Eastern Province (EP) were crowned unofficial champions of the Under 18 Craven Week after crushing South Western Districts (SWD) 25-7 in the final game.

It was a culmination of a great week of rugby for the side from Port Elizabeth as they ran in three tries on the way to their first victory in the final match since 1977. The legendary Danie Gerber was on the field for Eastern Province that day, but it was a new generation of players that showed themselves the best Under18 team in the land.

Final Day – Saturday 19 July:

The final failed to live up to the hype with Eastern Province dominating the collisions, while SWD were unable to impose themselves physically. The side from the southern Cape were never really in the game, falling behind after lock Adré Smith was sent to the sin bin for a late and dangerous tackle on Junior Pokomela.

Like their match against the Free State, Eastern Province blew the opposition away in the first half. They led 20-0 at the break courtesy of tries from Athi Mayinje and Johan van Niekerk, while flyhalf Curwin Bosch added a couple of penalties. Lock Stephanus Niewoudt extended their lead with a try early in the second half, before a consolation try for Dominic Smith rounded out the scoring.

Earlier the Blue Bulls battered the Kwa-Zulu Natal 36-15, with Waterkloof flyhalf Thinus de Beer racking up 21 points in another composed performance. The win left the side from Pretoria with two wins from three over the week, with their narrow 26-25 loss to EP the only blight on their record.

In the day’s first match, the Lions found some semblance of form to see off the Pumas 32-17. The loss meant the hosts went through the week without a win. Monnas flanker Len Massyn grabbed a hat-trick for the Lions as they ran in six tries to ensure they ended the week on a high.

The day’s other game was a meeting between two of the pre-tournament favourites, Western Province and Free State. Province raced into a 19-3 lead after 17 minutes before Shirwin Cupido pulled a try back for the Cheetahs as the teams headed in 22-10 at the break. The Cheetahs made a game of it in the second half, but were unable to overturn the half-time deficit, eventually going down 37-29 in a high scoring encounter.

Meanwhile across town at Hoërskool Middelburg, the Griffons remained the week’s only other unbeaten team after seeing off the Leopards 44-24.

A SA Schools trial squad of 50 players will be announced on Monday, with the trials being held in Kempton Park next weekend.

 

A-field:

Eastern Province (25):

• Tries: Athi Mayinje, Johan van Niekerk, Stephanus Niewoudt
• Conversions: Curwin Bosch (2)
• Penalties: Bosch (2)

SWD (0):

• Try: Dominic Smith
• Conversion: JT Jackson

 

Blue Bulls (36):

• Tries: Thinus de Beer (2), Eduan Keyter, Embrose Papier, Aston Fortuin
• Conversion: Thinus de Beer (4)
• Penalty: de Beer

KwaZulu-Natal (15):

• Try: James Hall, Jacobus Coetzee
• Conversion: Tristan Tedder
• Penalty: Tedder

 

Western Province (37):

• Tries: Justin Heunis, Jondré Williams, Duncan Saal (2), Mogamat Davids
• Conversions: Tiaan Swanepoel (3)
• Penalty: Swanepoel (2)

Free State (29):

• Try: Shirwin Cupido, Julian Jordaan (2), de Wet Bezuidenhout
• Conversions: Jéandré Christian (3)
• Penalty: Christian

 

Pumas (24):

• Tries: Siyabonga Masuku (2), Christian Steinberg, Penalty Try
• Conversion: Sitabonga Masuku (2)

Lions (39):

• Tries: Len Massyn (3), Jacobus Holtzhauzen, Gavin Delport, Preston Karstens
• Conversions: Ralton October (3)
• Penalty: October

 

B-field:

Zimbabwe (25):

• Tries: Matthew Ushewokunze, Bradley Crause, Daniel Nyamugama, Ackim Sibanda
• Conversion: Ngoni Zinyama
• Penalty: Shaun Snyder

Namibia (38):

