SARU Media Release - WP takes top honours at U13 Coca-Cola Craven Week

DHL Western Province on Friday took top honours at the Under-13 Coca-Cola Craven Week at Hoërskool Rob Ferreira in White River as they defeated neighbours Boland 34-14 to finish the tournament as the only unbeaten side.

The team’s victory in the final match of the tournament followed on similar success in the 2013 and 2014 editions of the tournament in Bela-Bela and Durban respectively.

The Cape Town side defeated the Valke, Border and SWD in their first three matches in White River to book their place in the grand finale of the Under-13 Coca-Cola Craven Week against their sister union. 

In the other big match-ups on the final day, TW Profile Services Valke defeated SWD 28-12, while KwaZulu-Natal beat the Leopards 24-3.

Border CD, who came through their first two matches unbeaten, meanwhile, registered the biggest victory of the day as they cruised to a 40-7 victory against Namibia.

DHL Western Province 34 (17) Boland 14 (7)

Western Province were completely dominant in their clash against Border as they delivered a fine all-round performance featuring strong forward and back play, which proved to be too much firepower for Boland. Boland scored the first points in the sixth minute compliments of a try by Corne Ethan Oliphant, but their Cape neighbours controlled proceedings soon after. Western Province’s form paid off as they scored two converted tries and penalty to take a 17-7 lead at the break.

They picked up where they left off when play resumed and added two more converted tries to take their score to 34 points. Boland refused to give up and scored their second try on the stroke of full-time, but this merely served as a consolation as Western Province were far ahead on the scoreboard.

Scorers:

DHL Western Province – Tries: Duran Koevort, Ethan James, Armand Maritz, Rynardt Botha. Conversions: Jack Cloete (4). Penalties: Jack Cloete (2).

Boland – Tries: Chadley Jermaine Josias, Corne Ethan Oliphant. Conversions: Nazero Cleophas, Curwin Gertse.

TW Profile Services Valke 28 (21) SWD 12 (7)

The TW Profile Services Valke finished their campaign on a high note after a few unlucky performances in the tournament as they defeated SWD 28-12 with four tries to one in a strong showing. The Valke again combined their power up-front with a solid performance by their backs to outclass SWD and hand the George side their second defeat in as many days.

Such was the Valke’s dominance they built up a good 21-7 lead at the break, which set them up for a convincing 28-12 victory despite a closely contested second half. 

Scorers:

TW Profile Services Valke – Tries: Keagan Balfour, Thulane Ngobe, Musa Sithole, Tyler Skudder. Conversions: Kyle Benadie (4).

SWD – Tries: Laurence Victor, Gary Colannini. Conversion: Tinsley Stuurman.

KwaZulu-Natal 24 (17) Leopards 3 (3)

KwaZulu-Natal made good use of their try-scoring chances in the first half against the Leopards, as they managed to break through to the line twice compliments of Kaleb Thomas and Hendrik Gouws. Interestingly the Leopards opened up the scoring in the second minute with a penalty, but this proved to be their only points in the half.

The Leopards stepped up their defence in the second half and limited KwaZulu-Natal to only one converted try, which flyhalf Mathew Halstead converted to increase his individual contribution to nine points thanks to three conversions and a penalty. Unfortunately for the Leopards, however, their efforts on attack came to nothing as they were unable to penetrate KwaZulu-Natal’s watertight defence, which left them with a disappointing 24-3 defeat.

Scorers:

KwaZulu-Natal – Tries: Kaleb Thomas, Tristian Trollip, Hendrik Gouws. Conversions: Mathew Halstead (3). Penalty: Mathew Halstead.

Leopards – Penalty: Theuns Steyn.

Eastern Province 14 (7) Itec Blue Bulls 38 (31)

The Itec Blue Bulls dominated the first half against EP completely by taking charge up-front and showing an impressive attacking prowess out wide. The Blue Bulls’ attack was fantastic as they forced EP onto the back-foot and the rewards followed as they crossed the chalk four times in the first half. Eastern Province did their best to force their way into the match, but their efforts were curtailed by the effective Blue Bulls defence, leaving them to settle for only one converted try in the first half and a 31-7 deficit at the break.

Eastern Province tightened up their defence significantly in the second half and limited the Blue Bulls to only one more try. The Port Elizabeth side, meanwhile added their second try, leaving the final score at 38-14.

