u/18 Craven Week

The 2018 edition of the U18 Coca-Cola Craven Week and Coca-Cola Academy Week will be hosted at Paarl Boys High from 8 to 14 July, in celebration of the school’s 150^th anniversary, with both tournaments getting fresh makeover.

“It is fitting that the U18 Coca-Cola Craven Week and Coca-Cola Academy Week will be hosted at Paarl Boys’ High as they celebrate their 150-year anniversary,” said SA Rugby CEO Jurie Roux.

“Boys’ High has a rich rugby history and is renowned as one of the top rugby schools in the country, with a number of Springboks being borne from its ranks, including Corné Krige, Gurthrö Steenkamp, Carel du Plessis and Mannetjies Roux.”

07 September 2017 - Paarl Boys’ High To Host 2018 Coca-Cola Craven Week - The 2018 edition of the U18 Coca-Cola Craven Week and Coca-Cola Academy Week will be hosted at Paarl Boys High from 8 to 14 July, in celebration of the school’s 150^th anniversary, with both tournaments getting a  fresh makeover.

04 August 2017 - SA Schools Team Kick Off Preparations On Sunday - The SA Schools team’s preparations for the U19 International Series is set to get underway on Sunday with the 28-member squad assembling at the Stellenbosch Academy of Sport where they will be put through their paces before the opening game on 11 August.

27 July 2017 - SA Schools Team Announced For u/19 Series - The SA Schools team, sponsored by Coca-Cola, will face Wales on Friday, 11 August at City Park Stadium in Crawford; France on Tuesday, 15 August, at Paarl Gymnasium; and England on Saturday, 19 August, at a venue yet to be confirmed.

24 July 2017 - 2017 u/18 Craven Week Wrap - The staff of the Lions Rugby Union and St Stithians College have to be congratulated on an excellent organised tournament. Nothing that happened was not organised to perfection and every curve ball thrown at them was handled professionally and effectively. SARU and Coca Cola staff were helpful and friendly as always and Ruggas will be back if allowed.

22 July 2017 - COCA-COLA® Hero Of The Day (Day 5) - which shows that the future of SA rugby is in good hands. It was a tough game and Tino’s sudden break out of the 22 set up a beautiful try to put his team in the lead, and I can’t wait to see the 17-year-old play again next year,” said Victor Matfield.

22 July 2017 - u/18 Craven Week - Day 5 Match Reports - All the results updated throughout the day

21 July 2017 - Preview u/18 Craven Week - Golden Lions vs KZN Sharks - When it comes to KZN physicality the name of JJ van der Mescht comes to mind immediately, but he will be well advised to watch his discipline, as will Dylan Kruger. Christen van Niekerk, Dameon Venter or Keegan Glade will not stand back for them at all, 

20 July 2017 - COCA-COLA® Hero Of The Day (Day 4) -  “JJ is part of a fantastic Sharks team and is one of the reasons they are such a great team. What impressed me the most was his incredible sportsmanship and selflessness when he offloaded the ball to his teammate when he could’ve dotted it down himself,” said Matfield.

20 July 2017 - u/18 Craven Week - Day 4 Match Reports - All the results updated throughout the day

19 July 2017 - National Coaches Motivate U18 Youth Week Players - All three coaches emphasised the importance of hard work and commitment to the cause to progress through the national structures, and wished the players luck for their remaining matches.

19 July 2017 - COCA-COLAR Hero Of The Day (Day 3) - “It was a tough game and there were quite a few heroic moments from both teams. Nkosikhona, however, stood out and was very impressive as he dug deep and gave everything for his team at scrum time. His effort resulted in a penalty that put his team in the lead for the first time in the match,” said Victor Matfield.

19 July 2017 - u/18 Craven Week - Day 3 Match Reports - All the results updated throughout the day

19 July 2017 - Ruggas Choose Their Hero Of The Craven Week -  I also wanted to remind people that the children want to play sports in a non-racist environment competing against the best and again unify South Africa through sport and in particular rugby."

18 July 2017 - COCA-COLA® Hero Of The Day (Day 2) - “You first have to do your basics right and then be able to finish it off and Dian did just that. He scrummed hard and was influential in the set pieces and then found himself in position to score two tries and assist his team mates in another, that takes a very good player to do that

18 July 2017 - u/18 Craven Week - Day 2 Match Reports - All the results updated throughout the day

17 July 2017 - COCA-COLA® Hero Of The Day (Day 1) - The prestigious Coca-Cola Hero of the Day award is presented on each day of the tournament in recognition of a game changing ‘hero’ moment.  Sebastian was selected for the award by a Coca-Cola appointed panel of rugby experts, 

17 July 2017 - u/18 Craven Week - Day 1 Match Reports - All the results updated throughout the day.

16 July 2017 - When The Big Boys (Of The Craven Week) Come Out To Play - The big men are almost in oversupply at the Craven Week with KZN’s JJ van der Mescht the biggest of them all at 130 kg, followed closely by the 124 kg Frederick Swanepoel of Namibia. What is surely an under estimation of his weight, at 120 kg, the giant bulldozer Asenathi

16 July 2017 - All To Play For At U18 Youth Weeks - The annual competition - also sponsored by Coca-Cola - will be hosted in Cape Town and features three rounds of matches on 11, 14 and 19 August respectively, with the SA Schools team facing Wales, France and England.

11 July 2017 - Victor Matfield Called Up To Scout Coca-Cola® Craven Week Heroes - “Being chosen to be part of the Coca-Cola Craven Week really takes me back to when I played in the tournament back in 1994 and 1995. For me, Craven Week was a stepping stone in my rugby career and I want to thank Coca-Cola and SARU for organising 

11  July 2017 - You Will Be Send Home At The Craven Week If ..... - The referees will be instructed to be firm but to make sure that when issuing a card that they are certain that their correction is according to the rules and the issuing of the card is warranted and absolutely necessary

09 Jul 2017 - u/18 Craven Week - The Tallest, Smallest And Other Stats - The first question when discussing the stars of the Youth Weeks are always how tall or short and how heavy a certain player is. We received all the updated data for the various weeks and here is the data from the u/18 Craven Week.

08 Jul 2017 - Players To Watch - U/18 Craven Week 2017 - We are profiling players who we feel will have a major impact at the Craven Week for their province. This in no means an effort to pick the SA School side but we would not object to any of these boys if selected.

26 June 2017 - u/18 Craven Week Teams - Teams as available and will be updated as and when we receive latest sheets.