Top rugby schools from the Western and Eastern Cape will clash in Port Elizabeth from 27 June until 1 July.
The festival has been contested on the first weekend of the Cape school holidays since its inception in 1980.
'The Cape Schools Week was the first schools rugby festival to be held apart from Craven Week,' festival initiater Ray Connellan told SARugbymag.co.za. 'Over time the week evolved and at present there are 10 schools constituting the core schools – Queen's, SACS, Rondebosch, Bishops, Selborne, Grey and Dale, along with Muir, Paarl Gym and Boland Landbou.'
Paarl Gym will be the team to beat in 2015, coming into the festival third on the FNB rankings. They beat Oakdale Landbou 31-28 in their last outing to extend their winning streak to five.
Gimmies will take on Eastern Cape heavyweights Selborne College, who are ranked seventh, on day one of the Cape Schools Week. Selbourne beat Dale 52-26 earlier this season, but lost 51-21 to Grey College.
Hosts Grey High will be up against Rondebosch, Boland Landbou and SACS. Grey, who are ranked 15th, have suffered only two losses this season, to Paul Roos and Maritzburg, while beating Bishops, Queen's and Dale.
Grey's match against Boland Landbou could be the highlight of day two. Landbou have had a disappointing season by their own high standards and dropped out of the FNB Top 20 after losing 21-17 to Stellenberg last weekend. However, they were a try away from victory against No 1-ranked Paarl Boys' the week before, so Grey should not underestimate them.
Grey's sternest test, however, will most likely come from SACS. The giant-killing Cape Town side is ranked 14th having claimed the scalps of Affies and Boland Landbou earlier this season. SACS have since lost to Paarl Boys' and Paul Roos, but are coming off a 22-5 victory over rivals Wynberg.
Cape Schools Week fixtures:
Day 1 (Saturday, 27 June)
Dale vs Boland Landbou
Muir vs SACS
Queen’s vs Standard Bank XV
Selborne vs Paarl Gym
Grey High vs Rondebosch
Day 2 (Monday, 29 June)
Muir vs Standard Bank XV
Selborne vs Rondebosch
Dale vs Paarl Gym
Queen’s vs SACS
Grey High vs Boland Landbou
Day 3 (Wednesday, 1 July)
Selborne vs Boland Landbou
Dale vs Standard Bank XV
Muir vs Rondebosch
Queen’s vs Paarl Gym
Grey High vs SACS
– Email your school's 1st XV fixtures and results to [email protected]
Photo: Peter Heeger/Gallo Images
