Golden Lions and Blue Bulls to lock horns once again on first day of Craven Week
There will be tears again during the opening day of this year’s 60th edition of the FNB u18 Craven Week hosted in Middelburg, Mpumalanga.
The Blue Bulls and the Golden Lions will face each other in the main curtain raiser for the day. These two teams also faced each other during the main match of the opening day of last year’s tournament in Krugersdorp.
The prestigious annual tournament will be hosted from 7 to 12 July at Middelburg High School.
The hosts, the Pumas, who also finished last year’s tournament unbeaten, will face the Limpopo Blue Bulls in the main match of the opening day.
The unofficial defending champions, Western Province, will face their neighbours, Boland, in the main match of the second day.
The side’s victory of 37-24 over the Free State in the main match of last year’s Craven Week in Krugersdorp was the union’s 15th successive victory in the tournament.
Their last defeat at the Craven Week was on the last day of the tournament of 2017 in Johannesburg when they were defeated by 33-54 by the Free State.
Western Province will arrive at this year’s tournament once again as the favourites. Players like Joshua Neill (Rondebosch Boys’ High), Jordan Jooste (Paarl Boys’ High), Quintin Potgieter and Markus Muller (both Paarl Gimnasium) could be in action once again for the team from the Western Cape.
The Sharks will also be able to pick a competitive side this year, with feeder schools like Durban High School, Northwood and Westville Boys’ High enjoying good seasons thus far. Players like Zekhe Siyaya (Westville Boys’ High), Lian Terblanche (Northwood) and Jadrian Afrikaner (Westville Boys’ High) will all have a chance to attend the Craven Week again.
The Fixtures
DAY 1 | 7 JULY 2025
14:30 – Pumas vs Limpopo Blue Bulls
12:30 – Blue Bulls vs Golden Lions
11:00 – Free State vs South Western Districts
09:30 – Western Province XV vs Griffons
DAY 2 | 8 JULY 2025
14:30 – Western Province vs Boland
13:00 – Sharks vs Eastern Province
11:30 – Border vs Griqualand West
10:00 – Leopards vs Valke
