Craven week Day 1 results

DAY ONE – Craven Week 2026 Results

Craven Week 2026 has finally arrived, with the best young schoolboy rugby talent in the country looking to showcase their skills and stake a claim for one of the two coveted SA Schools sides. Here is a recap of every match, the standout performances and the full Day One results.

Boland finish strongly to overcome Leopards

The opening game of Craven Week saw the Leopards take on Boland. As the first fixture of the tournament, both teams made a few early mistakes, showing some understandable nerves. However, it was the Leopards who opened the scoring through a burst of pace from Ayden Willemse of Rustenburg High School, who dotted down for the first try of the day. The Leopards kept Boland under pressure throughout the opening half, while two penalties from flyhalf Enos helped his side carry a 13-3 advantage into the break.

The second half began with an early Boland try after their left winger read the play perfectly to snatch an intercept. From there, Boland shifted through the gears. Tries from Lotriet and Jacobs turned the contest on its head, giving Boland a commanding 29-13 lead. The Leopards refused to fade away, responding with five minutes remaining through a hard-fought try as they searched for a late comeback. Their ill-discipline, however, proved costly, allowing Boland to add another penalty before Jacobs completed his hat-trick to wrap up an impressive 39-20 victory in the opening match of Craven Week.

Free State power past spirited Limpopo Blue Bulls

The second encounter of Craven Week featured a Free State side packed with Grey College players against the Limpopo Blue Bulls. What followed was a schoolboy rugby spectacle, with the two sides combining for more than 100 points. Free State eventually ran in 10 tries to secure a dominant 66-41 victory.

After a shock start that saw Free State trail 14-0 after 20 minutes, Eddie Mabena finally got his side on the scoreboard and settled the nerves. From there, the floodgates opened as Free State piled on 28 points in the final 15 minutes of the first half.

It took just three minutes after the restart for Free State to strike again as Andrew Wessels powered over for another try. The Limpopo Blue Bulls continued to battle, but every score was matched by another Free State response as the game developed into an entertaining end-to-end contest. In the end, the Bulls simply couldn’t contain the relentless Free State attack, going down 66-41.

Sharks Schools impress against SWD

The third game of Craven Week was one many had been anticipating, as Sharks Schools and SWD met for the first time in several years. It was SWD who landed the opening blow after poor discipline from the Sharks as the opening scrum gifted them an easy penalty to touch. From the resulting lineout, Bernard Barednhorst crossed for the opening try.

The Sharks thought they had responded immediately, but the TMO ruled out the effort, leaving them trailing 5-0. They continued to challenge the defensive line and were eventually rewarded when Kuzonyei finished out wide to edge the Sharks into a 7-5 lead. SWD threatened to answer after camping inside the Sharks’ 22 through a 14-phase attack, but they were unable to crack the defence and eventually handed the Sharks an easy exit. The remainder of the half saw Sharks Schools combine innovation with physicality as they searched for gaps in a resilient SWD defence.

Early in the second half, disaster struck for the Sharks when flanker Zion Smith took a heavy blow to the head while going into an upright tackle, bringing an early end to his afternoon. Moments later, SWD’s No. 19 was shown a yellow card for a high tackle, and the Sharks capitalised immediately. They kicked deep into the opposition half before driving over from the maul, with Bruiner dotting down for his first try.

SWD failed to learn their lesson and were soon reduced to 13 men after a second yellow card, once again conceding a penalty. Sharks Schools punished them again, making full use of the extra space to extend their lead beyond 10 points.

The Sharks were then given a taste of their own medicine when they received a yellow card for taking a player out in the air, allowing Adrian Smith to cross and keep SWD within touching distance. Even in the closing stages, SWD continued searching for one more score, and it came through Hendriks, whose late try added some respectability to the scoreboard at 29-19.

There was still time for one final play. Sharks Schools looked set to see the game out, but Sonkonokono had other ideas. Reading the pass perfectly, he raced away to cross the whitewash and put the finishing touch on an outstanding performance, sealing a 36-19 victory for Sharks Schools.

Western Province finish strongly against Eastern Province

The final game of Craven Week saw neighbouring provinces battle it out for local bragging rights as Western Province took on Eastern Province. Eastern Province made the perfect start, crashing over in just the third minute. Although Western Province were convinced they had held the ball up, the TMO confirmed the try had been grounded.

It didn’t take long for Western Province to respond, manufacturing a try of their own with Van Biljon adding the extras. The next 10 minutes were packed with physical schoolboy rugby as Province controlled possession. Once they worked their way into the Eastern Province 22, they shifted the ball wide to Dirk Farmer, who crossed to hand Province the lead. Another accurate conversion stretched the advantage to seven points. However, poor discipline from Province allowed Eastern Province a late penalty, leaving them trailing by just a single point at the break (14-13).

The second half began with Eastern Province reclaiming the lead through a try from Doyle, moving six points clear. Their advantage proved short-lived as Western Province moved the ball from touchline to touchline before Caleb Bell dived over to pull his side back within a point. From there, Province’s forwards gradually asserted themselves, driving Eastern Province backwards and creating more room for their backs to exploit. That dominance sparked a flurry of tries as Western Province built a comfortable 15-point cushion.

Eastern Province threatened to mount a late comeback, but with just one unconverted try in the second half, it summed up their afternoon—they were there, but never quite close enough. The final try of Day One came through Behardien, capping off an outstanding performance from both himself and his side as Western Province secured an impressive 45-25 victory.

To watch the first days highlights, visit: https://www.youtube.com/@SCHOOLOFSPORTS

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