THE COCA-COLA UNDER-16 GRANT KHOMO WEEK WILL RUN FROM THE 2ND – 5TH JULY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG

The Coca-Cola under-16 Grant Khomo Week takes place at The University of Johannesburg from July 2 to 5. Twenty provincial teams will play three matches each over four days, in a festival of rugby, with no overall winner at the end of the week.

The under-16 week was introduced by SA Rugby in 2003 after the union recognised a gap in the development process of young rugby players. It was decided that the period between the Coca-Cola under-13 and under-18 Craven Weeks was too long, and too many talented players were being lost in between the two.

The result was the introduction of an under-16 interprovincial week and it has become an integral part of SA Rugby’s Youth Weeks programme which is held during the winter school holidays each year.

When the week was introduced it was decided to name it after one of the unsung heroes of South African rugby – Grant Khomo. He was regarded as one of the best centre three quarters South Africa has ever had, and was later to become the President of the then South African African Rugby Board (SAARB).

He and his team built a strong culture of quality rugby among black people, using schools as nurseries. Grant Khomo originally came from Mokopane in Limpopo where he represented his province in athletics, soccer and tennis.

His introduction to rugby came when he attended the University of Fort Hare in the 1940s. After his university days, he went back and captained a Transvaal team, made up largely of Cape-born players who had been recruited by the mining companies for their rugby prowess.

Khomo led the first selected African national rugby team to a 14-3 victory over their coloured counterparts in 1950. He captained the team for the next two years.

Khomo also captained the Bantu national soccer team against a coloured side and held the national African tennis title.

In 2003, Khomo became the first black rugby icon recognised by the South African Rugby Union on a national level, when the under-16 component of the schools’ interprovincial tournament was named the Grant Khomo     Coca-Cola Week.

The Coca-Cola under-16 Grant Khomo Week is all about early talent identification, ahead of preparing players for senior rugby. The under-16 year is recognised as a crucial one in player development and so the   Coca-Cola  Grant Khomo Week is used as an educational opportunity, telling the players about conditioning, nutrition and mental preparation.

The SA Sports Institute is present at the week, as is the SA Institute for Drug Free Sport. Players showing the potential to go further in the game are recognised at this week and the SA Rugby provincial unions are tasked with overseeing their further development ahead of Coca-Cola Craven Week selection in two years’ time.

“All Coca-Cola Youth Weeks, of which there are four, are aimed at identifying and nurturing talent within South Africa,” said Coca-Cola SA Marketing Asset Manager, Craig Van Niekerk.  “Seeing players progress through the various Coca-Cola Rugby Youth Weeks is amazing and we are proud to be the sponsor to make this transition possible.”

The teams at the Coca-Cola under-16 Grant Khomo Week will all play three matches: on Monday July 2 and Tuesday July 3. Wednesday is a rest day and all the sides play their final game on Thursday July 5.

As is customary, the fixtures for the first day only have been announced. The games for the following days are arranged, on a strength v strength basis, at the end of each day’s play thereafter.

The fixtures for the first day are: Pumas v KwaZulu-Natal, Blue Bulls v Griffons, Free State v Valke, Eastern Province v SWD, Golden Lions v Western Province, Border CD v Griquas CD, Leopards v Namibia, Border v Boland, Golden Lions XV v Zimbabwe, Griquas v Limpopo.