Scorers:

Eastern Province – Tries: Larquin Goliath, Ethan Liberty. Conversions: Daniel Smith (2).

Itec Blue Bulls – Tries: Jooste Nel, Rolen Visagie, Chris Schoombee, Zandre Du Toit (2). Conversions: Jooste Nel (5).

Bidvest Golden Lions 12 (7) Griffons 15 (0)

The first half between the Bidvest Golden Lions and Griffons was tight as both teams put their bodies on the line on attack and defence. So closely matched were the teams, the only points scored in the half was a converted try by the Lions to take a 7-0.

The Lions showed their desire to attack more in the second half, and it paid off with a try shortly after the break, which extended their lead to 12-0. The Griffons, however, staged a dramatic comeback in the last 10 minutes with two tries in two minutes, one of which was converted, and a penalty to sneak into a 15-12 lead, which they held onto for the victory.

Scorers:

Bidvest Golden Lions – Tries: Luan Van der Walt, FC Kotze. Conversion: Sebastine Watney.

Griffons – Tries: Niel Harmse, Karabo Moahlodi. Conversion: Du Toit Van Huyssteen. Penalties: Du Toit Van Huyssteen.

Border CD 40 (28) Namibia 7 (0)

Border CD were in fine form from the outset against Namibia and crossed the tryline for the first of their four first-half tries in the second minute. Three of these tries were scored by the in-form Luyanda Dyani, who earned his hat-trick by the 20^th minute. Unfortunately for Namibia, Border CD dominated possession and made their presence felt on attack for most of the first half, which resulted in them having to feed off the scraps and left them trailing 28-0 at the break.

The East London side continued this impressive form in the second half and added another two tries to their tally for a total of six, while Namibia were only able to cross the tryline only once. This earned Border CD an impressive 40-7 victory.

Scorers:

Border CD – Tries: Athenkosi Mutala, Yola Matomane (2), Luyanda Dyani (3). Conversions: Siphe Nonkwenke (5).

Namibia – Try: Patrick Waggie. Conversion: Kian Fransman.

Pumas 7 (0) Border 17 (0)

The Pumas dominated territory and possession against Border, and they did well to put together phases on attack and apply pressure on the opposition. But despite these determined attempts Borders’ effective defence held them out, which resulted in the teams entering the break scoreless.

Border improved their attack in the second half with their forwards applying pressure up-front while their backs ran hard when they received the ball, and this paid off as they scored two tries to take a 10-0 lead. The Pumas, however, bounced back with an intercept try to close the gap to 10-7 with two minutes left on the clock. But Border ensured their victory with a try immediately after as they found space out wide and dotted down the ball to seal a 17-7 victory.

Scorers:

Pumas – Try: Alec Vermaak. Conversion: Alec Vermaak.

Border – Tries: Theuns Janse van Rensburg, Latica Nela. Conversion: Sihlalo Benge.

Limpopo Blue Bulls 19 (14) GWK Griquas 5 (0)

The clash between the Limpopo Blue Bulls and GWK Griquas proved to be a physical forward battle as the teams opted mainly for pick-and-goes to gain yards on attack. While Griquas struggled to make their way through the Limpopo Blue Bulls’ defence in the first half, the Limpopo side did well to capitalise on their try-scoring chances early on, which earned them two tries in the first seven minutes. But Griquas tightened up their defence and prevented them from scoring any more points before the break.

The Limpopo Blue Bulls threatened to score again after the break, but the tenacious Griquas defence again managed to shut them out for several minutes. It eventually took a chip and chase from the Limpopo side to get through the Griquas defence for their third try. Griquas, however, fought back to score their first try late in the match to go down 19-5. 

Scorers:

Limpopo Blue Bulls – Tries: Rotandwa Mulea, Willie Potgieter, Franco Knoetze. Conversions: Juan Smith (2).

GWK Griquas – Try: Duan Ludik.

Zimbabwe 14 (7) Free State 14 (7)

The clash between Zimbabwe and the Free State was tight as the teams gave everything in the hope of securing their first victory of the tournament. Both teams crossed the tryline once in the first half to go into the break at 7-7, although mistakes at crucial times cost Free State from inflating their score in the half.

The second half was nail-biting as Zimbabwe extended their lead to 14-7 with their second try, and after a few tight exchanges the Free State broke through the defence to level the scores in the dying minutes at 14-14. Unfortunately neither team could add to their score, which forced them to settle for a draw.

