Who will be crowned the unofficial champion of the 2025 FNB U18 Craven Week? Can Western Province make it six in a row? And which players will put up their hands for SA Schools selection?

Day one of this year’s tournament – hosted at Middelburg Hoërskool in Mpumalanga, affectionately known as Middies – offered an early glimpse at what those answers might be, as eight teams took to the field in the opening round of the action.

In the words of former Springbok and now SuperSport commentator Teboho ‘Oupa’ Mohojé: “We’re in for an incredible tournament.”

Here’s a recap of the day’s action, and a preview of what is to come on day two of this prestigious schoolboy rugby tournament.

WP XV vs Griffons

The first try of this year’s showpiece was scored by WP XV’s Kunene Gadu of Wynberg Boys’ High. Kunene set the tone of the match as the WP XV side surpassed the 50-point mark, beating the Griffons 52-6, and running in eight tries. The boot of WP inside centre Iwan Jordaan of Paarl Boys’ High was instrumental in keeping the scoreboard ticking, converting six of the tries.

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FNB u/18 Craven Week kicks off with a WP XV victory against the Griffons.

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Free State vs SWD

The Free State‘s flyhalf, Darius Erwee, scored the first try of the second match of the day, to put them in the lead after an early penalty scored by SWD. The Grey College No 10’s try, which he failed to convert, was cancelled out minutes later when SWD centre Anrich Scheffer of Hoër Landbouskool Oakdale scored his team’s first try of the tournament. His try was also not converted, and SWD had a slender lead of 8-3.

A yellow card in the 10th minute to try-scoring machine Ethan Adams, Free State’s centre from Grey College, proved not to be too costly. SWD managed just three points, through the boot of scrumhalf Jandrian Goosen, also from Oakdale, while Ethan was off the field. Free State led 17-11 at half-time.

Arguably the match of the day, the back-and-forth battle continued in the second half, and although Free State looked in control at one stage, leading 27-16, poor discipline saw them lose another two players due to yellow cards. SWD replacement Tyrese Plaatjies, another Oakdale schoolboy, capitalised and put his side back in the battle. Moments later, Kai Pratt from Oakdale scored another try and the conversion by Jandrian gave the SWD side a one-point lead with less than four minutes to go. SWD scored another try, through Hoërskool Outeniqua’s Jade Petersen, also converted by Jandrian. The Free State clawed back in the dying minutes as replacement O’Ryan Kleyn of Grey scored a try and converted it himself to bring the score to 35-34 in favour of SWD.

Bulls vs Lions

A Jukskei derby between the Bulls and Lions was the penultimate match of the day. The Bulls burst out of the blocks and crossed the tryline twice in quick succession. The first was a five-pointer in typical Bulls fashion: Hooker Okuhle Hini from Hoërskool Overkruin scored from a rolling maul, followed by a try by winger Drewyn Baron from Hoërskool Garsfontein. Neither try was converted, resulting in a 10-0 lead for the boys from Pretoria. The Lions roared back after a brief injury pause, with scrumhalf Shaye Lourens from Helpmekaar Kollege – whose twin brother Ethan plays inside centre – crossing the tryline. The try was converted by flyhalf Jeandre Uithaler from Hoërskool Noordheuwel.

Bulls flyhalf and captain Ruben Groenewald (Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool) opened his account with a penalty, stretching his team’s lead to 13-7. But it did not last long – Shaye scored his second try, and with Jeandre slotting the conversion, the Lions edged ahead 14-13. The lead changed hands once more as the Bulls scored a try, through prop Jeffrey Singo (Pretoria Boys’ High), on the stroke of half-time. The converted try meant the Bulls were ahead 20-14 at half-time.

As with the first try of the match, the first try of the second half was scored off a lineout move that saw Lions prop Andre Poulton (Jeppe High School for Boys) put his side within one point of the Bulls (20-19). The conversion was missed, but the Lions gained the lead a few minutes later when the bounce of the ball favoured centre Lindelani Nkambule, also from Jeppe. His try was converted by Jeandre, taking them to 26 points over 20. The Bulls’ flyhalf cut the Lions’ lead by three points when he slotted a penalty with 19 minutes remaining.

The other Lourens twin, Ethan, wrote his name onto the scoresheet as he extended the Lions’ lead with a try of his own. It was again converted by Jeandre, bringing the score to 33-23 for the boys from Johannesburg.

A yellow card to Lions flank Sam Bruwer (King Edward VII School), due to him intentionally infringing the offside law, proved costly as the Bulls made their player advantage count. They scored a try through scrumhalf Zirk Meyer (Affies), converted by Ruben to 30-33. With 10 minutes to play, the Bulls took the lead again when Thabiso Simelane (St Alban’s College) scored after chasing his own kick. With the score at 35-33 and less than two minutes to go, the Bulls got penalised and the Lions opted to go for the poles. Jeandre slotted in the penalty, giving them a 36-35 lead. It was nail-biting to the end as Bulls captain Ruben had a chance to win the match from far out, near the touchline. The kick was, however, missed, and after a frantic finish, the Lions grabbed the bragging rights.

Pumas vs Limpopo

The last match of day one, between hosts Pumas and Limpopo, saw the latter open the scoring with a try from a rolling maul. No 8 Funi Simba from Hoërskool Ellisras scored the five-pointer, which was converted by fullback Ryno Mienie of Hoërskool Pietersburg. The Pumas hit back with a try by wing Siyanda Dennison (Ligbron Akademie vir Tegnologie), but Matthew Abbey (Middies) failed to convert. Another lethal Limpopo lineout saw Funi go over for another try off a rolling maul. The fullback again converted and took Limpopo’s lead to nine points.

The visitors had another chance to deploy a rolling maul in the 20th minute but failed to secure possession from their own throw. From there, the Pumas gained momentum and scored a try-of-the-tournament contender through fullback Katlego Baloyi, which was converted by Matthew. The half-time score saw the hosts trail by just two points (14-12).

The Pumas started the second 35 minutes on the front foot as a penalty by Matthew saw them take the lead for the first time. They extended their lead to six points when centre Jacques Greyling (also from Middies) crossed the tryline. The deficit was reduced to three points through the boot of Ryno. With the score at 20-17, the Pumas began to control the momentum, with flanker Franko Rossouw (Hoërskool Secunda) scoring the first of his two tries. Matthew added the extras and gave the hosts a 10-point lead, and added another penalty shortly after, bringing the score to 30-17. Franko then scored another try, again converted by Matthew, which made it look like Limpopo were down and out at 37-17.

Limpopo replacement Tshenello Nkwana from HTS Tom Naudé had other plans as he scored a five-pointer. With the score 37-22, Limpopo looked to find their rhythm again, but this was short lived as Pumas replacement hooker D’Angelo Roberts from Hoërskool Nelspruit gave the visitors their own medicine, scoring from a rolling maul. Matthew converted, and it was the proverbial nail in the coffin as the Pumas sealed a 44-22 victory on home turf.

Fixtures:

Past ‘winners’

All of the teams aspire to win the ‘main game’ on the final day, even though there are no official winners. These are the ‘unofficial’ winners of the past few years:

* There were two Craven Weeks in 1975 and 1976, as the school holidays of the old Transvaal and the rest of SA were not aligned.

Also read: Youth Weeks: What you need to know as provincial rugby fever grips SA