By Johnathan Paoli
The 2026 FNB Under-18 Craven Week got under way at Grey High School in Gqeberha on Monday, with Boland fighting back to beat the Leopards 39-20 before Free State claimed a 66-41 win over the Limpopo Blue Bulls.
The annual tournament, widely regarded as South Africa’s premier provincial schools rugby showcase, brings together the country’s leading Under-18 players.
Boland made a slow start against the Leopards, who took control of the early exchanges and opened the scoring in the 15th minute through fullback Aydan Willemse. Ricardo Enos converted the try to give the North West side a 7-0 lead.
Enos added two penalties as the Leopards stretched their advantage to 13-0, but Boland worked their way back into the contest before half-time and trailed 13-3 at the break.
Boland took charge after the restart, scoring early in the second half to shift the momentum before adding further tries as the Leopards struggled to contain their wide attack.
The Leopards responded late through De Wet Grobler, but Boland sealed the result with a penalty before adding another late try to complete the comeback.
Wing Anwill Jacobs led Boland’s attack with a hat-trick of tries, while Dihego Braaf and JP Lotriet also crossed the line.
Jaydan van Niekerk kicked four conversions and a penalty, with Johan van Deventer adding another three points.
For the Leopards, Willemse and Grobler scored tries, while Enos finished with two conversions and two penalties.
Free State also had to recover from a slow start in their 66-41 win over the Limpopo Blue Bulls in a high-scoring match that produced 17 tries.
Limpopo raced into a 14-0 lead through tries from Juan Dreyer and Lehlogonolo Letlabola after an earlier effort had been ruled out.
Free State gradually settled and fought back as the teams traded tries in an open first half. The Bloemfontein side finished the half strongly to lead 28-19 at the interval before pulling away after the break.
Free State’s Zachary Walburgh was one of the standout performers, scoring three tries and converting eight of his side’s 10 tries.
Eddie Mabena and Ruan Roux each scored twice, while Lamla Mgedezi, Andrew Wessels and Unathi Ntuli also crossed the line.
The Limpopo Blue Bulls remained competitive throughout, with Letlabola scoring twice and Dreyer, Juan Randell, Kristen Swanepoel, Andru de Beer and Mahlatse Kekana also adding tries.
Ahead of their opening fixture, the Limpopo Blue Bulls paid tribute to those who had supported their preparations.
“The hard work has been done, the bonds have been strengthened, and now our focus shifts to the 2026 FNB U18 Craven Week. We are ready to proudly represent our union and give it everything we’ve got,” the union posted on social media.
The tournament will conclude on Saturday.