Scorers:

Zimbabwe – Tries: Munashe Maisera, Panashe Masaya. Conversions: Milton Manyangadze, Brendan Mason.

Free State – Tries: Oratile Botlhoko (2). Conversions: Du Toit Fourie (2).

U13 Coca-Cola Craven Week day-four results:

DHL Western Province 34 - 14 Boland

TW Profile Services Valke 28 - 12 SWD

KwaZulu-Natal 24 - 3 Leopards

Eastern Province 14 - 38 Itec Blue Bulls

Bidvest Golden Lions 12 - 15 Griffons

Border CD 40 - 7 Namibia

Pumas 7 - 17 Border

Limpopo Blue Bulls 19 - 5 GWK Griquas

Zimbabwe 14 - 14 Free State

Issued by SARU Corporate Affairs

SARU Media Release - Boland, WP to contest main game at U13 Coca-Cola Craven Week

'Note to Editors: The U13 Coca-Cola Craven Week fixtures for Friday’s final round have been included at the foot of the press release.

Boland and DHL Western Province will contest the main game at the Under-13 Coca-Cola Craven Week on Friday after securing vital victories in the penultimate round on Thursday at Hoërskool Rob Ferreira in White River.

Boland defeated the TW Profile Services Valke 18-15 in Thursday’s closing match, while DHL Western Province beat SWD 17-3 to extend their winning run to three matches in the tournament.

Interestingly this final match will mark a repeat of the LSEN Week’s main game at HTS Drostdy in Worcester on Thursday.

In the other big match-ups, the Itec Blue Bulls ended Border CD’s winning run with a convincing 29-0 victory, while KwaZulu-Natal thumped the Bidvest Golden Lions 33-0 and the Leopards beat Border 27-15.

Hosts the Pumas, meanwhile, secured their first victory of the tournament as they beat Free State 31-14, while Namibia secured a last-gasp 14-13 victory against Zimbabwe in the tournament’s Test match.

The last round of matches will be played on Friday.

Boland 18 (15) TW Profile Services Valke 15 (8)

Boland were in solid form in their clash against the Valke as they used their forwards and backs wisely to get onto the front-foot. They were particularly strong at applying pressure on attack by spreading the ball out wide and they earned the rewards with a 15-8 lead at the break after scoring two tries to only one by the Valke shortly before halftime.

Both teams showed their determination to come out on top in the second half and this resulted in a tightly-contested half. The Valke, however, managed to tighten up their defence, and with Boland battling to power their way through the defence they opted for a penalty kick in the second half to extend their score to 18-8. The Valke threated to score a try minutes later, but Boland threw everything at them on defence and managed to secure a turnover. The Kempton Park team’s determined efforts on attack, however, allowed them to reduce the deficit to 18-15 with eight minutes remaining as they scored their second try of the match under the posts. The Valke continued to show their fighting spirit until the final whistle, but they turned down a shot at goal and opted to go for a try in the dying seconds, but Boland denied them to hold on for the win.

Scorers:

Boland – Tries: Michail Gavin Williams, Jan Jeremias De Villiers Fourie. Conversion: Curwin Gertse. Penalties: Curwin Gertse, Nazero Cleophas.

TW Profile Services Valke – Tries: Keagan Balfour, Thabiso Motaung. Conversion: Kyle Benadie. Penalty: Kyle Benadie.

DHL Western Province 17 (12) SWD 3 (3)

The clash between DHL Western Province and SWD was tight as the teams ran hard at each other and gave everything to gain ascendancy in the clash. With both teams displaying a solid effort on attack and defence most of the match was played close to the halfway line. DHL Western Province, however, gained an edge in the first half as they managed to score two tries, while SWD were limited to a penalty, which left them 12-3 behind.

The second half was equally hard-fought. Western Province’s forwards, however, managed to work their way close to the tryline twice in the fourth quarter, and the tenacious SWD defence managed to win a turnover to deny them from scoring the first try. But they were unable to stop the team’s second effort, which resulted in them going down 17-3.

Scorers:

DHL Western Province – Tries: Luke Burger, Nizaar Nazier, Armand Maritz. Conversion: Jack Cloete.

SWD - Penalty: Cameron Sharp.

Itec Blue Bulls 29 (17) Border CD 0 (0)

The Itec Blue Bulls used their power and pace to outplay Border CD in the first half of their clash, with their forwards, in particular, building a solid foundation up front. Such was the Pretoria side’s dominance they scored three tries as their bigger players dominated the East London team physically to take a 17-0 lead at the break.

