The under-18 Academy Week takes place at Kearsney College, Botha’s Hill (40km from Durban) starting on Monday, 11 July 2016.
This will be the first time that Academy Week and Craven Week are held at the same venue during the same week.
The Academy Week format has changed and will now mirror that of Craven. In other words, there are now two groups of teams. The first group plays on Monday and Wednesday, while the second group plays on Tuesday and Thursday. Friday is a rest day and all teams are in action on Saturday. Day 1 and Day 2 fixtures are predetermined. Day 3, 4 and 5 fixtures are determined during the course of the week. In all likelihood, there will be an unofficial final.
Fixtures for Day 1 & Day 2
| DATE | TEAM | TEAM | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 11Jul | Blou Valke | SA LSEN | ||
| Mon 11Jul | Griffons CD | EPCD | ||
| Mon 11Jul | Border | Griquas CD | ||
| Mon 11Jul | Golden Lions | Pumas | ||
| Mon 11Jul | Western Province | SWD | ||
| Mon 11Jul | KwaZulu-Natal | Griffons | ||
| Tue 12Jul | Pumas CD | Border CD | ||
| Tue 12Jul | Limpopo Blou Bulls | Leopards | ||
| Tue 12Jul | Rooi Valke | Namibia | ||
| Tue 12Jul | KZN CD | Griquas | ||
| Tue 12Jul | Free State | Boland | ||
| Tue 12Jul | Blue Bulls | Eastern Province |
Beet, when are they announcing the coaches of the KZN teams? We usually have good debates at this stage.
@beet: Thank You Beet ….. Good to hear about that
@BuffelsCM: If I’m not mistaken at the SA Schools AGM a decision was taken to increase the squad sizes to 23 for all the youth week compos. I will try get confirmation. The matter was discussed and the proposal was for the 23rd player to be be a PD player so
CW 13:10
AW & GK : 11:12
It also makes sense to have the 2 Weeks running concurrently. If a CW player picks up an injury he can be replaced immediately. The selectors don’t have to attend 2 weeks (a definite cost saving) and will simply need to share the workload sensibly
I am really glad the decision has been taken to lengthen the Academy Week. It is not easy playing 3 matches within the space of 5 days (teams starting on Tuesday) or 6 days (teams starting on Monday) but to play 3 matches within 4 days (with Wednesdays the only rest day in the past) must have been extremely tough. Obviously this will cost more money but IMO the benefits outstrip the additional costs.
The next challenge is to increase the size of the squads to 23 players. By doing that the teams will be able to include a full front row as well as a specialist lock and specialist loose forward.