Southern teams impress as U18 Craven Week heats up

DHL Western Province and Eastern Province claimed crucial derby wins on the fourth day of the FNB U18 Craven Week at Hoërskool Middelburg.

WP maintained their perfect record at this week’s tournament after downing the Sharks High Schools on Thursday, while EP proved too strong for Border in the Eastern Cape derby.

Earlier on Thursday, the Valke and Suzuki Griquas secured their first wins of the competition when they beat Sanlam Boland and the Leopards respectively.

The first quarter of the Coastal Derby was fiercely contested, with the Sharks stretching the WP defence and wing Jadrian Afrikaner touching down for a hard-earned try.

WP hit back with tries by centre Markus Muller and prop Matthew van der Merwe, while flyhalf Ethan van Biljon slotted a penalty goal on the stroke of halftime to boost his team’s lead to 11 points.

Province continued to dominate after the break and went on to finish with six tries in an emphatic 45-13 win, with the impressive Muller bagging a brace.

After losing 41-10 to the Sharks earlier this week, EP made a statement when they put three early tries past Border in the Eastern Cape derby.

Flyhalf Tristan Kemp kicked three conversions and three penalty goals to steer his side to a convincing 30-12 victory.

The game between the Valke and Boland was in the balance at halftime, before the boys from the East Rand shifted through the gears in the second half to secure a convincing 35-19 win.

Meanwhile, Griquas bounced back from their recent loss to Border to down the Leopards 46-34, with flyhalf Aidan Gadeija scoring two tries and four conversions.

The last round of the FNB U18 Craven Week will be staged at Hoërskool Middelburg on Saturday, with WP taking on South Western Districts in the final match of the tournament.

FNB U18 CRAVEN WEEK DAY 4 RESULTS (Thursday, 10 July):

Sanlam Boland 19 (14) Valke 35 (20)

Suzuki Griquas 46 (19) Leopards 34 (24)

Border 12 (5) Eastern Province 30 (27)

DHL Western Province 45 (24) Sharks High Schools 13 (13)

FNB U18 CRAVEN WEEK DAY 5 FIXTURES (Saturday, 12 July):

A-FIELD:

9am: EP v Bulls

10:15am: Lions v WP XV

11:30am: Sharks v Free State

12:45pm: WP v SWD

B-FIELD:

9am: Boland v Griffons

10:15am: Limpopo v Leopards

11:30am: Griquas v Valke

12:45pm: Border v Pumas