The Blue Bulls picked up where they left off after the break and camped in Border CD’s half, and this paid off as it allowed them to increase their lead to 29-0 with a further two tries for a total of five for the match. The team, however, were made to work hard for their second try, as Border CD put their bodies on the line on defence and held them out for the several minutes. A yellow card for Border CD with eight minutes left on the clock also assisted the Blue Bulls’ cause.

Scorers:

Itec Blue Bulls – Tries: Chris Schoombee, Stephan Spies, Kyle Meadows, Zandre Du Toit (2). Conversions: Jooste Nel (2).

Bidvest Golden Lions 0 (0) KwaZulu-Natal 33 (21)

KwaZulu-Natal powered their way onto the front foot from the outset against the Bidvest Golden Lions as they delivered a fine all-round performance to force their way to a convincing 21-0 halftime lead. The Durban side’s forwards showed their class up-front, while their backs did well to spread the ball out wide, which set them up for three first-half tries.

They added another two tries after the break as they continued to take advantage of the gaps in the Lions’ defence. The Johannesburg team, however, tried hard to work their way back into the game after making a few line breaks, but unfortunately the effective KwaZulu-Natal defence shut them out, which left them scoreless in the match. 

Scorers:

KwaZulu-Natal - Tries: Khwezi Mbongwa, Kwanele Khumalo, Ethan Matkovich, Kaleb Thomas (2). Conversions: Mathew Halstead (4).

Border 15 (10) Leopards 27 (17)

The Leopards used their powerful forwards to force their way onto the front foot against Border and supported this with a solid effort from their backs. But Border held on and fought back throughout the clash, which allowed them to score two tries to the Leopards’ three, which left them trailing 17-10 at the break.

The Leopards continued to make their presence felt in the second half and increased their score to 24, but this appeared to motivate Border who applied heavy pressure on the Leopards on attack. Their efforts paid off with a try to reduce the gap to 24-15, but a penalty by the Leopards allowed them to extend their lead once again to seal a 27-15 win. 

Scorers:

Border – Tries: Latica Nela (2), Lwanga Bongco.

Leopards - Tries: Tiro Tsoana, Jandre Wilken, De-Andre Du Preez. Conversions: Theuns Steyn (3). Penalties: Theuns Steyn (2).

Pumas 31 (12) Free State 14 (7)

The Pumas ran hard at the Free State on attack from the outset of their clash and managed to apply constant pressure on the opposition. These efforts allowed them to break through for two first-half tries, while the Pumas scored once, leaving only a five-point gap between the teams on the scoreboard at the break.

The Pumas continued to retain possession in the second half, forcing the Free State to defend for several minutes at a time, and they used their pace to make good yards on attack. This earned them another three tries after the break to stretch their lead to 31 points. The Free State, meanwhile, managed to cross the tryline only once in the second half, and had to settle for a 31-14 defeat.

Scorers:

Pumas – Tries: Jacques Marais, Christiaan Van Der Merwe, Nico Liversage, Hardus Rothman (2). Conversions: Alec Vermaak (3).

Free State - Tries: Niocolaas Cohen, Oratile Botlhoko. Conversions: Du Toit Fourie (2).

Namibia 14 (7) Zimbabwe 13 (0)

Namibia had the upper hand in the first half in the Test match of the tournament, as they ran hard at Zimbabwe, and earned a try for their efforts. This pushed them into a 7-0 lead on the scoreboard. However, Zimbabwe showed their intent on attack in the last 10 minutes of the half as they strung together phases on attack and put pressure on Namibia’s defence.

Zimbabwe came out firing in the second half and scored two tries in the opening few minutes, which they backed up with a penalty to take a 13-7 lead. Namibia refused to lie down and powered their way close to the tryline again, but Zimbabwe held their nerve on defence and shut them out.  Nambia followed this up with a try under the posts in the last minute, with the successful conversion earning them a 13-12 victory.

Scorers:

Namibia – Tries: Arnu Gouws, Diaan Vermeulen. Conversions: Kian Fransman (2).

Zimbabwe - Tries: Munashe Maisera, Kudza Maringa. Penalty: Milton Manyangadze.

