{"id":76137,"date":"2025-06-26T12:45:27","date_gmt":"2025-06-26T10:45:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=76137"},"modified":"2025-06-26T12:45:27","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T10:45:27","slug":"sas-rising-rugby-stars-set-to-shine-at-grant-khomo-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=76137","title":{"rendered":"SA’s rising rugby stars set to shine at Grant Khomo Week"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Drewyn Baron of the Blue Bulls in action against the Western Province XV during last year’s Grant Khomo Week at Grey High School in Gqeberha. (Photo by Michael Sheehan\/Gallo Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Since its inception in 2003, the u16 Grant Khomo Week<\/strong> has served as a launchpad for numerous talented young schoolboy rugby players, offering them their first taste of national exposure.<\/p>\n

Follow all the Grant Khomo<\/strong> action live on\u00a0SuperSport Schools – (www.supersportschools.com)<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Named after South Africa\u2019s first Ubuntu Springbok captain, Grant Austin Khomo<\/strong>, the inaugural tournament took place 22 years ago on the fields of the University of Johannesburg<\/strong>. Since then, the event has gone from strength to strength, consistently unearthing the future stars of South African rugby.<\/p>\n

This year the Grant Khomo Week returns to one of the country\u2019s\u2014if not the most\u2014successful rugby unions, the Blue Bulls<\/strong>, where\u00a0St Alban\u2019s College<\/strong> will host three days of thrilling rugby action over five days, from 30 June to 4 July, for eager fans and passionate supporters alike.<\/p>\n

Over the years, many players who went on to become household names have graced the tournament. The 2007 edition was especially notable, featuring the now two-time Rugby World Cup-winning captain, Siya Kolisi<\/strong>, representing the Eastern Province. That same year, Springbok prop Trevor Nyakane<\/strong> made his second consecutive appearance, having already played for the Limpopo Blue Bulls the previous year.<\/p>\n

The 2009 and 2010 editions were equally fruitful. In 2009, the tournament featured Springbok speedster Cheslin Kolbe<\/strong>, while flyhalf Handr\u00e9 Pollard<\/strong> appeared in 2010. Alongside these marquee names, many other current and former Springboks have cut their teeth at this elite level of u16 rugby, highlighting the tournament\u2019s pivotal role in shaping a sustainable national rugby structure.<\/p>\n

Last year, on the Kolisi Field at Grey High School<\/strong>, Western Province<\/strong> emerged as unofficial champions after completing an unbeaten run. They defeated Eastern Province<\/strong> 38\u201324, edged past the Sharks<\/strong> 19\u201313, and capped off their campaign with a 31\u201322 win over the Blue Bulls<\/strong>. As always, the Cape-based side will enter the tournament as strong favourites to retain their title. They launch their 2025 campaign against fellow contenders Free State<\/strong> in the main fixture on day one.<\/p>\n

The hosts, bolstered by a strong contingent from Afrikaans Ho\u00ebr Seunskool<\/strong> (Affies)<\/em>, are perennial contenders and will open their campaign against a dangerous Boland<\/strong> outfit. In the preceding fixture, fans can expect a bruising, high-intensity clash between the Sharks<\/strong> and the Golden Lions<\/strong>\u2014traditionally one of the tournament\u2019s most physical match-ups.<\/p>\n

A new addition to this year\u2019s lineup is the Iqhwe XV, selected from standout players at the 2024 Hollywood Foundation Iqhawe Week<\/strong>, hosted by SA Rugby Legends at Queens High School<\/strong> in Johannesburg. They will feature in the main B-field match, facing off against Griquas.<\/p>\n

The action kicks off at 09:30 on the Moshate Field<\/strong> (A-field) with Border<\/strong> taking on the Leopards<\/strong>, while games on the Baloyi Field<\/strong> (B-field) get underway at 09:00 when Zimbabwe<\/strong> lock horns with Border Country Districts<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The fixtures for Day One (Monday, 30 June):\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

A-Field<\/strong><\/p>\n

09:30 –\u00a0<\/strong>Border vs Leopards
\n10:50 –\u00a0<\/strong>South Western Districts vs Eastern Province
\n12:10 –\u00a0<\/strong>Sharks vs Golden Lions
\n13:30 –\u00a0<\/strong>Bulls vs Boland
\n14:45 –\u00a0<\/strong>Opening Ceremony
\n15:15 –\u00a0<\/strong>Western Province vs Free State<\/p>\n

B-Field\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

09:00 –\u00a0<\/strong>Zimbabwe vs Border Country Districts
\n10:20 –\u00a0<\/strong>Valke vs Limpopo Blue Bulls
\n11:40 –\u00a0<\/strong>Griffons vs Namibia
\n13:00 –\u00a0<\/strong>Western Province XV vs Pumas
\n14:45 –\u00a0<\/strong>Opening Ceremony
\n15:15:\u00a0<\/strong>Iqhawe XV vs Griquas<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Since its inception in 2003, the u16 Grant Khomo Week has served as a launchpad for numerous talented young schoolboy rugby players, offering them their first taste of national exposure. Follow all the Grant Khomo action live on\u00a0SuperSport Schools – (www.supersportschools.com)\u00a0 Named after South Africa\u2019s first Ubuntu Springbok captain, Grant Austin Khomo, the inaugural tournament […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":49909,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=76137"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76137\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/49909"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=76137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=76137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=76137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}