EP WOMEN’S RUGBY PREVIEW

Jul 31 • General News • 1345 Views • Comments Off on EP WOMEN’S RUGBY PREVIEW

EASTERN Province will be chasing their first victory in the competition when they host KwaZulu-Natal in the SARU Women’s Interprovincial Series at the NMMU Missionvale campus on Saturday (August 1).
The EP team have opened the season with losses to Western Province and the Blue Bulls, and will be looking to rectify matters in the A Section match against the KZN outfit.
The clash is expected to be hard-fought as the visitors are also hunting their first victory in the tournament this season. With home ground advantage and smaller losing margins favouring Eastern Province, however, they could enter the clash with a slight edge.
But they know the Durban-based side will be desperate to turn their season around so they will be wary of underestimating their opponents.
The leading teams will look to build momentum on Saturday as the pool stages reach the halfway stage and the battle for log positions becomes more significant, with an eye on possibly securing final berths.
In the other A Section match, the unbeaten Blue Bulls meet SWD at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.
In the B Section, Griquas take on Boland in Springbok, the Griffons go up against Free State in Welkom, the Leopards meet the Limpopo Blue Bulls in Potchefstroom and the Valke host the Golden Lions in Vanderbijlpark.
In Pretoria the Blue Bulls will enter their clash as favourites as they come off back-to-back victories against Eastern Province and KwaZulu-Natal, while SWD have yet to win a game. The hosts, however, will be cognisant of the fact that SWD delivered a much more competitive performance against Western Province in their last outing after going down 81-7 against Border in the opening round.
With SWD having shown a vast improvement on defence, they will look to step up their attack, which could result in a competitive clash.
In the other matches Boland will be looking to build on their encouraging 56-15 victory over the Griffons when they line up against Griquas, while Free State will enter their match against the Griffons with confidence after the Welkom side went down in their first two matches.
The Leopards and Limpopo Blue Bulls, meanwhile, come off morale-boosting victories and both teams will look to stamp their authority early on in their clash at Profert Olën Park, which should set the scene for a thrilling encounter, while neighbours the Lions and Valke are also expected to be involved in a tight tussle.