The Craven Week is an annual rugby union tournament organised for schoolboys in the Republic of South Africa. The tournament started in July 1964, and is named after the legendary Springbok rugby union player and coach Danie Craven. The Western Province U18 side are the current holders of the Craven week after claiming the unofficial final in 2026 defeating Western Province XV 40-24. Western Province U18 also currently hold the most final wins (21).
History The tournament has its humble beginnings in an idea by Piet Malan, then Springbok flanker, in 1949, around the time of the South African Rugby Board's 75th anniversary. He wanted schools to feature in the celebrations and approached Danie Craven in Potgietersrus on how this could be done.
Dr Craven took the idea to his board who decided on getting the 15 schools unions together for a week. The man who kept the idea alive however was one Jan Preuyt, a former student at the Stellenbosch University and teacher at Port Rex Technical High School in East London. Preuyt had played rugby for Griqualand West and was also the chairman of Border Schools.
At the time there was no such thing as a South African Schools organisation, and the South African Rugby Board were not involved, so Preuyt and Schalk van der Merwe, Principal of George Randall High school, took the initiative to organise the first Craven Week tournament on their own.
The competition began with 15 teams in 1964, growing to 28 in 1987 and 32 in 2000. The format was changed in 2001, and now allows for just 20 teams. Each of South Africa's fourteen provincial unions field at least one team, with some unions sending two squads (one from their urban base and another representing "country districts"), plus representation from Namibia and Zimbabwe in most years.
Each year since 1974 a South African schools team has been selected, and the competition has been open to players of all races since 1980 when Craven himself requested that it be done. The competition has since become a hunting ground for talent scouts trying to find the best new players for their provinces and many young upcoming stars see the tournament as an opportunity to further their careers. The format has been replicated at other age and skill levels, including a U18 Academy Week for provincial B sides, the Grant Khomo Week for U16 teams, and Iqhawe Week for U15 sides which places special emphasis on players from underprivileged or underserved areas.
Results By Year Despite there being no official final for the Craven Week tournaments, there is a main match every year that features the two best teams at the tournament. The results of these main matches since 1971 are:
Main matches at the Craven Week Year Venue Winner Score Runner-up 1964 East London Border 10 -9 Natal 1965 East London Natal 22 - 11 Transvaal 1966 Pretoria Natal 13 Eastern Province 1967 Cape Town Vrystaat 8 - 3 Western Province 1971 Kimberley Western Province 11–0 Griqualand West 1972 Potchefstroom Western Province 16–9 Western Transvaal 1973 Stellenbosch Western Province 36–7 Transvaal 1974 Johannesburg Western Province 22–12 South Western Districts 1975* Pretoria Northern Transvaal 20–8 Transvaal 1975* Port Elizabeth Eastern Province 46–13 Natal 1976* Wolmaranstad Transvaal 28–10 Northern Transvaal 1976* Kroonstad Boland 13–9 Free State 1977 Oudtshoorn Eastern Province 19–17 Western Province 1978 Middelburg Western Province 12–3 Free State 1979 East London Northern Free State 9–6 Free State 1980 Stellenbosch Free State 16–6 Transvaal 1981 Worcester Transvaal 11–7 Western Province 1982 Windhoek South Eastern Transvaal 25–7 Northern Free State 1983 Upington Free State 13–9 South Eastern Transvaal 1984 Bloemfontein Transvaal 3–0 Eastern Province 1985 Witbank Free State 23–15 