In an impressive season which has been disrupted by only one loss, Brandwag will start as strong favourites to maintain their domination of the FNB Classic Clash series against Daniel Pienaar in Uitenhage on Saturday.
This is the 14th Classic Clash between two of the town’s major rugby schools and Brandwag are well ahead in the results log, having won 10 of the 13 previous matches.
In addition, they have won the last six in a row and it is going to take a major effort by the visitors to alter that trend.
So far, Brandwag’s only loss this season was a 13-12 result against Diamantveld, but they also know that nothing can be taken for granted in one of SA schools rugby’s great rivalries.
Rarely have these matches been one-sided, with the only exceptions in the last six years having been 55-10 in 2017 and 31-8 in 2015.
Having last won in 2012 (28-23), Daniel Pienaar will definitely be up for the fight, but it will take a massive effort for the full 70 minutes to keep Brandwag in check.
Two teams smarting from close defeats last Saturday will be looking to bounce back in the next round of games.
Humansdorp side Nico Malan were edged by Muir 2017 and they will be itching to improve their record after an indifferent season so far.
They come up against a Despatch team who will be no pushovers, having lost just two of their six matches so far.Westering, meanwhile, will be looking for a much better start against DF Malherbe after being beaten 26-24 by Victoria Park on Saturday.It was encouraging for Westering to come back from a 23-5 halftime deficit, but they cannot afford to produce a similarly lacklustre start against DF.Framesby and Grey High will continue to be tested, with the former playing in the Wildeklawer Festival in Kimberley and Grey playing Dale in King William’s Town.After some quality performances this year, Framesby continued to impress with a 29-21 win over Menlo Park on Thursday, but they will be put to the test again when they face Helpmekaar on Saturday. Grey had a 27-27 draw against Wynberg in Cape Town a week ago and will be looking to regain the taste of victory in King.They have had two defeats and two draws in their last five matches and it will be interesting to see if they can turn that around against a Dale outfit who are always competitive.Two years ago, the Dalians scraped home 28-27.