This weekend’s fiercest rugby clash isn’t professional, it’s Paarl Gim vs Paarl Boys’ High – a derby drenched in history, identity and pride, writes MARK KEOHANE.

Writing for TimesLIVE, Keohane argues that no match in South African rugby this weekend matters more than the Paarl derby, where school colours, family legacy and bragging rights collide.

READ: ‘Paarl schoolboys dream about this game’

The showdown between Paarl Gimnasium and Paarl Boys’ High at a packed Faure Street Stadium is “identity, not just a fixture,” Keohane writes, and carries more weight in the region than rankings or televised internationals. “It’s blood.”

Gim are unbeaten in 16 matches and fuelled by the brilliance of Markus Muller, the Stormers-bound fullback who’s done “every try, try assist, tackle, conversion, penalty kick and turnover.” But Boshaai, with 15 wins, are battle-tested, and Keohane believes “a handful of future Test Springboks will play on Saturday.”

Gim crushed Boshaai 30-8 last year, but “so often it has come down to the last play of the game”, and Keohane warns against reading too much into form: “This match writes its own stories. It doesn’t care for favourites.

“A big shout out to a favourite of mine, No 10 Jack Cloete, who doubled as scrumhalf in Paarl Boys High’s win. His old man, my best mate, Craig (Cloete) was a schoolboy gem before his knees said there would be no rugby played after his 21^st birthday.”

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Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images

The post Gim vs Boshaai: The Real Big One appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.

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