Paarl Gymnasium, who were aiming for an unbeaten season, suffered an early setback when they were beaten 22-18 by Hoërskool Menlopark in Pretoria.

The hosts trailed 15-12 at half-time, with Gymnasium looking set to rack up another routine victory. But Menlopark fought back in the second half to secure a well-deserved win.

'Being behind on the scoreboard at half-time against the top ranked school, who are unbeaten for over a year now, is nothing. Coming back in the second half to beat that team is quite an achievement', said Menlopark head coach Dean van der Watt.

Van der Watt says both sets of backlines were equally impressive, but believes the game was decided in the forwards.

'Our forwards dominated the match after the break and I think that's where we won and Gymnasium lost the match,' he added.

He also had high praise for his side's defence: 'The character showed on defence by our boys were outstanding. Overall, it was a very good, clean game of rugby from both teams.'

In other matches, Tom Naude High travelled to Johannesburg to play Linden High, where they were beaten 55-7.

St Andrew's were surprisingly held to a 12-12 draw by minnows Midstream College. Given the school rankings, the odds were heavily stacked against Midstream but they more than held their own.

Further afield, in Meyerton, Benoni claimed the huge scalp of the home team Dr Malan High with a 20-7 win.

In Stellenbosch, Paul Roos Gymnasium entertained their supporters with a runaway 30-10 victory over Brandwag High from the Eastern Cape.

On the border of Sandton and Randburg, St Stithians welcomed St Alban’s College and narrowly won 21-15 in an exciting match, played in good spirit.

In the battle for the best, namesakes Crawford College from La Lucia played against Crawford College, North Coast. The La Lucians came out top, 36-7.

Weekend results:

Linden High 55 Tom Naude 7
Menlopark High 22 Paarl Gymnasium 18
HTS Witbank 65 Northcliff High 0
Crawford College (La Lucia) 36 Crawford College (North Coast) 7
St Andrews 12 Midstream College 12
Lydenburg High 7 Carletonville High 0
Oot-Moot High 19 Alberton High 0
Die Anker High 24 Brits High 16
Hans Strijdom High 18 Hugenote Secondary 8
St Stithians 21 St Alban’s College 15
Dr Malan High 7 Benoni High 20
Volkskool Heidelberg 45 Windhoek Afrikaans 10
Paul Roos Gymnasium 30 Brandwag High 10
St John’s College 15 St Benedicts College 0
Southdowns College 31 Heronbridge College 14
Marais Viljoen 38 Piet Potgieter 12