as little as 1% – emerging from the school system to bolster the SA U18s, the Junior Boks, the franchises and eventually the Springboks.

Provided that these schools put systems in place to encourage a balance between sport and academics, the situation is a healthy one for the South African rugby ecosystem.

Big matches to watch

Player welfare is a hot topic in professional rugby, and the respective school coaches will have to manage their resources carefully over the next few weeks. Some of the teams will play two matches apiece at the North-South tournament, the Easter festivals and the Wildeklawer competition.

Paul Roos will face Monument in Pretoria on Friday, 27 March, in one of the biggest clashes of the North-South event, and Saturday’s must-watch matches include Noordheuwel against Paarl Gimnasium, and Affies against Oakdale. Garsfontein face Paarl Boys on Monday, and Grey College will need to be at their best if they’re going to deny Stellenberg another big scalp on Tuesday.

After the national showcase in Pretoria, the Easter festivals will be staged at KES, Kearsney, St John’s and St Stithians between 2 and 6 April. DM

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.