Leopards 57-14 Limpopo Blue Bulls: Craven Week 2026

Leopards 57-14 Limpopo Blue Bulls: the scoreline tells the story cleanly. On a cold Wednesday morning at Grey High School in Gqeberha, the Leopards delivered one of the most commanding performances of the 2026 FNB U18 Craven Week, dismantling a Limpopo Blue Bulls side that showed early promise but had no answer for what was coming.

Limpopo actually drew first blood. The Blue Bulls crossed the line to lead 7-0, and for a brief moment there was a sense that the Garsfontein and Affies contingent at the heart of their squad might make a real contest of it. They were wrong. The Leopards, a squad forged largely from the rugby heartlands of Rustenburg and Klerksdorp, responded immediately with a try of their own to make it 5-7. The momentum had shifted, and it never shifted back.

Try by try the Leopards built their lead. A second try, then the conversion. A third. A fourth. A fifth before the break, with the conversion sailing over to send the sides in at half-time with the scoreboard reading 31-7. Twenty-four unanswered points in the first half. The Limpopo Blue Bulls, to their credit, never folded completely, but they were well and truly second in every contest that mattered.

The second half brought more of the same. The Leopards crossed for three further tries in quick succession, two of them converted, stretching the lead to 50-7 and putting the bonus point and the statement result firmly in their sights. Limpopo found some pride in the final quarter, scoring a converted try to bring the margin back to 36 points at 50-14. It was a small moment of consolation in an otherwise difficult afternoon.

The Leopards had the final word. One last try, one last conversion. 57-14 at the whistle.

For the Leopards, this result announces them as genuine contenders for the week's honours. Their depth across the squad, with contributions from eight schools spanning the North West heartland, gives them options other provinces will envy. For Limpopo, a heavy defeat early in the week demands a response. The competition runs on, and there is still plenty to play for.