The 2025 U18 Craven Week, South Africa’s premier schools rugby tournament, will take place at Hoërskool Middelburg in Mpumalanga from 7 to 12 July. The event features the country’s top schoolboy rugby players, with 16 provincial teams competing throughout the week[1][2][5].
On the opening day, eight teams will be in action. The schedule for Monday, 7 July is as follows:
- 09:30 – Western Province XV vs Griffons
- 11:00 – Free State vs South Western Districts
- 12:30 – Blue Bulls vs Golden Lions
- 14:00 – Opening Ceremony
- 14:30 – Pumas (hosts) vs Limpopo Blue Bulls
The action continues on Tuesday, 8 July, with matches including:
- 10:00 – Leopards vs Falcons (Valke)
- 11:30 – Border vs Griquas
- 13:00 – Sharks High Schools vs Eastern Province
- 14:30 – Western Province vs Boland
The tournament will progress with additional fixtures on Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday, culminating on 12 July. All matches will be broadcast live by SuperSport[3][5].
This year, standout players such as Josh Neill, Markus Muller, Briint Davids, and Jordan Jooste (all from Western Province), Ethan Adams and AJ Meyer (Free State), Zekhe Siyaya (KwaZulu-Natal), André Poulton (Lions), and Joshua McKenzie (Eastern Province) return after representing their provinces or SA Schools last year[3][5].
The tournament traditionally concludes with the announcement of the SA Schools and SA Schools ‘A’ teams. These squads will face off on 17 July at Hoërskool Middelburg, followed by the U18 International Series in August[5].