EP TEAMS EXCEL ON WOMEN’S TOURNAMENT

Aug 11 • General News • 1654 Views • Comments Off on EP TEAMS EXCEL ON WOMEN’S TOURNAMENT

THE Eastern Province U16 and U18 teams excelled at the South Section of the SARU Youth Training Centre Women’s Day Celebrations tournament played at Grens High in East London at the weekend (August 8-10).
The U16 team emerged as the winners in their section, while the EP U18 side were runners-up to old rivals Border. Furthermore, EP U16 player Sibabalwe Klaas was named the overall player of the tournament.
The U16 competition proved to be a humdinger as Border and Eastern Province both stamped their authority on the proceedings. Border registered a 27-0 victory against KwaZulu-Natal in their opening pool game and then managed to defeat the Port Elizabeth side 5-0. In the other pool match Eastern Province thumped KwaZulu-Natal 37-0, which proved to be crucial in the final analysis.
The final between EP and Border was a tense affair as both teams threw everything at each other, resulting in the teams playing to a 5-5 draw. This is when EP’s big win against KwaZulu-Natal proved crucial as they were awarded the honours because they had a superior points difference.
In the U18 section, the Border U18 team worked their way into the final against Eastern Province compliments of 34-0 victory against their Eastern Cape rivals and a 10-0 victory against KwaZulu-Natal. Eastern Province also got the better of KwaZulu-Natal as they secured a 17-0 victory.
Border, however, dominated the final as they capitalised on their point-scoring chances, which earned them a 27-10 victory.
The success of the EP U16 team can be attributed to the SARU Youth Training Centre set up earlier this year at the NMMU Missionvale campus. The elite U16 and U18 squads made up the two teams, but the Centre provides coaching and training for about 300 girls at all levels.
The idea is to expose more girls to the game, which has also been helped by the fact that a Nelson Mandela Bay schoolgirls’ league has been set up for the first time this year, providing greater opportunities to experience the game throughout the year.
The results were

U18 Girls South Section Results, Monday 10 August:

Border 27 – 10 Eastern Province

Saturday, 8 August:

Eastern Province 17 – 0 KwaZulu-Natal
Eastern Province 0 – 34 Border
KwaZulu-Natal 0 – 10 Border

U16 Girls South Section Results, Monday 10 August:

Border 5 – 5 Eastern Province

Saturday, 8 August:

KwaZulu-Natal 0 – 27 Border
Eastern Province 37 – 0 KwaZulu-Natal
Border 5 – 0 Eastern Province