Transvaal 1986 Graaff-Reinet South Eastern Transvaal 19–12 Western Province 1987 Paarl Natal / Transvaal 22–22 N/A 1988 Port Elizabeth Western Province 16–3 Free State 1989 Johannesburg Transvaal 17–6 Eastern Province 1990 Durban Natal 18–8 Northern Transvaal 1991 East London Northern Transvaal 10–9 Border 1992 Pretoria Western Province 22–15 Free State 1993 Secunda Northern Transvaal 25–13 South Eastern Transvaal 1994 Newcastle Border / Eastern Province 13–13 N/A 1995 Bloemfontein Free State 15–13 Boland 1996 Stellenbosch Northern Transvaal 24–12 Western Province 1997 Kimberley Northern Transvaal 29–27 Western Province 1998 Vanderbijlpark Blue Bulls 23 - 19 Falcons 1999 George Western Province 15–11 Eastern Province 2000 Port Elizabeth Pumas 19–18 Boland 2001 Rustenburg SWD 26–20 Blue Bulls 2002 Pietermaritzburg Western Province 31–16 Free State 2003 Wellington Western Province 22–17 Free State 2004 Nelspruit Free State 17–16 Western Province 2005 Bloemfontein Golden Lions 38–15 Eastern Province 2006 Johannesburg Blue Bulls 35–20 Golden Lions 2007 Stellenbosch Free State 52–3 Western Province 2008 Pretoria SWD 31–25 Free State 2009 East London Western Province 19–17 Free State 2010 Welkom Free State 42–21 Western Province 2011 Kimberley Free State 28–17 Golden Lions 2012 Port Elizabeth Blue Bulls 46–0 Golden Lions 2013 Polokwane Western Province 45–29 Golden Lions 2014 Middelburg Eastern Province 25–7 South Western Districts 2015 Stellenbosch Western Province 95–0 Eastern Province 2016 Durban Western Province 27–20 Golden Lions 2017 Johannesburg Golden Lions 45–18 KwaZulu-Natal 2018 Paarl Western Province 47–8 KwaZulu-Natal 2019 Bloemfontein Western Province 56–31 Blue Bulls 2022 Cape Town Western Province 29–21 Blue Bulls 2023 George Western Province 29–5 Blue Bulls 2024 Krugersdorp Western Province 37–24 Free State 2025 Middelburg Western Province 27–21 South Western Districts 2026 Gqeberha Western Province 40–24 Western Province XV * In 1975 and 1976 there were 2 Craven weeks due to the school holidays of the old Transvaal and the rest of SA not corresponding.
By Province +List of total final results, and respective runners-up, years won and years runners-upProvincial teamWinsRunners-upDrawsTotal finalsYears wonYears runners-upYears drawnHistorical notes 21 9 - 301971-1974, 1978, 1988, 1992, 1999, 2002-2003, 2009, 2013, 2015-2016, 2018-2019, 2022-2026 1977, 1981, 1986, 1996-1997, 2004, 2007, 2010 - - 12* 11* 1* 24* 1976*, 1981*, 1984*, 1989*, 1998, 2006, 2012 1965*, 1973*, 1975*, 1980*, 1985*, 2001, 2019, 2022-2023 1987* *Records include Transvaal era up to 1996 9 10 - 19 1967, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1995, 2004, 2007, 2010-2011 1976, 1978-1979, 1988, 1992, 2002-2003, 2008-2009, 2024 - - 6* 10* 1* 17* 1976*, 1981*, 1984*, 1989*, 2005, 2017 1965*, 1973*, 1975*, 1980*, 1985*, 2006, 2011-2013, 2016 1987* *Records include Transvaal era up to 1996 7* 7* 1* 15* 1976*, 1981*, 1982, 1984*, 1986, 1989*, 2000 1965*, 1973*, 1975*, 1980*, 1983, 1985*, 1993 1987* *Records include Transvaal era up to 1996 4* 6* 1* 11* 1976*, 1981*, 1984*, 1989* 1965*, 1973*, 1975*, 1980*, 1985* 1987* *Records include Transvaal era up to 1996 4* 6* 1* 11* 1976*, 1981*, 1984*, 1989* 1965*, 1973*, 1972, 1975*, 1980*, 1985* 1987* *Records include Transvaal era up to 1996 3 6 1 10 1975, 1977, 2014 1966, 1984, 1989, 1999, 2005, 2015 1994 - 3 4 1 8 1965-1966, 1990 1964, 1975, 2017-2018 1987 - 2 3 - 5 2001, 2008 1974, 2005, 2014 - - 1 2 - 3 1976 1995, 2000 - - 1 1 1 3 1964 1991 1994 - 1 1 - 2 1979 1982 - - 0 1 - 1 - 1971 - - Western Province XV 0 1 - 1 - 2026 - -
* These statistics combine the achievements of The Transvaal prior to the provinces being split into the Golden Lions, Blue Bulls, Pumas, Valke & the Leopards.
