South African Schoolboy Rugby Calendar
Follow South African schoolboy rugby: Easter festivals, the great interschools derbies and the FNB Youth Weeks including Craven Week, filtered by type, month, province and school.
The South African schoolboy rugby year, in one place
South Africa runs the biggest schoolboy rugby scene in the world, but it is spread across Easter festivals, season-long interschools derbies and the SA Rugby youth weeks, each with its own slot in the year. This guide brings the popular events together so you can see what is coming up. Filter by the type of event, the time of year, the province or your own school, then follow the link to the official site or the SuperSport Schools app for the exact date and fixtures.
Find the schoolboy rugby you want to watch
Filter South Africa's schoolboy rugby year by what interests you. Leave anything on "Any" to keep your options open.
Easter & season festivals are multi-day carnivals where top schools each play a couple of matches. Traditional derbies are the great annual school-versus-school rivalries. FNB Youth Weeks are the SA Rugby provincial tournaments, including the famous Craven Week.
Schoolboy rugby dates and host venues change every year, so each event shows the month it usually runs in. Festival line-ups and derby dates are confirmed nearer the time, so always check the official site or the SuperSport Schools app for the exact date and fixtures before you plan travel. Last reviewed June 2026.
How South African schoolboy rugby is organised
South African schoolboy rugby falls into a few clear parts, and knowing them makes the season much easier to follow. The Easter festivals in March and April are the great shop window, where top schools gather for a few days and each plays a couple of matches against opponents they would never normally meet. The season-long derbies are the traditional school-versus-school rivalries, many of them more than a century old, that fill the weekends through autumn and winter. Then come the FNB Youth Weeks in late June and July, the SA Rugby provincial tournaments topped by the famous Craven Week, where the very best players represent their unions.
The guide above groups the popular events by type, so you can scan the festivals, the derbies and the youth weeks separately, or filter by the month, the province or your own school. Most of the marquee fixtures are shown live on SuperSport Schools, including DStv channel 216 and the SuperSport Schools app, often under the King Price Derby Series and Premier Interschools banners. Nothing is saved and nothing is sold here, it is simply a friendly map of a sport that is otherwise scattered across dozens of school and union websites.
Dates and host venues change every year, so we anchor each event on the month it usually runs in and link you to the official source to confirm the exact date and fixtures. If you enjoy following sport from your screen, you can also browse our South African rugby fixtures for the senior game, or see all our free South African tools and calculators.
Frequently asked questions
What is the biggest schoolboy rugby event in South Africa?
Two stand out. The FNB U18 Craven Week, part of SA Rugby's youth weeks, is the national pinnacle and is often described as the biggest schools rugby tournament in the world, where the best under-18s represent their provincial unions. For sheer spectacle between schools, the Absa Wildeklawer tournament in Kimberley draws many of the top first teams for a single blockbuster day.
When is Craven Week in 2026, and where is it held?
The FNB U18 Craven Week runs in early July 2026 at Grey High School in Gqeberha. The U16 Grant Khomo Week is at Kearsney College and the U13 Craven Week is at Grey College in Bloemfontein, both in late June to early July. The host venues rotate every year, so always confirm the current dates on the SA Rugby site.
When are the schoolboy rugby Easter festivals?
The major Easter festivals, including Kearsney, St John's College, KES, St Stithians and the Pretoria Boys' High festival, run over the Easter long weekend in late March or April, usually across three play days. The Absa Wildeklawer tournament is a little earlier, normally in March. Exact dates and the school line-ups are confirmed a few weeks before each year.
What is the King Price Derby Series and where can I watch it?
The King Price Derby Series, alongside Premier Interschools, is the broadcast home of South Africa's biggest school rugby derbies, with dozens of marquee first-team fixtures shown live on SuperSport Schools, including DStv channel 216 and the SuperSport Schools app. Most of the great traditional rivalries in this guide are carried there during the season.
Which are the biggest traditional schoolboy rugby derbies?
Some of the most famous annual rivalries include Grey College against Affies, the Paarl derby between Paarl Boys' High and Paarl Gimnasium, Paul Roos against Paarl Gimnasium, Maritzburg College against Hilton College, and Dale College against Selborne College, which is one of the oldest school rugby rivalries in the country. Cape Town's Bishops, Rondebosch and SACS interschools and Johannesburg's Jeppe against KES are also long-standing classics.
How do I find a schoolboy rugby game for my school?
Use the filters above and choose your school under 'Your school or rival', then leave the other filters on 'Any'. The guide will surface the festivals and derbies that school is known to feature in. Because fixtures are confirmed nearer the time, follow the link through to the official site or the SuperSport Schools app for the exact date and team news.
Events and typical months were checked against SA Rugby, SuperSport Schools and the official festival sites in June 2026. Schoolboy rugby dates, host venues, festival line-ups and derby fixtures change every year, so always confirm on the official site or the SuperSport Schools app before you plan. This page is general information to help you follow the season, not an official fixture list.