{"id":76997,"date":"2025-07-05T13:14:49","date_gmt":"2025-07-05T11:14:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=76997"},"modified":"2025-07-05T13:14:49","modified_gmt":"2025-07-05T11:14:49","slug":"lions-raring-for-hat-trick-magic-at-academy-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=76997","title":{"rendered":"Lions raring for hat-trick magic at Academy Week"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo: YouthSports<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Over the past two years, no team has dominated the annual Academy Week<\/strong> quite like the Golden Lions<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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

The side from south of the Jukskei River in Gauteng has claimed the title two years in a row, albeit with the benefit of home-ground advantage, as Jeppe High School for Boys<\/strong> hosted both the 2023 and 2024 editions.<\/p>\n

This year, the tournament has moved to Ho\u00ebrskool Middelburg<\/strong> in Mpumalanga, where the Red and Whites will be aiming to complete a hat-trick of titles.<\/p>\n

All matches will be played on the B and C fields from 7 to 11 July, promising three days of high-octane rugby. Fixtures will kick off at 09:00 on Monday and Wednesday, and at 08:30 on Friday.<\/p>\n

In addition to the change of venue, the Lions’ coaching staff has undergone a complete overhaul. Ryno Luus<\/strong>, who led the team in both 2023 and 2024, has moved to Ho\u00ebrskool Nelspruit, while former forwards coach Ian Joubert<\/strong> has earned a promotion to the Craven Week coaching staff.<\/p>\n

Taking the reins this year is King Edward VII School<\/strong>‘s First XV coach, Marco Engelbrecht<\/strong>, while Jeppe<\/strong>‘s Grady Ngui<\/strong> and Ho\u00ebrskool Noordheuwel<\/strong>‘s energetic Andrew Lambert<\/strong> take charge of the pack.<\/p>\n

The Johannesburg outfit will begin their title defence at 14:30 on Monday, facing off against the Griffons<\/strong> in the main match of the opening day. Earlier in the day, the union\u2019s under-17 side, the Welpies, take on what appears to be a formidable Blue Bulls<\/strong>, led by lock Joshua Fourie<\/strong> and vice-captain, Ronan Bastiaanse<\/strong>, at 11:30.<\/p>\n

This comes right after what could be another spectacle between Thristan Maree<\/strong>‘s Free State <\/strong>troops and a dangerous Western Province <\/strong>outfit, featuring the likes of Paarl Boys’ High flyhalf, Francois van der Merwe<\/strong>, and Milnerton’s ever-impressive fullback, Chadlin Sellidon.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Preceding the main clash, another thrilling encounter is expected as Eastern Province<\/strong> and the Sharks<\/strong> go head-to-head at 12:45 on Middies\u2019 B field. On the C field, the Leopards<\/strong> face the Eagles from South Western Districts<\/strong> in the day\u2019s feature match, while the Valke<\/strong> take on neighbouring Namibia<\/strong> in the earlier fixture.<\/p>\n

Tournament hosts, the Pumas<\/strong>, led by the Middies’ very own Hencoe Janse van Rensburg<\/strong> (No. 8), will meet a traditionally tough opponent in the Limpopo Blue Bulls<\/strong> from the far north. Boland<\/strong> will get proceedings underway on the B field against Border<\/strong>, while the LSEN XV<\/strong>, comprising standout players from the recent LSEN Week, will look to launch their campaign with a win over Border Country Districts.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although seen as a tier below the prestigious Craven Week, the Academy Week has traditionally been an interesting launch pad for younger players, mostly those with a point to prove, which, in turn, produces some exhilarating performances throughout the week.<\/p>\n

Fixtures – Day 1 – Monday, 07 June:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

09:00 –\u00a0<\/strong>Boland vs Border
\n10:15 –\u00a0<\/strong>Western Province vs Free State
\n11:30 –\u00a0<\/strong>Bulls vs Lions XV
\n12:45 –\u00a0<\/strong>Eastern Province vs Sharks
\n14:00 –\u00a0<\/strong>Opening Ceremony
\n14:30 –\u00a0<\/strong>Golden Lions vs Griffons<\/p>\n

C-Field:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

09:00 –\u00a0<\/strong>Border Country Districts vs LSEN XV
\n10:15 –\u00a0<\/strong>Pumas vs Limpopo Blue Bulls
\n11:30 –\u00a0<\/strong>Griquas vs Zimbabwe
\n12:45 –\u00a0<\/strong>Valke vs Namibia
\n14:00 –\u00a0<\/strong>Opening Ceremony
\n14:30 –\u00a0<\/strong>Leopards vs South Western Districts<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Over the past two years, no team has dominated the annual Academy Week quite like the Golden Lions. Follow all the Academy Week action live on\u00a0SuperSport Schools – (www.supersportschools.com) The side from south of the Jukskei River in Gauteng has claimed the title two years in a row, albeit with the benefit of home-ground advantage, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":77005,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76997","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\/76997","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=76997"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76997\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/77005"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=76997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=76997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=76997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}