A star-studded SA Schools team will face a powerful SA Schools A team combination in Gqeberha on July 16 at the conclusion of the U18 Craven Week tournament, which will be held at Grey High from July 6 to 11.
Craven Week is returning to Gqeberha for the first time since 2012, when the world-famous youth week was held at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
This showpiece match is part of a bumper domestic competition schedule for senior and junior teams in 2026.
National selectors, including the Elite Player Development (EPD) managers at SA Rugby, will attend Craven Week to identify the best available talent on display.
Selection is based on the following criteria:
- Individual skill: technical proficiency in their specific position.
- Physical conditioning: meeting the high physical demands of international-level schoolboy rugby.
- Consistency: sustained performance across the week-long tournament.
A group of around 44-50 players is initially considered, then refined to a 28-player squad for the SA Schools team.
In addition to the main SA Schools team, a secondary “A” team is selected to provide further opportunities for top players and development aid.
The selected squads typically play in international, locally hosted tournaments against teams like England, Wales, France, and Scotland.
The SA Schools team represents the pinnacle of school rugby in South Africa, often serving as a pathway to the SA U20 team and higher levels of professional rugby.
Apart from school rugby, momentum in the women’s game has gathered speed with the establishment of the Pick n Pay Women’s Super Leagues 1 and 2 competitions.
Plans are also on the cards for the creation of an elite competition, earmarked for local women’s franchise teams, while two SA Schools teams for girls will be named for the first time after the FNB U18 Girls Week.
There is also alignment for boys’ and girls’ participation at the annual FNB Youth Weeks, with U18 and U16 schoolboy and girls’ players taking part in their national weeks at the same time at one venue.
SA Rugby said the status quo will remain for the 2026 edition of the SA Cup.
This means the same 10 teams will return for another exciting instalment, with the format remaining unchanged. This competition will kick off on March 7 with a single round of matches, and the final will be staged on May 23.
The top four teams at the end of the SA Cup league phase will again qualify for the Carling Currie Cup Premier Division, where they will be joined by the Bulls, Sharks, Lions and Western Province.
The other six teams from the SA Cup will then contest the annual Carling Currie Cup First Division.
SA Rugby and its member unions are exploring changes to the men’s age-group provincial competitions, following a thorough review of the current structure.
For club players, the Betway Women’s Club Championship is returning for a second season, from September 19 to 26, while the popular Pick n Pay Gold Cup is set to start on September 26, with the final on October 24.
SA Rugby CEO Rian Oberholzer said the announcement of the confirmed competition structure for 2026 follows an intense period of planning by the governing body, provincial unions and key stakeholders.
“In a year when we will see the Springboks take on the All Blacks in Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry on home soil, as well as the new Nations Championship, we are once more extremely pleased to announce these confirmed local competitions,” he said.
“I’d like to commend everyone involved in this exhaustive planning process, including the provincial union presidents, CEOs and coaches, for working so hard in collaboration with our high-performance and operations departments to produce an incredibly detailed and workable schedule for the entire local season.