Fixtures for the 2025 Academy Week
In a fresh change to the last two years, the annual and highly anticipated Academy Week has this year found a new home in Middelburg.
Follow all the Academy Week action live on SuperSport Schools – (www.supersportschools.com)
Jeppe Boys High School, in Johannesburg, has played host to the annual tournament for the past two years, but this year the prestigious week is staged at Hoërskool Middelburg in Mpumalanga.
The week is, as always, aligned with the Craven Week, also at the Middies, starting on Monday, 7 July, and running through to Friday, 11 July. As in the past, the week will consist of three playing days, with two rest days in between to keep the players in tip-top shape for a week that is expected to produce some scintillating rugby.
The action on day one kicks off at 09:00 on both the B and C fields of the Middies. On the B-field, also the main field for the three-day action, Boland and Border will get proceedings underway, while on the C-field, Border’s “little brother”, Border Country District, will lock horns with the LSEN XV. The LSEN side consists of the best talent spotted at the annual LSEN week, played just a week before.
This match will be followed by the hosts, the Pumas, taking on the Limpopo Blue Bulls in what normally shapes up as a cracker between these traditional rivals. The main match on the first day sees the unofficial champions of the past two years, the Golden Lions, launch their title defence against the “Purple People Eaters”, more commonly known as the Griffons. A strong Western Province contingent will have their work cut out as they face the Free State in the second match on the main field, kicking off at 10:15.
The Leopards from North West face South Western Districts at 14:30 in the main match on the C-field.
Fixtures – Day 1 – Monday, 07 June:
B-Field:
09:00 – Boland vs Border
10:15 – Western Province vs Free State
11:30 – Bulls vs Lions XV
12:45 – Eastern Province vs Sharks
14:00 – Opening Ceremony
14:30 – Golden Lions vs Griffons
C-Field:
09:00 – Border Country Districts vs LSEN XV
10:15 – Pumas vs Limpopo Blue Bulls
11:30 – Griquas vs Zimbabwe
12:45 – Valke vs Namibia
14:00 – Opening Ceremony
14:30 – Leopards vs South Western Districts
