Wildeklawer Rugby Tournament

The Absa Wildeklawer Sports Tournament is the biggest school sport event in South Africa, staged each autumn in Kimberley, the City of Diamonds. Born of the generosity of the de Kock family of Wildeklawer, the celebrated Northern Cape farming enterprise whose name the tournament carries, it has grown from a rugby gathering into a week-long festival of schools sport spanning rugby, netball, hockey and football, from junior sides to first teams.

The scale is unmatched anywhere in the country. Recent editions have drawn more than 230 teams from over 120 schools, with thousands of players, coaches and supporters descending on venues across the city, anchored by Hoerskool Diamantveld and the historic fields of Kimberley Boys' High. The country's giants all make the pilgrimage: Grey College, Affies, Paul Roos, the Paarl schools and dozens more, testing themselves against the best in strength versus strength fixtures in front of packed embankments.

More than a tournament, Wildeklawer has become a national stage. Craven Week selections, provincial contracts and future Springboks trace their stories through Kimberley, and for the schools that make the long drive to the Northern Cape each year it remains the week where reputations are measured against the whole country at once.