Where the Next Ones Come From
Every player in the 2025/26 squad came through a school and a club before they came through the Lions.
THE EVIDENCE IS IN THE SQUAD LIST. Ruben Schoeman attended Grey College in Bloemfontein. Bathobele Hlekani came through Ndzondelelo High School and Graeme College in the Eastern Cape. JT Kapank played consecutive Under-18 Craven Weeks and reached SA Schools in 2023. The pathway from a school field to Ellis Park is not an abstraction in South African rugby — it is the only route there is.
THE CRAVEN WEEK. South Africa's schools tournament remains the single most watched talent pipeline in the country, and Gauteng's schools feed it heavily. A union that does not have a presence in that system does not have a future in the professional game.
THE UNION'S FOOTPRINT. The Golden Lions Rugby Union covers Johannesburg and the surrounding region, with club and schools rugby running underneath the professional structure and feeding the academy, the Currie Cup squad and eventually the URC group.
WHY IT MATTERS MORE NOW. A club that has just qualified for the Investec Champions Cup needs greater squad depth, not less. Forty-eight players carried three competitions across 2025/26. Adding a European campaign of a higher standard raises that requirement, and the only sustainable source is the pipeline beneath the senior squad.
THE COMMUNITY SIDE OF IT. Beyond talent identification, community rugby is how a professional club stays connected to the city whose name it carries. Johannesburg is the largest city in South Africa. The Lions are its team.
THE PROGRAMMES THEMSELVES ARE DETAILED AT LIONSRUGBY.CO.ZA.
The pathway from a school field to Ellis Park is not an abstraction. It is the only route there is.
- 01Schools rugby in Gauteng: the pipeline that feeds the union.
- 02Community programmes across Johannesburg.