Some bits and pieces from Craven Week
The 2011 Craven Week ended in Kimberley on Saturday, a high-scoring Craven Week in the benign weather of the week. It was crisp in the mornings but there was no sign of rain, just a bit of wind. What a harvest of points.
In 30 matches 1,755 points were scored - roughly 58 per match. Two teams scored over 80 points in a match - the Leopards and Limpopo.
The number of tries scored was 221 - over seven per match. The most in a match was 14 when Limpopo scored 12 to the two of Border Country Districts. Limpopo also scored 12, against Zimbabwe.
The fewest in a match was two - one each for the Free State and the Blue Bulls. Namibia were the only side not to score a try ion a match.
André Esterhuizen, of the Leopards, scored the most points with 54, followed by Jaco Marais of Limpopo with 51. Esterhuizen and Jason Kriel of Boland scored the most tries - five each. Esterhuizen, like Paul Jordaan of Free State, scored four ties in a match. In that match - against poor Border country Districts - Esterhuizen broke a Craven Week record, scoring 38 points. The record was set by the late all-round sportsman Gerbrand Grobler in 1981.
Results:
A glance at the results of the week, here alphabetically, tells you that two teams from the Free State were the only unbeaten teams with three wins from three matches - Free State and the Griffons.
Two teams went home without a win - Boland, who drew with Eastern Province, and Border Country Districts who lost all three of their matches. In its three matches the Border side conceded 184 while scoring 40.
Blue Bulls vs KwaZulu-Natal, 29-8
Blue Bulls vs Boland, 50-15
Border vs South Western Districts, 40-22
Border vs Griquas Country Districts, 33-12
Eastern Province vs Boland, 34-34
Eastern Province Country Districts vs Griquas Country Districts, 29-19
Eastern Province Country Districts vs Leopards, 40-10
Free State vs Blue Bulls, 14-11
Free State vs Pumas, 56-32
Free State vs Golden Lions, 28-17
Golden Lions vs Eastern Province, 39-13
Golden Lions vs KwaZulu-Natal, 19-18
Griquas vs Limpopo, 34-29
Griquas vs Namibia, 53-3
Griquas Country Districts vs Border Country Districts, 33-16
Griffons vs Eastern Province, 31-16
Griffons vs Limpopo, 22-16
Griffons vs Valke, 34-28
KwaZulu-Natal vs Western Province, 23-21
Leopards vs Border Country Districts, 83-21
Limpopo vs Zimbabwe, 81-7
Namibia vs Zimbabwe, 55-18
Namibia vs Leopards, 40-19
Pumas vs Boland, 51-26
Pumas vs Western Province, 39-34
South Western Districts vs Griquas, 23-19
Valke vs South Western Districts, 39-23
Valke vs Eastern Province Country Districts, 42-15
Western Province vs Border, 42-26
Zimbabwe vs Border Country Districts, 68-3