Craven Week
Encyclopedia
The Craven Week is an annual rugby union
tournament
organised for schoolboys in the Republic of South Africa. The tournament started in July 1964, and is named after the legendary Springbok
rugby union player and coach Dr Danie Craven
.
The tournament has its humble beginnings in an idea by Piet Malan
, then Springbok flanker, in 1949, around the time of the South African Rugby Board
's 75th anniversary. He wanted schools to feature in the celebrations and approached Danie Craven
in Potgietersrus
on how this could be done.
Dr Craven took the idea to his board who decided on getting the 15 schools unions together for a week. The man who kept the idea alive however was one Jan Preuyt
, a former student at the University of Stellenbosch
and teacher at Port Rex Technical School in East London. Preuyt had played rugby for Griqualand West
and was also the chairman of Border Schools.
At the time there was no such thing as a South African Schools organisation, and the South African Rugby Board were not involved, so Preuyt and Border Schools arranged the first Craven Week tournament on their own.
The competition began with 15 teams in 1964, growing to 28 in 1987 and 32 in 2000. The format was changed in 2001, and now allows for just 20 teams.
Each year since 1974 a South African schools team has been selected, and the competition has been open to players of all races since 1980 when Craven himself requested that it be done. The competition has since become a hunting ground for talent scouts trying to find the best new players for their provinces and many young upcoming stars see the tournament as an opportunity to further their careers.
Currently the tournament is known as the "Coca-Cola Craven Week" with The Coca-Cola Company
as the main sponsor of the event.
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
tournament
Tournament
A tournament is a competition involving a relatively large number of competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:...
organised for schoolboys in the Republic of South Africa. The tournament started in July 1964, and is named after the legendary Springbok
South Africa national rugby union team
The South African national rugby union team are 2009 British and Irish Lions Series winners. They are currently ranked as the fourth best team in the IRB World Rankings and were named 2008 World Team of the Year at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards.Although South Africa was instrumental...
rugby union player and coach Dr Danie Craven
Danie Craven
Daniël Hartman Craven , more famously known as Danie Craven or simply Doc Craven, is a former Western Province, Eastern Province, Northern Transvaal and Springbok rugby union player as well as arguably South Africa's best and best-known rugby administrator...
.
The tournament has its humble beginnings in an idea by Piet Malan
Piet Malan
Pieter Malan , more commonly known simply as Piet, played rugby union for the then Transvaal province as well as the Springbok rugby teams...
, then Springbok flanker, in 1949, around the time of the South African Rugby Board
South African Rugby Board
The South African Rugby Board was the rugby union governing body of white South Africans between 1889 and 1992. The governing of white and coloured rugby union was handled separately during South Africa under Apartheid....
's 75th anniversary. He wanted schools to feature in the celebrations and approached Danie Craven
Danie Craven
Daniël Hartman Craven , more famously known as Danie Craven or simply Doc Craven, is a former Western Province, Eastern Province, Northern Transvaal and Springbok rugby union player as well as arguably South Africa's best and best-known rugby administrator...
in Potgietersrus
Mokopane
Mokopane , is a town in the Limpopo province of South Africa. The town was established by the Voortrekkers and named Potgietersrus after the slain Voortrekker leader Piet Potgieter...
on how this could be done.
Dr Craven took the idea to his board who decided on getting the 15 schools unions together for a week. The man who kept the idea alive however was one Jan Preuyt
Jan Preuyt
Jan Preuyt was the chairman of the South African Schools Rugby Association for 25 years. He was also instrumental in the establishment of the Craven Week rugby tournament....
, a former student at the University of Stellenbosch
Stellenbosch University
Stellenbosch University is a public research university situated in the town of Stellenbosch, South Africa. Other nearby universities are the University of Cape Town and University of the Western Cape....
and teacher at Port Rex Technical School in East London. Preuyt had played rugby for Griqualand West
Griqualand West
Griqualand West is an area of central South Africa with an area of 40,000 km² that now forms part of the Northern Cape Province. It was inhabited by the Griqua people - a semi-nomadic, Afrikaans-speaking nation of mixed-race origin, who established several states outside the expanding frontier...
and was also the chairman of Border Schools.
At the time there was no such thing as a South African Schools organisation, and the South African Rugby Board were not involved, so Preuyt and Border Schools arranged the first Craven Week tournament on their own.
The competition began with 15 teams in 1964, growing to 28 in 1987 and 32 in 2000. The format was changed in 2001, and now allows for just 20 teams.
Each year since 1974 a South African schools team has been selected, and the competition has been open to players of all races since 1980 when Craven himself requested that it be done. The competition has since become a hunting ground for talent scouts trying to find the best new players for their provinces and many young upcoming stars see the tournament as an opportunity to further their careers.
Currently the tournament is known as the "Coca-Cola Craven Week" with The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation and manufacturer, retailer and marketer of non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups. The company is best known for its flagship product Coca-Cola, invented in 1886 by pharmacist John Stith Pemberton in Columbus, Georgia...
as the main sponsor of the event.