It's fitting that Craven Week returned to the spiritual home of rugby in Stellenbosch yesterday, a week after founder Piet Malan died at the age of 96.
The tournament, which Malan conceptualised to form part of the old South African Rugby Board's 75th anniversary celebrations in 1964, this year forms part of Paul Roos Gymnasium's 150th anniversary.
The celebrated school has produced a record 48 Springboks and yesterday three Paul Roos players were in the Western Province lineup for the day's main match against the Blue Bulls. WP won 20-13, with Nico Leonard of Paul Roos scoring the host team's only try, while scrumhalf Jondre Williams kicked five penalties.
This is the 52nd staging of the tournament and the fifth time it has been held in Stellenbosch.
Yesterday's opening matches were played in bitterly cold conditions as the remains of a cold front that has swept through the Western Cape continued to bite.
Maybe it was the weather but pre-tournament favourites Free State, who won the tournament the last time it was played in Stellenbosch, in 2007, slumped to a 41-27 loss to the Griffons.
That defeat means Free State will not make the final on Saturday, with that honour bestowed on two undefeated teams.
Neighbours Boland also made a strong start to the week, beating the Limpopo Blue Bulls 52-7.
Another surprise on day one was Border's 32-28 win over the Mpumalanga Pumas.
The Pumas are traditionally one of the strongest schoolboy teams but Border were good value for their victory, and will now probably face WP or Boland for their second match.
Today's fixtures see the rest of the teams in action, with the pick of the games being between the Golden Lions against KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Province against South Western Districts.