Eastern Province 31 (19) Limpopo Blue Bulls 12 (7)

Eastern Province did well to capitalise on their try-scoring chances against the Limpopo Blue Bulls despite both teams showing their attacking prowess in a hard-running first half. Eastern Province, however, backed up their exciting attack with a solid defensive structure, which, combined with mistakes at crucial times by the Limpopo side, only allowed them to cross the tryline once in the first half. Eastern Province’s three tries, however, allowed them to take a 19-7 lead at the break.

They picked up where they left off in the second half and scored a further two tries thanks to their impressive support play and hard running, which allowed them to continue finding the gaps in the defence. The Limpopo Blue Bulls, however, bounced back strongly in the dying minutes and scored a converted try to take their score to 12.

Scorers:

Eastern Province – Tries: Ethan Liberty, Kuhle Desha, Aliswa Mapuma, Larquin Goliath, Siviwe Zondani. Conversions: Daniel Smith (2), Lathita Nqebe.

Limpopo Blue Bulls - Tries: Renzo Du Plessis, Pieter Vorster. Conversion: Juan Smith

GWK Griquas 0 (0) Griffons 18 (7)

The clash between the Griffons and GWK Griquas was tense as the teams threw everything at one another. The Griffons, however, managed to power their way through to the tryline once, while they successfully countered all the attempts by the Kimberley side to cross the chalk. This earned them a 7-0 lead at the break.

They added another try in the second half and two penalties – one on the stroke of fulltime – to secure a rewarding 18-0 victory.

Scorers:

Griffons - Tries: Calla Pienaar, Karabo Moahlodi. Conversions: Du Toit Van Huyssteen. Penalties: Du Toit Van Huyssteen (2).

U13 Coca-Cola Craven Week day-three results:

Boland 18 - 15 TW Profile Services Valke

DHL Western Province 17 - 3 SWD

Itec Blue Bulls 29 - 0 Border CD

Bidvest Golden Lions 0 - 33 KwaZulu-Natal

Border 15 - 27 Leopards

Pumas 31 - 14 Free State

Namibia 14 - 13 Zimbabwe

Eastern Province 31 - 12 Limpopo Blue Bulls

GWK Griquas 0 - 18 Griffons

U13 Coca-Cola Craven Week day-four fixtures:

A Field:

09h00 – Limpopo Blue Bulls vs GWK Griquas

10h00 – Pumas vs Border

11h00 – Eastern Province vs Itec Blue Bulls

12h00 – Valke vs SWD

13h00 – DHL Western Province vs Boland

B Field:

09h00 – Zimbabwe vs Free State

10h00 – Border CD vs Namibia

11h00 – Bidvest Golden Lions vs Griffons

12h00 – KwaZulu-Natal vs Leopards

Issued by SARU Corporate Affairs

Western Province lead six unbeaten teams into the third round of the U13 Coca-Cola Craven Week

The second day of the Coca-Cola under-13 Craven Week in Durban saw Western Province march on towards a possible spot in Friday’s prestigious final game of the week following their 10-8 win over a very good Valke side in the day’s concluding fixture.

The game was a thriller, between two evenly matched teams and the Valke had an opportunity to force a last-minute draw when they scored a try close to the posts, but the conversion went wide and Western Province were able to keep their unbeaten record.

Province were easily the most impressive side on the opening day, but their skillful backs were given far less possession to run with by the Valke, and the defence of the East Rand side, with centre Franco Wagenaar in the van, cut them down when they did look like breaking out.

In the end, it was the forwards who got the try that sealed the game for Western Province, with flank Benjamin Van Schalkwyk barging his way over from close in to put them 10-3 up ahead of the last gasp try by Ulrich Wiese closed the gap to two points.

The Valke, who beat Namibia in their opening game looked like one of the best teams on show so far and they will, hopefully, be given a good fixture on day three and still be in with a chance for one of the late time slots on the last day come Friday.

The other side to impress on day two was Eastern Province who beat the Golden Lions 22-7 and looked full of skill and determined running. They scored three tries, via Siyamthanda Hallom, Michael Paddock, and Enrico Bantom. The Lions could only manage one try, scored by Franku Muller.

Border managed to keep their unbeaten record, although they were given a stern test by the Limpopo Blue Bulls and scraped home 14-12. Border romped home against the Blue Bulls on day one.

It didn’t get any better for the Blue Bulls on day two. They went down 19-17 to SWD, while Free State also lost their second game in a row – 24-12 to the Pumas.

