South Africa’s biggest schools rugby tournament lands at Grey High School in Gqeberha from 6 to 11 July. Dates, venue, the defending champions and how to follow every day.
Live from the SA Rugby match centre. Kick-off times are SAST; later rounds are seeded as the week unfolds.
Craven Week is South Africa’s flagship under-18 schools rugby tournament, staged every winter since July 1964 and named after Danie Craven, the Springbok scrumhalf who spent decades running the game and backed the idea of a national schools week. Each of the country’s 14 provincial unions sends at least one side; the bigger unions field two, one from their urban base and one representing the country districts. For one week the best schoolboy players in the land pull on provincial jerseys.
It has always been the main hunting ground for franchise and Springbok scouts. A large share of every professional intake — and a long line of Test players — first caught the eye in the green-and-gold jersey of their province at Craven Week. The 2026 edition is a landmark for the host: Grey High School turns 170 this year, and it is the first time the boys’ and girls’ U18 weeks are played at one venue.
The tournament runs to 20 teams and, unusually, keeps no points log and stages no official final. The organisers seed the fixtures as the week goes on — only the opening fixtures are set in advance, with the later rounds confirmed after each day’s results — and the two standout sides are paired in a main match on the final day. That is why you won’t find a full published schedule up front: the draw is built as the week unfolds. Western Province U18 arrive as the 2025 holders and the most successful side in Craven Week history.
Every match is streamed live on SuperSport Schools, and SA Rugby publishes the confirmed fixtures, teams and results on its match centre each day of the week. For the senior game — the Springboks, the URC and the Currie Cup — here is where the rest of South African rugby is on:
The FNB U18 Craven Week is South Africa’s biggest schools rugby tournament, and the 2026 edition runs from 6 to 11 July at Grey High School in Gqeberha — the first time the boys’ and girls’ U18 weeks share one venue. Western Province go in as defending champions. Only the opening fixtures are set in advance; the rest are seeded as the week unfolds, and every match is streamed live on SuperSport Schools.
The FNB U18 Craven Week 2026 runs from 6 to 11 July at Grey High School in Gqeberha, in the Eastern Province. The main match on the final day, Saturday 11 July, is played on Grey’s Kolisi field.
Craven Week is South Africa’s flagship under-18 schools rugby tournament, staged every winter since July 1964 and named after Springbok scrumhalf and administrator Danie Craven. Each of the 14 provincial unions sends at least one side, and it has long been the main scouting ground for franchise and Springbok talent.
Western Province U18 came out on top of the 2025 main match and go into 2026 as the holders. Western Province also have the most main-match wins in the tournament’s history.
Every match is streamed live on SuperSport Schools, and SA Rugby publishes the confirmed fixtures, teams and results on its match centre each day of the week.
The tournament runs to 20 teams drawn from South Africa’s 14 provincial unions — Bulls, Western Province, Sharks, Lions, Cheetahs, Pumas, Griquas, Border, Eastern Province, Boland, Griffons, Leopards, SWD and Valke among them — with the larger unions fielding a second side representing their country districts.
Craven Week is the under-18 tournament; the FNB U16 Grant Khomo Week is its under-16 equivalent, played at Kearsney College in Durban from 29 June to 3 July 2026. Both fall under SA Rugby’s FNB Youth Weeks.
.png){kind=small}