• Tries: Divan Rossouw (2), Jandré van Wyk (2), Herle Otto, Hans Breedt
• Conversions: Stiaan van der Merwe (2), Pieter Steenkamp (2)

 

Griquas (26):

• Tries: Robbie Petzer, Wilfred Bowers, Geo Davel, Keaton Gordon
• Conversions: Robbie Petzer (3)

Border (55):

• Tries: Jason Steyn, Henning Coetzee, David Brits (2), Reinhardt Engelbrecht, Michael Brink, Pierre Bester, Morgan Steyn, Jerry Danquah
• Conversions: Morgan Steyn (5)

 

Griffons (44):

• Tries: Jaywinn Juries., Johan van Zyl, Ezrick Alexander, Johann Vermaak (2)
• Conversions: Jaywinn Juries (5)
• Penalties: Jaywin Juries (3)

Leopards (24):

• Tries: Jana Smith, Roodt van Zyl, Douglas Bruce-Smith, Keanu van der Merwe
• Conversions: Markus Coetzer (2)

 

C-field:

Griquas CD 60-21 Boland CD
Boland 56-24 Limpopo Blue Bulls
Eastern Province CD 13-35 Valke

 

Day 4 – Thursday 17 July:

Eastern Province will meet SWD in the grand finale of the Under 18 Coca-Cola Craven Week on Saturday following dominant performances in their opening two matches at HTS Middelburg, which left them undefeated in the competition.

This will mark the first time in 14 years that one of the current franchise unions will not feature in the final match of an Under 18 Coca-Cola Craven Week tournament.

The last time this occurred was in the 2000 season in which the Pumas and Boland battled it out in the final match.

In the other top match-ups on Saturday, KwaZulu-Natal will meet the Blue Bulls, Western Province will go up against the Free State, and hosts the Pumas will take on the Golden Lions.

The teams will have Friday off to recover from the physically taxing matches since Monday.

Eastern Province were in top form on the fourth day of the tournament on Thursday as they shocked the Free State with three first-half tries, which set them up for a satisfying 19-5 victory.

In the other big game the Blue Bulls survived a strong second-half charge by the Golden Lions for a 21-10 victory, while the Leopards registered a 26-20 win against the Valke and Griquas beat Boland 38-27.

Namibia, meanwhile, thrashed Border CD 69-0 for their first victory of the tournament after going down to the Leopards in their opening match on Tuesday.

 

Day 3 – Wednesday 16 July:

South Western Districts probably booked their place in the unofficial final of the Coca-Cola Craven Week by beating Western Province 38-23 in the late game of the third day of the tournament at HTS Middelburg on Wednesday.

It was something of a surprise result, and it put paid to Western Province’s chances of making a clean sweep of Coca-Cola Youth Week main games for the second year in a row, but SWD were convincing winners in the end and they are certainly worthy contenders for the only accolade that the week has to offer.

The Young Eagles played with fierce determination throughout the game. Their defence did not allow the dangerous Province backline to ever get going, and they dominated the loose phases and kickoffs.

The game was closely contested at first and they fortunes turned SWD’s way when their winger Shadward Fillies scored a long range try after his side regained possession form a kickoff, and minutes later, he snaffled an interception and went over under the posts to make the game safe.

SWD centre John Thomas Jackson also scored two tries, and did the goal-kicking, and was named man of the match for his contribution.
The other SWD tries were scored by Niven Langdown and Le Roux Baard.

Western Province have a huge forward pack and they dominated the set pieces, but their backs could never really get going and they were unable to breach determines SWD defence.

They scored tries through Mervano da Silva and Aidyn Cupido. Johndre Williams kicked two penalties and Aidyn Cupido one. Replacement Tiaan Swanepoel slotted a conversion.

There was more heartache for the hosts. After losing by a single point to the hosts on day one, they allowed KwaZulu-Natal to get too far ahead early on in their second encounter and despite finishing strongly, they were beaten 38-27 and face the prospects of a minor fixture, on their own field, on the final day.