Provinces The following provincial teams participate in the annual Craven Week festival:
Craven Week Youth Teams Province Craven Week Team Western Province Western Province U18 Western Province Western Province XV U18 South Western District SWD U18 Boland Boland U18 KwaZulu Natal Natal Sharks U18 Gauteng Golden Lions U18 East Gauteng Falcons U18 Pretoria Bulls U18 Eastern Cape Eastern Province U18 Eastern Cape Border U18 Free State Cheetahs U18 Northern Free State Griffons U18 Northern Cape Griquas U18 Limpopo Limpopo Bulls U18 Mpumalanga Pumas U18 North West Leopards U18
Namibia and Zimbabwe were regular participants in the Under-18 Craven Week, competing as invited national sides alongside South Africa's provincial teams, particularly following the tournament's restructuring in 2001. However, both countries were excluded from the main U18 Craven Week from 2018 onward after SA Rugby reduced and refocused the competition, with Namibia and Zimbabwe thereafter featuring at the U18 Academy Week instead.
Other International Craven Week Sides Country Craven Week Team Zimbabwe Zimbabwe U18 Namibia Namibia U18
Results 2026 2026 Craven Week Log While the Craven Week tournament does not feature an official points log, the ranking below compiles the cumulative match statistics for all participating provinces during this edition. This statistical summary does not represent an accurate reflection of team strength or a definitive ranking, as the scheduling format means certain provinces face significantly higher-ranked opponents than others. However, the table accurately reflects the tournament's final performance outcomes at both extremes, clearly identifying the top two performing sides who contested the main final match.
2026 Craven Week Log Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD W% 1 Western Province 3 3 0 0 135 90 +45 100% 2 Western Province XV 3 2 0 1 90 87 +3 67% 3 Boland U18 3 2 1 0 111 69 +42 67% 4Leopards U18 3 2 0 1 122 84 +38 67% 5 Free State U18 3 2 0 1 133 97 +36 67% 6 Bulls U18 3 2 0 1 119 91 +28 67% 7 Sharks U18 3 2 0 1 89 73 +16 67% 8 Griquas U18 3 2 0 1 98 112 -14 67% 9 Pumas U18 3 1 0 2 100 97 +3 33% 10 Lions U18 3 1 0 2 106 106 - 33% 11 SWD Eagles U18 3 1 0 2 86 93 -7 33% 12 Griffons U18 3 1 0 2 88 100 -12 33% 13 Border U18 3 1 0 2 81 113 -32 33% 14 Limpopo Bulls U18 3 1 0 2 82 147 -65 33% 15 Eastern Province U18 3 0 1 2 76 115 -39 0% 16 Valke U18 3 0 0 3 50 92 -42 0% The fixtures for the 2026 U18 Craven Week Festival are:
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Unofficial 2026 Craven Week Final
2025 2025 Craven Week Log While the Craven Week tournament does not feature an official points log, the ranking below compiles the cumulative match statistics for all participating provinces during this edition. This statistical summary does not represent an accurate reflection of team strength or a definitive ranking, as the scheduling format means certain provinces face significantly higher-ranked opponents than others. However, the table accurately reflects the tournament's final performance outcomes at both extremes, clearly identifying the top two performing sides who contested the main final match.
2025 Craven Week Log Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD W% 1 Western Province 3 3 0 0 152 52 +100 100% 2 SWD Eagles 3 2 0 1 110 83 +27 67% 3 Western Province XV 3 2 0 1 123 47 +76 67% 4 Cheetahs 3 2 0 1 120 80 +40 67% 5Griquas 3 2 0 1 89 89 - 67% 6 Golden Lions 3 2 0 1 85 115 −30 67% 7 Limpopo Blue Bulls 3 2 0 1 78 110 −32 67% 8 Pumas 3 1 0 2 69 27 +42 33% 9 Leopards 3 1 1 1 117 82 +35 33% 10 Blue Bulls 3 1 0 2 144 112 +32 33% 11 Valke 3 1 1 1 83 74 +9 33% 12 Sharks 3 1 0 2 66 89 −23 33% 13 Border 3 1 0 2 60 95 −35 33% 14 Eastern Province 3 1 0 2 64 129 −65 33% 15 Boland 3 1 0 2 75 151 −76 33% 16 Griffons 3 0 0 3 86 139 −53 0% The results from the 2025 U18 Craven Week Festival were:
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Unofficial 2025 Craven Week Final
Assistant referees: Juan de Bod (South Africa), Jack Macneice (South Africa) Television match official: Egon Seconds (South Africa)
2024 2024 Craven Week Log