It was also a bad day for the hosts, KwaZulu-Natal. They lost 14-6 to Boland – their second loss, following their reversal to the Lions on the first day.

There are just six teams who have won both matches so far. In addition to WP, EP and Border, the Griffons, SWD and the Leopards have managed to make it two out of two.

Wednesday is a rest day at the week, play continues on Thursday, with the teams playing their last fixtures at Kings Park on Friday.

Results

Griffons 12 Namibia 5, Zimbabwe 31 Border Country 27, Pumas 24 Cheetahs 12, SWD 19 Blue Bulls 17, Leopards 33 Griquas 14, Eastern Province 22 Golden Lions 7, Boland 14 KwaZulu-Natal 6, Border 14 Limpopo 12, Western Province 10 Valke 8.

The U13 Coca-Cola Craven Week is all about enjoyment as well as identifying talent

The 2014 Under 13 Coca-Cola Craven Week is under way at Glenwood Boys’ High School in Durban and everyone here is in agreement that you would go a long way to find a tournament that has gotten off to better start.

The local organizers have been helped, of course, by the balmy East coast weather – which is being lapped up by the inland teams and their supporters, and Glenwood with its stands, pavilions and lush green field is the perfect venue for a week like this.

The Sharks Union pulled off a major coup by getting their Super Rugby squad involved. They spent the opening day at Glenwood – and they were all there, Springboks included. In a great move, the players joined the provinces that they were affiliated to as schoolboys for the march-on at the opening ceremony, and the team held their practice session on the field at the end of the day’s play.

The under-13 Coca-Cola Craven Week is all about rewarding players at the end of their primary school rugby careers, and about motivating them to continue their development when they go to high school next year. The participation of the Sharks on the opening day certainly went a long way towards achieving those goals.

Yusuf Jackson, SA Rugby’s manager of amateur rugby, who is at the week in Durban, stresses the fact that this particular week is about giving the current top primary schools players an opportunity to compete on a national stage.

“We are aware that these players are at the start of their rugby careers. The under-13 Coca-Cola Craven Week features the early developers and we don’t pay too much attention to results at this stage,” he said.

“So, this week is all about participation, and about making the provinces aware of the young talent they have in their ranks. There’s no point in trying to identify future stars at this stage because there are many players who are not here who will develop physically in the years to come.”

At the same time, however, it’s important that no talented players should fall through the cracks and there are enough agents and marketing people from the top rugby schools around the country to ensure that that doesn’t happen.

Fetsi Mbele, Coca-Cola South Africa Marketing Assets Manager tells us that the goals of the tournament also extend further than what happens on the field, “Not only does the Under-13 Coca-Cola Craven Week unearth talented youngsters it also teaches them to live a healthy and active life through their sport of choice.”

For the spectators, in the meantime, it’s been a feast of barefoot rugby, on a lush emerald field, in Durban’s sub-tropical winter sunshine – it doesn’t get much better than that.

Day 2 Results at lunch

Leopards             32 - 14                   Griquas               

Blue Bulls             17 - 19                   SWD

Free State           12 - 24                   Pumas 

Namibia               5 - 12                     Griffons              

Zimbabwe           31 - 27                   Border CD

Ends.

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Results from day 1 of the U13 Coca-Cola Craven Week

Border and Western Province were the most impressive teams on view on the first day of the under-13 Coca-Cola Craven Week at Glenwood Boys’ High School in Durban on Monday.

Border ran in nine tries in demolishing the Blue Bulls 52-10. Centre Luwaka Bata and fullback Siposiso Java got two tries each and the Bulls had no answer to Border’s pace, and their willingness to run the ball at every opportunity.

The markedly bigger Blue Bulls team tried to keep it tight – their tries came from lineout drives close to the Border line – but they were ineffective against the inventiveness and ball skills of the Eastern Cape side.

Western Province were no less impressive in their game against the Pumas. Playing in front of the entire Sharks Super Rugby squad - who spent the afternoon at the under-13 Coca-Cola Craven Week, and practiced on the Glenwood field at the end of the day’s play – they scored 10 tries in a one-sided 56-0 win.

Province dominated all phases of the game. Their forwards won just about all the possession going, allowing their backs to run amok. In the end left winger Junaid Abrahams got a hat trick of tries and fullback Kerwin Stewart and rightwing Dalvon Blood scoring two each.