Jakobus Coetzee and Morne Joubert scored two tries each and Curtis Jonas one for KZN. Curtis also kicked four conversions.

For the Pumas Mafundo Ndlovu, Barend Smit, Diyabonga Masuka and Chrisjan Steynberg (two) scored tries. Steynberg added one conversion.

In earlier games. Border beat the Limpopo Blue Bulls 78-17, Griquas Country beat Zimbabwe 26-20 and the Griffons were 33-15 winners over Eastern Province Country.

On day four Eastern Province and Free State meet in the main game of the day today. The winner of that encounter will be unbeaten and will in all likelihood meet SWD in Saturday’s concluding fixture.

Griquas Country 26 Zimbabwe 20, Border 78 Limpopo 17, Griffons 33 Eastern Province Country 15, KwaZulu-Natal 38 Pumas 27, SWD 38 Western Province 21.

SWD and Western Province on Monday stood out as two of the top contenders to play for places in the final match of the Under-18 Coca-Cola Craven Week on Saturday as they registered strong starts to the competition at HTS Middelburg in Mpumalanga.

SWD created the first upset in the tournament as they defeated KwaZulu-Natal 18-13 in a thrilling clash, while Western Province delivered a hard-fought 33-32 victory against the hosts, the Pumas, in a nail-biting end to the opening day’s play.

The win for Western Province, in particular, was the first step in their mission to follow in the footsteps of their counterparts who finished the Under-13 Coca-Cola Craven Week, Under-16 Coca-Cola Grant Khomo Week and the Coca-Cola Academy Week as the unofficial champions.

 

DAY 2 – Tuesday 15 July:

The Free State and Eastern Province on Tuesday stamped their authority on the second day of the Under-18 Coca-Cola Craven Week as they powered their way to impressive victories in the big match-ups of the day.

The Free State registered an impressive 33-20 victory against the Golden Lions in a thrilling finale to the day’s play, while a successful conversion on the stroke of full time earned Eastern Province a narrow 26-25 victory against the Blue Bulls.

In the other matches Griquas came close to matching the record for the highest score in history of the Under-18 Coca-Cola Craven Week as they racked up a memorable 96-0 victory against Border CD, while the Leopards thumped Namibia 53-13 and the Valke defeated Boland 30-24.

The victories for Free State and Eastern Province threw their names into the hat for a possible place in the final match of the tournament on Saturday.

 

Blue Bulls (16) 25 / 26 (6) Eastern Province:

Eastern Province secured a gripping last-minute victory against the Blue Bulls in what was a titanic clash after staging a dramatic comeback from 16-6 down in the first half. Both teams threw everything at each other with their powerful packs and hard-running backs. Such was the closeness of the first half the Blue Bulls managed to cross the tryline in the 30th minute for the first try of the match, while the rest of the points were all scored compliments of penalties. The Blue Bulls slotted over three and Eastern Province two, which handed the Pretoria team a 16-6 lead.

Eastern Province, however, fought back in the second half as they ran in two well-worked tries, the last of which was in the final minute, to cancel out the extra three penalties by Blue Bulls flyhalf Tinus de Beer. This left the Port Elizabeth side trailing by one point before the conversion. Eastern Province fullback Curwin Bosch, however, slotted over the kick with ease to secure the 26-25 victory.

Scorers:

Blue Bulls:

• Try: Ettiene Matthys (1)
• Conversion: Tinus de Beer (1)
• Penalties: Tinus de Beer (6)

Eastern Province:

• Tries: Athi Mayinje (1), Curwin Bosch (1)
• Conversions: Curwin Bosch (2)
• Penalties: Curwin Bosch (4)

 

Golden Lions (10) 20 / 33 (10) Free State:

The match between the Golden Lions and Free State was equally tense as both teams stood their ground on defence. In the first half the teams were tied at 10-10 as they each scored only one forward-dominated try in the half. With both sides defending well and opting for a mix of pick-and-goes and kicks behind the defence to gain an edge, most of the first half was played in between the 22m lines.

