From Craven Week to Ellis Park
Ten years ago three Johannesburg schoolboys packed down together for the Lions U18 side at Craven Week. Two are still Lions. One has just left for Durban. Here is how the pipeline works, school by school.
Ten years ago three Johannesburg schoolboys packed down together for the Lions U18 side at Craven Week. Two are still Lions. One has just left for Durban. Here is how the pipeline works, school by school.
Johannesburg schools rugby runs on rivalry. KES and Jeppe, Monument and Helpmekaar, Noordheuwel and Florida: these fixtures fill grandstands on Saturday mornings across the Highveld, and they are where the Lions do their first round of scouting.
The Lions cannot win bidding wars. Coach Mzwakhe Nkosi said as much in April, when he pointed out that the Sharks, Stormers and Bulls all have deeper pockets. So the Lions sign players in their final school year, place almost all of them in study at the University of Johannesburg or Wits, and develop them through the Varsity Cup, the SA Rugby U23 Cup and the Currie Cup before they reach the URC.
“About 17 of the 23 players were part of our system.”
Mzwakhe Nkosi, Lions Currie Cup & U23 coach, April 2026
A boy who plays U13 Craven Week, the Grant Khomo U16 week and the U18 Craven Week for the Lions has spent six seasons inside one provincial structure before he signs anything. When it works, the Lions get a player who already knows the coaches, the game model and the badge.
Malcolm Marx is the clearest proof. He went from King Edward VII School to U13 Craven Week in 2007, Grant Khomo in 2010 and Craven Week in 2012, when he was picked for SA Schools. Two years later he made his senior Lions debut. He has since won two Rugby World Cups.
17/23
10bet Lions URC players who came through the Lions' own pathway, per coach Mzwakhe Nkosi, April 2026.
How a Johannesburg schoolboy becomes a Lion
U13 Craven Week
First provincial jersey, chosen from primary schools
U15 & U16 weeks
Iqhawe, Grant Khomo and Welpies sides
U18 Academy & Craven Week
The national shop window for every union's scouts
Junior contract
Signed in matric, then study at UJ or Wits and play Varsity Cup
U23 Cup & Currie Cup
The development sides; the U23s topped the 2026 log after three rounds
URC at 10bet Ellis Park
The senior squad
Two Lions, two paths
Malcolm Marx
King Edward VII School
U13 Craven Week 2007
Grant Khomo 2010
Craven Week & SA Schools 2012
Lions debut 2014 · 2× World Cup winner
Darrien Landsberg
Northcliff High School
Lions U18, Craven Week 2016
Lions pathway to URC lock
Named in Nkosi's 17, April 2026
Joined the Sharks for 2026-27
Class of 2016: the Craven Week squad that made it
| Player | 2016 Craven Week | School | Now |
|---|---|---|---|
| PJ Botha | No. 2 · hooker | Hoërskool Monument | 10bet Lions |
| Asenathi Ntlabakanye | No. 3 · tighthead | St Stithians College | 10bet Lions, contracted to 2028 |
| Darrien Landsberg | Bench | Northcliff High School | Joined the Sharks, 2026-27 |
That 2016 Craven Week squad drew 7 of its 23 players from Monument, 4 each from Helpmekaar and KES, and 3 from Jeppe.
Henco van Wyk
Hoërskool Monument
SA Schools 2019
SA U18 Sevens 2019
Junior Springboks
Lions centre, contracted to 2027
Kelly Mpeku
King Edward VII School
KES 1st XV
Lions Grant Khomo side 2019
Lions junior structures
Named in Nkosi's 17, April 2026
The next ones: Craven Week 2026
Craven Week 2026 went to Grey High School in Gqeberha in July. The Lions U18s met the Blue Bulls on day two in the Jukskei Derby. The Bulls went 12–0 up off their lineout, the lead changed hands through the second half, and the Lions won 43–32. A long-range penalty from the flyhalf kept them in it before the break, a centre scored twice, and a late try from the lock sealed it.
Two days later the same side, built around players from Jeppe, Helpmekaar and Noordheuwel, led Western Province's second team by nine at half-time and lost 43–33.
| Fixture | Lions | Opposition | Outcome | Match notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lions U18 v Blue Bulls | 43 | 32 | Win | Tue 7 July · Jukskei Derby |
| Lions U18 v Western Province XV | 33 | 43 | Loss | Thu 9 July · led by 9 at half-time |
Keeping them home
The Lions recruit nationally and develop locally. Their two headline schoolboy signings of 2026 came from Graeme College in Makhanda and Grey College in Bloemfontein. Meanwhile Landsberg, a Northcliff boy, has gone to Durban. The next Marx is playing for a Johannesburg school this Saturday. The question is whether he stays.
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