On this showing you can expect at least one of those two teams to be in the prestigious final game of the week on Friday.

In the final game of the day, the hosts, KwaZulu-Natal and the Golden Lions entertained the big crowd with some all-out attacking play. The sides were evenly-matched, with both sides scoring two tries, and the Lions taking the victory 15-12 thanks to a last minute penalty.

In other action on the opening day, South Western Districts caused something of a surprise by beating Free State 10-8 and Boland played some attractive running rugby in downing the Northern Free State Griffons 43-12

Play continues on Tuesday, Wednesday is a rest day, and the teams play again on Thursday. Their final fixtures on Friday will be played at the King’s Park stadium.

Day 1 Results

Griquas 36 Zimbabwe 12, Valke 13 Namibia 0, SWD 10 Cheetahs 8, Boland 43 Griffons 12, Border 52 Blue Bulls 10, Leopards 37 Border Country 5, W Province 56 Pumas 0, Golden Lions 15 KwaZulu-Natal 12.

Day 2 Fixtures

Field A

8:30 Zimbabwe vs Border CD

9:30 Cheetahs vs Pumas

10:30 Blue bulls vs SWD

11:30 Leopards vs Griquas

12:30 EP vs Lions

13:30 Boland vs KZN

14:30 Border vs Limpopo

15:30 WP vs Valke

Field B

8:30 Namibia vs Griffons

Does size really matter at the U13 Coca-Cola Craven Week?

There were the usual number of gigantic 12 and 13 year-olds on display on the opening day of the 2014 under-13 Coca-Cola Craven Week that is taking place at Durban’s Glenwood Boys’ High School this week.

The biggest of them was Stephan Posthumus of Hartenbos Primary School and SWD, who tips the scales at a hefty 116 kg and stands 1,79m tall.

A survey of the official programme reveals, if the numbers are to be believed, that there are 32 boys at this tournament that are over 1.78m tall, and 15 who weigh 80kg or more.

Those sorts of figures always get people talking, and in the social media response to a picture of Posthumus that someone tweeted, were quite a few questions around whether it was safe to have players of this size playing against smaller boys of that age.

At the week, as he will be at all of the Coca-Cola Youth Weeks, was SA Rugby’s medical manager, Clint Redhead, and he says that the issue is one that SARU certainly keeps an eye on.

The question asked, he says, is whether we should be playing weight-grade rather than age-grade rugby at this level, like they do in some parts of New Zealand.

And the answer, he says, is that there is no medical evidence to support It. “We had professor Mike Lambert of UCT do research for us a few year ago and he concluded that there is no difference in the injury-risks involved when age-grade and weight-grade rugby is compared,” he said.

“We keep an eye on the literature, and that hasn’t changed.”

Redhead believes there are social and maturity issues with making larger boys play with others who are older than them that make the practice problematic. “It can’t be good to take a boy away from his peers and put him among players who are older and more mature than he is. We believe that outweighs any benefits there may be to having games were everyone is roughly the same size.”

SARU keeps detailed injury statistics at all the Coca-Cola Youth Weeks and, according to Redhead the most common injuries at the under-13 Craven Week have nothing to do with size and weight. “We find that, because the players are at an undeveloped, growth stage, the majority of the injuries are caused by kids falling awkwardly.”

So, bring on the big boys. They have already added a lot of colour and interest to what is going to be a great festival of rugby in Durban this week. 

Fetsi Mbele, Coca-Cola South Africa Marketing Assets Manager comments, “The Coca-Cola Craven Week creates an environment where natural talent, player skill, hard work, dedication and team work meet and the future heroes of South African rugby are made. We are proud to sponsor a tournament where all kids have the opportunity to take part.”

Ends.

About The Coca-Cola Company

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is the world's largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 500 sparkling and still brands. Led by Coca-Cola, the world's most valuable brand, the Company's portfolio features 15 billion dollar brands including Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Coca-Cola Zero, vitaminwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply and Georgia. Globally, we are the No. 1 provider of sparkling beverages, juices and juice drinks and ready-to-drink teas and coffees. Through the world's largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy the Company's beverages at a rate of 1.7 billion servings a day. With an enduring commitment to building sustainable communities, our Company is focused on initiatives that reduce our environmental footprint, support active, healthy living, create a safe, inclusive work environment for our associates, and enhance the economic development of the communities where we operate. For more information about our Company, please visit our website at www.thecoca-colacompany.com.