Craven Week: The Final Match
On Saturday Western Province and Eastern Province meet in the final match of the 2015 Craven Week, being played at Paul Roos Gymnasium as part of the great school's 150th birthday celebrations.
But apart from celebrations this match has been the prestigious aim of all teams at the Craven Week since 1971.
Straight after Eastern Province had beaten KwaZulu-Natal 23-22, the Eastern Province captain expressed his joy that his unbeaten side would play Western Province's unbeaten side in the final. It was a triumph for his team and the winner of that last match would claim to be Craven Week Champions.
This is not how Doc Craven envisaged Craven Week. Doc laid down his principles for Craven Week at the very first Craven Week in 1964. He wanted no championship and no distinction other than the winning or losing of matches. For him there would not be a national team chosen and no championship of any kind. He wanted a rugby festival, not trials and not a competition.
Since 1974 there has been a national team chosen each year and from 1971 there is this match which is looked on as the final of a championship.
This year's 'finalists' have met twice before in the last match of the Week – in 1977 when Eastern Province won and in 1999 when Western Province won.
Final matches, 1971-2014
Some of the names have changed. Transvaal are now the Golden Lions, Northern Transvaal the Blue Bulls, South Eastern Transvaal the Pumas of Mpumalanga, Northern Free State the Griffons, Western Transvaal the Leopards and Natal KwaZulu-Natal. And Free State used to be Orange Free State. Only the teams of the old Cape Province have kept their founding names.
1971: Western Province vs Griquas, 11-0
1972: Western Province vs Western Transvaal, 16-9
1973: Western Province vs Transvaal, 36-7
1974: Western Province vs South Western Districts, 22-12
1975: Eastern Province vs Natal, 46-13
1976: Boland vs Free State, 13-9
1977: Eastern Province vs Western Province, 19-17
1978: Western Province vs Free State, 12-3
1979: Northern Free State vs Free State, 9-6
1980: Free State vs Transvaal, 16-6
1981: Transvaal vs Western Province, 11-7
1982: South Eastern Transvaal vs Northern Free State, 25-7
1983: Free State vs South Eastern Transvaal, 13-9
1984: Transvaal vs Eastern Province, 3-0
1985: Free State vs Transvaal, 23-15
1986: South Eastern Transvaal vs Western Province, 19-12
1987: Natal vs Transvaal, 22-22
1988: Western Province vs Free State, 16-3
1989: Transvaal vs Eastern Province, 17-6
1990: Natal vs Northern Transvaal, 18-8
1991: Northern Transvaal vs Border, 10-9
1992: Western Province vs Free State, 22-15
1993: Northern Transvaal vs South Eastern Transvaal, 25-13
1994: Border vs Eastern Province, 13-13
1995: Free State vs Boland, 15-13
1996: Northern Transvaal vs Western Province, 24-12
1997: Northern Transvaal vs Western Province, 29-27
1998: Griqualand West vs Western Province, 32-21
1999: Western Province vs Eastern Province, 15-11
2000: Mpumalanga Pumas vs Boland, 19-18
2001: South Western Districts vs Blue Bulls, 26-20
2002: Western Province vs Free State, 31-16
2003: Western Province vs Free State, 22-17
2004: Free State vs Western Province, 17-16
2005: Golden Lions vs Eastern Province, 38-15
2006: Blue Bulls vs Golden Lions, 35-20
2007: Free State vs Western Province, 52-3
2008: South Western Districts vs Free State, 31-25
2009: Western Province vs Free State, 19-17
2010: Free State vs Western Province, 42-21
2011: Free State vs Golden Lions, 28-17
2012: Blue Bulls vs Golden Lions, 46-0
2013: Western Province vs Golden Lions, 45-29
2014: Eastern Province vs South Western Districts, 25-7
