Craven Week 2026 results: Golden Lions floored by WP XV fightback
· The South African
Western Province XV overturned a nine-point half-time deficit to beat the Golden Lions on Day 4 of the U18 Craven Week, while the Griffons, Pumas and Blue Bulls were also victorious at Grey High School in Gqeberha on Thursday.
WP XV maintained their perfect record at the U18 Craven Week tournament after downing the Lions on Thursday, while the Griffons, Pumas and Bulls bounced back from Tuesday’s defeats.
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Ran away with the match
The Lions dominated the early exchanges of their match against WP XV and raced to 14-0 lead. The boys from the Western Cape hit back shortly before half-time and then proceeded to run away with the game in the second stanza.
Thomas Saunders (wing) scored a hat-trick for WP XV while flyhalf Travis Pheiffer slotted five conversions in a dramatic 43-33 win.
Earlier in the day, the Griffons scored five tries in their 29-12 win over the Valke, with wings Shovee de Villiers and Qlin Booyse both dotting down twice.
The Pumas dominated Border from start to finish, with No 8 Vian Louw scoring two of his team’s eight tries and flyhalf Ewan van der Merwe contributing 15 points.
One-sided
The subsequent contest between the Bulls and Griquas was similarly one-sided, with fullback Drewyn Baron scoring a brace and flyhalf Ruan Fluks converting seven of his team’s nine tries.
The Youth Weeks programme will continue at Grey High on Friday, when 16 female teams compete in the final round of U18 Girls Week tournament.
Meanwhile, the U18 Craven Week will conclude at Grey High on Saturday, with all 16 boys teams in action.
U18 Craven Week results – Day 4, Thursday, 9 July:
- Griffons 29-12 Valke 12
- Border 14-54 Pumas
- Blue Bulls 59-19 Griquas
- Golden Lions 33-43 Western Province XV
U18 Craven Week fixtures – Day 3, Wednesday, 8 July:
- Leopards 57-14 Limpopo Blue Bulls
- Boland 31-32 Eastern Province
- Free State 38-26 South Western Districts
- Western Province 24-22 Sharks
U18 Craven Week results – Day 2, Tuesday, 7 July:
- Border 36-14 Valke – MATCH REPORT
- Griquas 43-29 Pumas – MATCH REPORT
- Western Province XV 52-33 Griffons – MATCH REPORT
- Blue Bulls 32-43 Lions – MATCH REPORT
U18 Craven Week results – Day 1, Monday, 6 July
- Boland 39-20 Leopards – MATCH REPORT
- Free State 66-41 Limpopo Blue Bulls – MATCH REPORT
- Sharks 36-19 South Western Districts – MATCH REPORT
- Western Province 42-25 Eastern Province – MATCH REPORT
U18 Craven Week fixtures – Day 5, Saturday, 11 July:
A-field
EP vs SWD – 08:30
Free State vs Blue Bulls – 10:00
Sharks vs Golden Lions – 11:30
WP vs WP XV – 13:00
B-field
Griquas vs Griffons – 08:30
Boland vs Pumas – 10:00
C-field
Valke vs Limpopo – 08:30
Border vs Leopards – 10:00