SA’s next generation set to shine at FNB U18 Weeks

SA Rugby’s drive to improve women’s rugby will take a big step forward when the next two FNB Youth Weeks kick off in Gqeberha on Monday, as the Under-18 boys and girls will be in action at the same venue for the first time but at the conclusion of the week, history will be made with the announcement of two SA Schools Girls teams.

South Africa’s leading schoolboys and girls will be on show at the FNB U18 Craven Week and FNB U18 Girls Week tournaments, when 32 provincial teams travel to Grey High School next week.

In a change to the format used in previous years, both U18 tournaments will be staged at a single venue – just like the U16s this past week in KwaZulu-Natal – and will bring the curtain down on SA Rugby's annual FNB Youth Weeks programme.

While the announcement of the SA Schools teams for boys is a tradition, the naming of the SA Schools Girls teams will further enhance the growth of the women’s game in the country.

The players selected for the four SA Schools teams will remain in Gqeberha for the two matches, which will take place at Grey High School on Thursday, 16 July.

Former Springbok Women’s players Natasha Hofmeester and Zolisa Noxeke have been appointed as the first coaches of the SA Schools Girls teams, while Lwazi Zangqa and Flash Malinga will coach the two boys’ teams.

These coaches and the selectors will keep a keen eye on the matches. The FNB U18 Craven Week will run from 6 to 11 July, with 16 teams in action across the five match days.

Four matches are scheduled for the opening day of the tournament, with Boland meeting the Leopards in the opening fixture on Monday morning and Western Province – who finished the 2025 competition unbeaten – facing hosts Eastern Province later in the day.

A further four games are scheduled for the second day, with Border, the Valke, Griquas, the Pumas, WP XV, the Griffons, the Blue Bulls and the Golden Lions playing their first round of fixtures at Grey High on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, 16 teams will feature at the FNB U18 Girls Week, which will be staged at the same venue over the course of three match days. KwaZulu-Natal will battle Boland on the Grey High B-Field on Monday morning, while WP – who beat the Golden Lions in the final match of last year's competition – will tackle the Pumas.

The second round of FNB U18 Girls Week fixtures will be staged on Wednesday, before the final round on Friday.

Day one fixtures

FNB U18 Craven Week (Monday, 6 July)

A-field

9.30am: Boland v Leopards

11.15am: Free State v Limpopo Blue Bulls

1pm: Sharks v South Western Districts

3.30pm: Western Province v Eastern Province

FNB U18 Girls Week (Monday, 6 July)

B-Field

9.30am: KwaZulu-Natal v Boland

10.45am: Blue Bulls v Eastern Province

12pm: Golden Lions v Border

1.15pm: Western Province v Pumas

C-Field

9.30am: Valke v Griquas

10.45pm: Free State v Griffons

12pm: South Western Districts v Leopards

1.15pm: Limpopo Blue Bulls v Eastern Province XV