The final leg of the Clover High Schools Sevens Series, the Champion of Champions Tournament, which features top teams from around the country, takes place in Potchefstroom from Friday.
The action begins with pool-stage games between 16:00 and 20:00 on Friday, 18 September, with the various U17 outfits competing at North-West University’s (NWU) Fanie du Toit Sports Grounds, on the A and C fields respectively.
Saturday features the knockout matches, taking place between 09:40 and 19:00.
Westville Boys’ High will hope it’s a case of Déjà vu. They won the Cup last year, edging out Northwood School 15-14 in the final after trailing 0-14.
Last month, they were dominant at both the Glenwood and Pionier Sevens, making them the only side to have won two Clover High Schools Sevens Series regional cup titles in 2026.
Grey College was the most recent winner of regional silverware, with Grey winning the Jim Fouché Sevens last Saturday.
They won the “Champions of Champions” in 2024 before being succeeded by Westville last year. Both sides will be among the favourites.
The pool-stage fixtures offer interesting matches between teams that are dominant in their regions but seldom get the opportunity to face other top schools from elsewhere in the country.
For example, Dale College faces Hoërskool Wesvalia and Grey College. Hoërskool Nelspruit takes on Hoërskool Goudveld and Die Hoërskool Menlopark.
Being from the North-West province, Hoërskool Rustenburg and Wesvalia will be more familiar with the conditions, and could be dark horses.
KwaZulu-Natal’s Northwood might be behind Westville and Durban High School, who beat Westville in their home event, in the Sevens pecking order in the province thus far this season, but they’re a nuggetty bunch who would like nothing more than to turn the tables on their rivals on the big stage.
FIXTURES
U17
Teams
Pool A: Westville, Middelburg, Sentraal.
Pool B: Menlopark, Nelspruit, Goudveld.
Pool C: DHS, Helpmekaar, Hentie Cilliers.
Pool D: Waterkloof, Potch Gimmies, Queen’s College.
Pool E: Grey College, Wesvalia, Dale College.
Pool F: Zwartkop, Welkom Gim, Clover Forward Foundation.
Pool G: Monument, Kempton Park, Potch Volkskool.
Pool H: Northwood, Fichardpark, Rustenburg.
Friday, 18 September
A Field
16:00 – Westville vs Middelburg
16:20 – Nelspruit vs Goudveld
16:40 – Helpmekaar vs Hentie Cilliers
17:00 – Potch Gimmies vs Queen’s College
17:20 – Dale College vs Grey College
17:40 – Clover Forward Foundation vs Zwartkop
18:00 – Potch Volkskool vs Monument
18:20 – Rustenburg vs Northwood
19:00 – Sentraal vs Westville
19:20 – Menlopark vs Nelspruit
19:40 – DHS vs Helpmekaar
20:00 – Waterkloof vs Potch Gimmies
C Field
16:00 – Wesvalia vs Dale College
16:20 – Welkom Gim vs Clover Forward Foundation
16:40 – Kemptonpark vs Potch Volkskool
17:00 – Fichardpark vs Rustenburg
17:20 – Middelburg vs Sentraal
17:40 – Goudveld vs Menlopark
18:00 – Hentie Cilliers vs DHS
18:20 – Queen’s College vs Waterkloof
19:00 – Grey College vs Wesvalia
19:20 – Zwartkop vs Welkom Gim
19:40 – Monument vs Kemptonpark
20:00 – Northwood vs Fichardpark
Saturday, 19 September
Quarterfinals
Bowl
A Field
09:40 – Bowl QF 1, 3rd Group A vs 3rd Group B
10:00 – Bowl QF 2, 3rd Group C vs 3rd Group D
C Field
09:40 – Bowl QF 3, 3rd Group E vs 3rd Group F
10:00 – Bowl QF 4, 3rd Group G vs 3rd Group H
Plate
A Field
10:20 – Plate QF 1, 2nd Group A vs 2nd Group B
10:40 – Plate QF 2, 2nd Group C vs 2nd Group D
C Field
10:20 – Plate QF 3, 2nd Group E vs 2nd Group F
10:40 – Plate QF 4, 2nd Group G vs 2nd Group H
Cup
A Field
11:00 – Cup QF 1, 1st Group A vs 1st Group B
11:20 – Cup QF 2, 1st Group C vs 1st Group D
C Field
11:00 – Cup QF 3, 1st Group E vs 1st Group F
11:20 – Cup QF 4, 1st Group G vs 1st Group H
Semifinals
Bowl
A Field
12:00 – Bowl SF 1, winner Bowl QF 1 vs winner Bowl QF 2
12:20 – Bowl SF 2, winner Bowl QF 3 vs winner Bowl QF 4
Plate
A Field
12:40 – Plate SF 1, winner Plate QF 1 vs winner Plate QF 2
13:00 – Plate SF 2, winner Plate QF 3 vs winner Plate QF 4
5th-8th
A Field
13:20 – 5-8 SF 1, loser Cup QF 1 vs loser Cup QF 2
13:40 – 5-8 SF 2, loser Cup QF 3 vs loser Cup QF 4
Cup
A Field
14:00 – Cup SF 1, winner Cup QF 1 vs winner Cup QF 2
14:20 – Cup SF 2, winner Cup QF 3 vs winner Cup QF 4
21st-24th
C Field
12:00 – 21-24 SF 1, loser Bowl QF 1 vs loser Bowl QF 2
12:20 – 21-24 SF 2, loser Bowl QF 3 vs loser Bowl QF 4
13th-16th
C Field
12:40 – 13-16 SF 1, loser Plate QF 1 vs loser Plate QF 2
13:00 – 13-16 SF 2, loser Plate QF 3 vs loser Plate QF 4
Finals
Bowl
A Field
15:20 – 19th/20th Place, loser Bowl SF 1 vs loser Bowl SF 2
15:40 – 17th/18th Place, winner Bowl SF 1 vs winner Bowl SF 2
Plate
A Field
16:40 – 11th/12th Place, loser Plate SF 1 vs loser Plate SF 2
17:00 – 9th/10th Place, winner Plate SF 1 vs winner Plate SF 2
Cup
A Field
17:20 – 7th/8th Place, loser 5-8 SF 1 vs loser 5-8 SF 2
17:40 – 5th/6th Place, winner 5-8 SF 1 vs winner 5-8 SF 2
18:20 – 3rd/4th Place, loser Cup SF 1 vs loser Cup SF 2
19:00 – 1st/2nd Place, winner Cup SF 1 vs winner Cup SF 2
