SUMMARY: Jeppe High School for Boys and Durban High School (DHS) claimed victory on Saturday to consolidate their respective positions in the unofficial rankings, while top favourites Paul Roos Gymnasium continued their winning streak.

The debate over South Africa’s best school team – and indeed the debate over the top 20 teams – continues to rage.

Schools rugby experts continue to compile their own rankings, and many of these lists are accompanied by an asterisk or two.

Different schools have different competitions and travel schedules, and win-loss records are not the only measure of excellence, especially for teams that do not play the top favorites as often as other teams such as Paul Roos, Grey College, the heavyweights of Paarl, Affies and others.

If these ‘lower ranked’ schools manage to beat the big schools, it will lead to a new debate about their position on the national lists.

For example, Milnerton shot up the table earlier this year after beating Rondebosch and Bishops, while Wynberg climbed to the top flight for a while after beating Paarl Boys in Paarl.

Jeppe scored the biggest upset of the year when they beat Grey College 22-19 at a festival in March. They have since been promoted to the ‘Top 10’ and held to a higher standard.

Their record for 2024 is 15 played, 11 won, four lost. They were beaten 31-37 by Garsfontein in their season opener and suffered a 19-45 defeat by Boishaai in March – just a week before their big win against Grey College.

In April they suffered two consecutive defeats: a 26-39 defeat to Affies in Pretoria and a 28-38 defeat to local rivals KES at home.

The latter result was particularly significant in their bid to become the best team in Johannesburg. They have since won their next six games – a run that has included a 40-8 victory over Northwood, another much-improved team, and a 47-31 win over Monument.

Last weekend Jeppe defeated KES 23-13 in the second game of the annual derby series. The result will not settle local discussions, but it gives Jeppe the chance to end a good season on a high.

If they beat DHS this week and then Parktown, they will finish the year in the top 10.

DHS will have similar ambitions. They have been the form team in KwaZulu-Natal this season, with the 7-7 draw at Northwood the only ‘black’ spot on their local record. More recently they beat Northwood 18-11 at home.

DHS came within a score of Rondebosch earlier this year and lost by three points to Boishaai in May. They should be desperate to end their season with a decent scalp, and the final game against Jeppe will give them that chance.

Waterkloof deserve credit for their consistency, having won 14 of their 17 games so far.

Many are talking about the plucky Pretoria side as a Top 10 contender, and it would be interesting to see how they would fare against teams like DHS and Jeppe, or even Oakdale if they had the chance.

Few have managed to beat the ‘top four’ – Paul Roos, Grey, Paarl Gym and Affies – and so it would be unfair to dismiss Waterkloof as a Top 10 team based solely on their losses to Paul Roos and Affies (they went down 28-43 at home to their Pretoria rivals last Saturday).

There is a gap between the top two teams and the teams ranked (by many) third and fourth
position.

As for the latter, Gimmies lost to Paul Roos and Grey College, while Affies lost to Paul Roos, Grey College and Gimmies. Those ‘top four’ results aside, both sides are undefeated.

Affies would need to beat Pretoria Boys in their final match to claim the local crown. After losing two big games, Gimmies will have their sights set on winning the local derby in Paarl on August 3 – and should go into that clash as favourites, given Boishaai’s lack of consistency this season.

Paul Roos recently delivered the coup de grace to Bishops, although that 42-7 result needs to be seen in context. They are the form team this year, while Bishops are struggling to end a terrible losing streak.

Paul Roos is expected to win at home against Stellenberg and Boland Lanbou.

The final game against Grey College will determine whether or not they finish the season undefeated and whether they finish the year at the top of the table.