Sharks Craven Week and Academy squads announced
A year after Durban High School (DHS) provided nine players to the Sharks Craven Week team, Westville Boys’ High has grabbed the spotlight, with eight of their boys cracking the nod for the 2025 Week, which takes place at Middelburg High School, from 7-12 July.
Only two players – Jadrian Afrikaner and Zekhethelo Siyaya – both from Westville, were members of the 2024 Sharks Craven Week squad.
Siyaya was included in the SA Schools team and represented SA u18 in August 2024 in the International Series in the Western Cape, which also featured SA Schools A, France, England, Ireland, and Georgia.
The 23-player Sharks squad features players from only six schools: Westville Boys’ High, Durban High School (DHS), Northwood School, Hilton College, Michaelhouse, and Maritzburg College.
Westville’s contingent features three forwards and five backs, with tighthead Bandile Mncwango packing down in the front row. Lwandle Mlaba offers versatility and can play either in the second row or on the side of the scrum, while Lwandile Simelane has worn the number eight jersey for the Griffin but could also feature at flank.
Their backline players include scrumhalf and Westville captain Liam Simpkins. Jade-Will Koopman has taken charge of the flyhalf position for Westville, but he could be viewed more as a utility player, given his diverse all-round skills’ set.
Sean McGough has manned the inside centre position all season long. He’s physical, runs straight and hard, and is a sound defender. Jadrian Afrikaner has partnered McGough in the midfield, but he, also, played wing in 2024 and ran in a bucketload of tries.
Zekhethelo Siyaya, at fullback, gives the team’s most dangerous playmaker opportunities to impact the game with either his superb counterattacking or his prodigious boot.
Northwood’s contribution is four players, all from the pack. Loosehead Sphe Ntshangase, the second-row duo of Chad Howe and Lian Terblanche, who can also fill a loose-forward role, and Jamie Wimble at 8th-man, underlines what has driven Northwood’s success in 2025.
Knights‘ coach Jacques Deen, who will serve as an assistant to head coach Dusty Noble, told SuperSport Schools Plus at the Sharks’ trials: “If our set pieces work, then it gets to a point where we’re 80 percent there. If those things work, then everything else falls in place and we’re a successful team.”
He’s a superb forwards’ coach, and his lineout work is especially effective, so the Northwood quartet will, no doubt, seamlessly assimilate into Deen’s approach.
Wimble is an exciting talent, whose physicality and sharp running lines have caught the eye, especially when facing the toughest of challenges.
Hilton College also provides four players, all of them in key playmaking positions: Josh Grant (hooker), Zander Muller (8th-man), Zander Vorster (scrumhalf), and Liyema Nela (flyhalf).
Grant is a strong scrummager, but he’s at his best when acting as a fourth loose-forward. He has a knack for running good support lines, which create try-scoring opportunities.
Muller, at the back of the scrum, is a strong physical runner. One of the big questions that needs to be addressed by the Sharks’ leadership is who is going to wear the number eight jersey. They’ve included four regular number eights in their lineup.
Hilton’s other Zander, scrumhalf Vorster, provides a steady service, but he’s at his most dangerous when sniping at the line. He’s a big number nine, powerfully built, and mistimed or half-hearted tackles won’t bring him down.
Nela, at flyhalf, possesses a fine all-round game, although his goal-kicking can be streaky at times. His tactical kicking and ball distribution, though, are very good, and he is not afraid to take on the defence himself, either.
DHS, who are enjoying another outstanding season, has three players in the lineup – and 10 in the Academy side – and that, once again, includes a superb hooker. In 2023, DHS captain Christian Everitt was selected for the SA Schools A side. Then, last year, Mahle Sithole, earned selection for SA Schools.
Now, Okuhle Mbanjwa carries the mantle forward for the Horseflies. He’s a well-rounded player – good in the set scrums, accurate at lineout time, and effective around the field. His tighthead partner, Joseph Udo Idung, at 122 kilograms, brings bulk and strong scrumming ability to the front row.
Centre Nathan Aneke also cracked the nod. He’s not a big man, but he’s a smooth player. He has an eye for a gap, a good turn of pace, and distributes the ball well.
Michaelhouse, meanwhile, has two players in the team, and they, too, are both centres – their captain William Ridl and Rourke O’Sullivan. One of the questions that remains to be answered is whether or not the selectors will use them as a combination.
Ridl is big and strong, with the ability to break through slight gaps with his powerful running. O’Sullivan understands support lines and frequently runs himself into positions to inflict further damage on teams after his captain has dented their defensive lines. They work well together.
The Sharks’ squad is completed by two players from Maritzburg College. The first is loosehead prop Indiphile Mlotshwa, which feels like an appropriate selection given that College produced two SA Schools props in 2024, Phiwayinkosi Kubheka and Aiden Botha. Mlotshwa, though, has shown that there is more to his game than set scrums and he gets around the field well.
The other choice from Maritzburg College is their captain and 8th-man, Wasi Vyambwera. He’s a prototypical College loose-forward, the kind of player who gets stuck in and does the dirty work, and who delivers a physical punch.
Craven Week: 15 Zekhethelo Siyaya (Westville Boys’ High), 14 Jade-Will Koopman (Westville Boys’ High), 13 Jadrian Afrikaner (Westville Boys’ High), 12 Sean McGough (Westville Boys’ High), 11 Nathan Aneke (Durban High School), 10 Liyema Nela (Hilton College), 9 Liam Simpkins (Westville Boys’ High), 8 Jaime Wimble (Northwood), 7 Lian Terblanche (Northwood), 6 Wandile Simelane (Westville Boys’ High), 5 Chad Howe (Northwood), 4 Lwandile Mlaba (Westville Boys’ High) 3 Bandile Mncwango (Westville Boys’ High), 2 Okuhle Mbanjwa (DHS), 1 Indiphile Mlotshwa (Maritzburg College). Replacements: 16 Josh Grant (Hilton College), 17 Sphephelo Ntshangase (Northwood), 18 Joseph Udo Idung (DHS), 19 Mumbere Vyambwera (Maritzburg College), 20 Zander Muller (Hilton College), 21 Zander Vorster (Hilton College), 22 Rourke O’Sullivan (Michaelhouse), 23 William Ridl (Michaelhouse).
8 Westville Boys’ High | 4 Hilton College | 4 Northwood | 3 Durban High School | 2 Maritzburg College | 2 Michaelhouse
Academy Week: Ambesiwe Sipango (DHS), Amogeleng Mataboge (DHS), Andrew Schnell (Hilton College), Cilermo Carolus (DHS), Daniel Fwita (DHS), Duhan du Plessis (DHS), Iwan Slabbert (DHS), Janco Visagie (Northwood), Johannes van der Walt (Northwood), Keanu Williamson (Kearsney College), Likho Konza (DHS), Luxolo Sonkononkono (Westville Boys’ High), Lwandle Mkhize (Kearsney College), Lwazi Mbebe (Kearsney College), Milisuthando George (DHS), Nhlanhla Ndlovu (Kearsney College), Olwethu Kosani (Maritzburg College), Omphile Kola (DHS), Rory Stanton (Maritzburg College), Sambesiwe Ndamase (Glenwood High), Sibusiso Hlongwa (Westville Boys’ High), Theo Boshoff (Maritzburg College), Zion Smith (Durban High School).
10 Durban High School | 4 Kearsney College | 3 Maritzburg College | 2 Northwood School | 2 Westville Boys’ High | 1 Glenwood High | 1 Hilton College
