After the opening round of the Clover High School Sevens Series was hosted at Glenwood High in Durban last weekend, the action moves to Hoërskool Pionier in Vryheid this weekend for round two of the national series.
Hentie Cilliers, from Virginia, is the defending champion in the U17 section, while the hosts, Pionier, are the reigning champs in the U15 competition.
It’s going to be a tough ask for Hentie Cilliers to win the U17 title again. That’s because Westville Boys’ High, the winner of the Glenwood Sevens and the defending national champion, will also be in action.
In past years, Westville has skipped the Pionier Sevens, but coach Zander Erasmus said he doesn’t want his teams playing one week on, then one week off.
He views the Pionier Sevens as a key component of Westville’s preparations for the Champion of Champions, which takes place on 18 and 19 September at the University of the North West in Potchefstroom. Before that, too, the DHS Sevens will be played on 28 and 29 August.
Westville, who will bring four teams to Glencoe, including the Griffins, their development sides, will also be the favourite in the U15 section. They didn’t win the Glenwood Sevens, but were the only team to stretch the DHS U15A side, which won the event, going down 12-17 to the Horseflies in the semi-finals.
Sarel Cilliers, the 2024 winner of the U17 title, lost by only two points to Hentie Cilliers in the 2025 final, and they should be in the running again. Pionier would like to make a splash, and they have the advantage of having been in action at Glenwood, but they were well beaten by Westville when they met in a pool game there.
Ferrum, from Newcastle, is usually in the running, while Hoërskool Vryheid would like nothing more than to upstage their local rival, Pionier.
The U17 event features 16 teams in four pools.
Hentie Cilliers, Ladysmith, Pionier 2, and Vryheid Landbou are in Pool A. Pool B features Ferrum, Dundee, Newcastle, and Westville. HS Vryheid, the Griffins, Amajuba, and Sarel Cilliers 2 are in Pool C, and Pionier, Sarel Cilliers, Pongola Akademie, and HS Vryheid 2 make up Pool D.
There are 12 sides in the U15 event.
Pool A includes Westville, HS Vryheid 2, and Ferrum. Sarel Cilliers, Amajuba, and Vryheid Landbou are in Pool B, while Gelofte, HS Vryheid, and Newcastle are the teams in Pool C. Pool D features the Griffins, Pionier, and Pongola Akademie.
FIXTURES
U17
Friday, 21 August
A Field
Game 1: 14:00 – Pionier (D1) vs HS Vryheid 2 (D4)
Game 2: 14:20 – Sarel Cilliers (D2) vs Pongola Akademie (D3)
Game 3: 14:40 – HS Vryheid (C1) vs Sarel Cilliers 2 (C4)
Game 4: 15:00 – Griffins (C2) vs Amajuba (C3)
Game 5: 15:20 – Ferrum (B1) vs Westville (B4)
Game 6: 15:40 – Dundee (B2) vs Newcastle (B3)
Game 7: 16:00 – Ladysmith (A2) vs Pionier 2 (A3)
Game 8: 16:20 – Hentie Cilliers (A1) vs Vryheid Landbou (A4)
Game 9: 16:40 – Pionier (D1) vs Pongola Akademie (D3)