The Free State, however, did well to capitalise on their point-scoring chances in the second half and managed to power their way into the lead thanks to a try early into the second half followed by three more penalties by fullback Lourens Steenkamp. The Lions struck back with a penalty and fantastic individual try to force their way back into the match. But a late try by Cheetahs flank Victor Maruping three minutes before the final whistle sealed the victory for the Free State side.

Scorers:

Golden Lions:

• Tries: Armandt Johannes Paules Grobler (1), Gavin Lee Delport (1)
• Conversions: Wikus Van Biljon (2)
• Penalties: Ralton Navan October (1), Wikus Van Biljon (1)

Free State:

• Tries: Alexander Jonker (1), Shirwin Cupido (1), Victor Maruping (1)
• Conversions: Lourens Steenkamp (3)
• Penalties: Lourens Steenkamp (4)

 

DAY 1 – Monday 14 July:

The Griffons, Limpopo Blue Bulls and Eastern Province CD also started their campaigns on an encouraging note as they registered invaluable victories.

The Griffons thumped Border 47-20, while the Limpopo Blue Bulls registered a 25-19 victory against Griquas CD, and Eastern Province CD survived a late comeback by Zimbabwe for a 54-43 victory.

The opening day’s matches were attended by Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer, his assistant coach Johann van Graan, Junior Springbok coach Dawie Theron, as well as several SARU officials including CEO Jurie Roux and SARU’s development GM Mervin Green and GM Referees Andre Watson.

 

SWD (12) 18 / 13 (13) KwaZulu-Natal:

SWD created the first upset of the tournament as they toppled KwaZulu-Natal 18-13 in a nail-biting clash. The Durban side took a narrow 13-12 lead at the break despite scoring only one early try to two by SWD in the first half, thanks to two penalties by KwaZulu-Natal flyhalf and captain Tristan James Tedder.

But SWD made life tough for the Durban side in the second half as they stepped up their defence, which denied the opposition a single point in the second half – this despite their determined efforts to cross the tryline. With KwaZulu-Natal also delivering a solid defensive effort, SWD capitalised on two late penalties to force their way into the lead on the scoreboard to earn a morale-boosting victory.

Scorers:

SWD:

• Tries: Ruan Barnard (1), Shadward Fillies (1)
• Conversion: John Thomas Jackson (1)
• Penalties: John Thomas Jackson (2)

KwaZulu-Natal:

• Tries: Morne Joubert (1)
• Conversion: Tristan James Tedder (1)
• Penalties: Tristan James Tedder (2)

 

Pumas (15) 32 / 33 (30) Western Province:

The battle between the Pumas and Western Province was epic as the hosts gave everything to edge their way into the lead in the dying seconds, but in the end the Pumas were pipped 33-32. Western Province tried hard to stamp their authority in the first half and managed to build up an impressive 30-15 lead at the break. With the Pumas defence limiting Western Province’s attacking options with their solid defence, however, the Cape side opted for penalties early on to keep the scoreboard ticking. The Pumas indiscipline, however, cost them as they received two yellow cards in the half, which handed Western Province an edge, which they took advantage of.

The Pumas, however, fought back with intent in the second half as they improved their discipline and defence, and used their point-scoring chances well. This allowed them to force their way back into the match with two late tries and a penalty, which left them one point short on the scoreboard as the final whistle sounded.

Scorers:

Pumas:

• Tries: Adriaan Andries Jacobus Bester (1), Barend Johannes Smit (1), Mfundo Kevin Ndhlovu (1), Stephanus Johannes Enslin (1)
• Conversions: George Frederik Muller Joubert (3)
• Penalties: George Frederik Muller Joubert (2)

Western Province:

• Tries: Duncan Saal (2), Jaco Willemse (1)
• Conversions: Tiaan Swanepoel (3)
• Penalties: Tiaan Swanepoel (4)