In the past there have been rewards for provincial players that performed well at the under-18 Academy but in 2013 those opportunities seemed to have dried up completely. However news is that like in 2012, SA Schools trials will once again take place in Kempton Park on the first weekend after schools reopen : 26-27 July 2014. If the SA Schools organisers decide to adopt the same criteria as they did in 2012, it means the door will be open for Academy Week players to be chosen for SA Schools.
When trials like this were held in 2012, of the ±50 boys invited to attend, 2 were from the Academy Week. They were SACS’s centre Leighton van Wyk and St Albans’ lock Abongile Nonkontwana. Nontkontwana impressed at trials and was chosen for the 28-player SA Schools under-18 squad that played 3 internationals that year.
Even though 2 places out of 50 may not be seem like much, it’s a huge incentive for players overlooked for Craven Week but good enough to play at SA’s premier under-18 youth week.
In the past selected Academy Week team enjoyed benefits.
In 2009 an Academy Week team was picked at the end of tournament and it went on to play at Craven Week. That team contained William Small-Smith who went on to captain the SA Schools team in 2010.
In 2011 the Academy Week team had the honour of playing against an under-18 French Invitational XV. That Academy Week team contained 3 players that would graduate to play for the Baby Boks at the Junior World Championships: Luan de Bruin, Zee Mkhabela and Malcolm Marks.
In 2013, in addition to the English, French and Welsh under-18 teams that toured the Western Cape and played internationals against each other and the SA Schools team, an Italian team also played matches at the same venues. The Italians opponents were local Western Cape XV’s. This was an opportunity missed for an Academy Week XV to play. The budget was however limited in 2013.
Going forward, at the very least just to honour the achievers, an Academy Week team should be chosen at the end of the youth week even if the budget does not permit the team to play a match or for SA Schools trials to be held.
@Muzi: There in the Bulls set up……….do all the brokebackers stay in the same complex?
@Speartackle:
it’s not table mountain….more like brokeback mountain…. 
“If you think of WP you think of culture, beaches, beautiful women, moffies, Table Mountain, Robben Island.”
@vatikaki: The solution is frankly quite obvious, a WP City Team (Southern and Northern Suburbs Schools) and a WP Country Team (PRG, BH, PG & BL). Both “regions” would be able to supply competitive Academy Teams as well.
If the Winelands 4 had to play with Boland, they would dominate selections in that region (as was the case when it was previously attempted), to the detriment of schools such as HTS Drostdy, Hugenote, Swartland, Klein Nederburg, New Orleans, Charlie Hofmeyer, Augsburg etc. that deliver many quality players every year.
@vatikaki: I understand but the Paarl/Stellenbosch area is so unlike WP. If you think of WP you think of culture, beaches, beautiful women, moffies, Table Mountain, Robben Island.
On the other hand when you think of Paarl/Stellenbosch you think of Boland. Wine, rolling hills, mountains, dutchmen, overweight women, uptight professors, Pot Belly Pantry
The name itself, WP, just seem to sound more stylish. Seriously from u/10 days in every sport the walk overs were against the Boland, except rugby, there the PaS schools fall under WP. Go and look in golf, tennis, cycling, badminton, archery and not sure about cricket, but the PaS schools all fall under Boland and always competing in the B sections with maybe every 5 years or so getting promoted to A sections for just a year.
I really think the culture of the PaS people make them brillianr Boland contenders
@Speartackle:
That won’t ever happen. Gives Boland ammo to take over control of rugby in Paarl, which they’ve wanted to do for ages. Should just call them WP-Boland. Gotta retain the WP!
@BOG:
The Bulls and Lions produce barely any top professionals. The Lions a few but not near WP and Free State who together produce around 70% of our first choice Super Rugby players. The smaller Craven Week provinces are actually very near to the Bulls and Lions in terms of producing SR players now.
But yes I’d happily see Free State given another team as well. More then enough Grey College boys who are good enough for Craven Week but not for the FS team.
I remember a few years back when the SA Schools A-team got soundly beaten by the B-team. The match was televisied and was a perfect advert for just how skewed the whole selection process is. I dont believe the fixture was ever repeated!
The Paarl/Stellenbosch schools should play as Boland and the current Boland team should be Boland Country Districts
@BOG: Also all the senior rugby representatives out of the FS seem to come from just one school and recently that one school’s B team has been losing games to other B-teams in regions with more than one school
@BOG: I think VK has a point tho.
The Noordvaal is a large region and is serviced by 6 CW teams.
The WCape although smaller in area and less populated, produces more players for senior rugby than the whole of the Noordvaal but has only 3 CW teams.
So it makes sense to give the WCape more teams.
The crazy notion for me is that between Namibia and Zimbabwe, foreigners have double the amount of representatives playing at CW to Saffas from the Cape Town / Winelands area. So we are looking after our neighbours who go nowhere in rugby ahead of our own countrymen who have a proven track record of producing some of the best players in the world. By demoting Zim and Namibia to the Academy Week it would improve their chances of success without harming their development as they could be matched against strong opponents.
At the same time by adding another 1 or 2 W/Cape teams to CW, the overall quality of CW would also be improved.
@vatikaki: which would mean that the fs should get more teams, and the bulls, the sharks, the lions— . What the heck, involve every schoolboy in a tournament. All equal-a good socialist approach
@star: Unfortunately I haven’t had a chance to contact RPM – R stands for Reliable, as opposed to UNM
@RBugger: I hear what you guys say about CW u13. A good reminder that it’s just as important to create goals and rewards for the youngsters in any sport.
@ RRugger- I agree you re the U13 CW. It is the end of an important phase for the boys and there should be reward. The fact that it has tentative links to the U18 CW should not be a consideration.
@ Beet- were you able to catch up with PM.
@Beet: I agree except for the u13 CW. This is the pinacle of your Primary School career and it is a very exciting time.
A lot of the boys will vanish off the rugby radar, but never the less, it is a fantastic tournament and achievment at that age and I would not take it away.
I like the idea of making the Academy Week an u17 Tournament.
Beet, I hear that Josh Moon has been selected for the SA 7’s side, quite an achievment.
I’d go for Beet’s idea if Western Province got another team across all the competitions.
When you produce close to 40% of the top professionals in the country, you should be giving them more opportunities to showcase their skills.
@beet: I would have to agree with you on that one. the Academy week would be the ideal platform to blood fresh talent in the open ranks.
The u13 Craven Week doesn’t seem to make much sense when one considers how much these kids change over their High School years so u15 does make sense as the kids would have adopted to a very differnt style of play and are at the age where they are developing there own unique understanding of the game and the positions they play in.
@Westers: Along a different line of thinking perhaps Academy Week should be for u17s. So we would have an u16 week, an u17 week and an u18 week. I also question the value of the u13 week. Maybe this should be the u15 week instead?
If you are good enough……..you’re old enough
@Westers:
I like it.
With this incentive in mind, perhaps the Academy Week should be restricted to U18’s only (no U17’s) so as to give those boys in their final year a last chance to make SA Schools. Just a thought.