Game 10: 17:00 – Sarel Cilliers (D2) vs HS Vryheid 2 (D4)
Game 11: 17:20 – HS Vryheid (C1) vs Amajuba (C3)
Game 12: 17:40 – Griffins (C2) vs Sarel Cilliers 2 (C4)
Game 13: 18:00 – Ferrum (B1) vs Newcastle (B3)
Game 14: 18:20 – Dundee (B2) vs Westville (B4)
Game 15: 18:40 – Ladysmith (A2) vs Vryheid Landbou (A4)
Saturday, 22 August
Game 16: 08:00 – Hentie Cillier (A1) vs Pionier 2 (A3)
Game 17: 08:00 – Pionier (D1) vs Sarel Cilliers (D2) (Pitch 2)
Game 18: 08:20 – Pongola Akademie (D3) vs HS Vryheid 2 (D4)
Game 19: 08:20 – HS Vryheid (C1) vs Griffins (C2) (Pitch 2)
Game 20: 08:40 – Amajuba (C3) vs Sarel Cilliers 2 (C4)
Game 21: 08:40 – Ferrum (B1) vs Dundee (B2) (Pitch 2)
Game 22: 09:00 – Newcastle (B3) vs Westville (B4)
Game 23: 09:20 – Pionier 2 (A3) vs Vryheid Landbou (A4)
Game 24: 09:40 – Hentie Cilliers (A1) vs Ladysmith (A2)
Cup Quarterfinals
Game 25: 10:20 – Winner Pool A vs Runner-up Pool D
Game 26: 10:20 – Runner-up Pool A vs Winner Pool D (Pitch 2)
Game 27: 10:40 – Winner Pool V vs Runner-up Pool C
Game 28: 11:00 – Runner-up Pool B vs Winner Pool C
Shield Semifinals
Game 29: 11:20 – 4th Pool A vs 4th Pool B
Game 30: 11:40 – 4th Pool C vs 4th Pool D
Bowl Semifinals
Game 31: 12:00 – 3rd Pool A vs 3rd Pool B
Game 32: 12:20 – 3rd Pool C vs 3rd Pool D
Plate Semifinals
Game 33: 12:40 – Loser 29 vs Loser 30
Game 34: 13:00 – Loser 31 vs Loser 32
Cup Semifinals
Game 35: 13:20 – Winner 29 vs Winner 30
Game 36: 13:40 – Winner 31 vs Winner 32
Shield Final
Game 37: 14:00 – Winner 29 vs Winner 30
Bowl Final
Game 38: 14:20 – Winner 31 vs Winner 32
Plate Final
Game 39: 14:40 – Winner 33 vs Winner 34
U15 Final
15:00
Cup Final
Game 41: 15:20 – Winner 35 vs Winner 36
U15
Friday, 21 August
Pitch 2
15:00 – Pionier (D2) vs Pongola Akademie (D3)
15:20 – HS Vryheid (C2) vs Newcastle (C3)
15:40 – Amajuba (B2) vs Vryheid Landbou (B3)
16:00 – HS Vryheid 2 (A2) vs Ferrum (A3)
16:20 – Gelofte (C1) vs Newcastle (C3)
16:40 – Griffins (D1) vs Pongola Akademie (D3)
17:00 – Westville (A1) vs Ferrum (A3)
17:20 – Sarel Cilliers (B1) vs Vryheid Landbou (B3)
Saturday, 22 August
09:00 – Sarel Cilliers (B1) vs Amajuba (B2)
09:20 – Westville (A1) vs HS Vryheid 2 (A2)
09:40 – Griffins (D1) vs Pionier (D2)
10:00 – Gelofte (C1) vs HS Vryheid (C2)
Cup Quarterfinals
10:40 – 1st Pool A vs 2nd Pool B
11:00 – 1st Pool B vs 2nd Pool A
11:20 – 1st Pool C vs 2nd Pool D
11:40 – 1st Pool D vs 2nd Pool C
Bowl Semifinals
12:00 – 3rd Pool A vs 3rd Pool B
12:20 – 3rd Pool C vs 3rd Pool D
Plate Semifinals
12:40 – Loser Cup QF 1 vs Loser Cup QF 2
13:00 – Loser Cup QF 3 vs Loser Cup QF 4
Cup Semifinals
13:20 – Winner Cup QF 1 vs Winner Cup QF 2
13:40 – Winner Cup QF 3 vs Winner Cup QF 4
Shield Final
14:00 – Loser Bowl SF 1 vs Loser Bowl SF 2
Bowl Final
14:20 – Winner Bowl SF 1 vs Winner Bowl SF 2
Plate Final
14:40 – Winner Plate SF 1 vs Winner Plate SF 2
Cup Final
15:00 – Winner Cup SF 1 vs Winner Cup SF 2 – Pitch 1
