Tries galore on exciting opening day of SA Rugby Interprovincial Sevens
The SA Rugby Interprovincial Sevens for Men and Women delivered a feast of tries on Day One of the tournament held in the iconic Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit and produced some outstanding results in the 52 matches played.
No less than 153 tries were scored in the men’s tournament, with the women also showing their attacking prowess with 156 tries.
A number of results again proved why there are no big names in sevens rugby, with the likes of SWD, Griffons and Border showing some big names teams that they are no pushovers.
With the national Springbok Sevens Women’s coach, Renfred Dazel, as well as Springbok Sevens Academy Coach Marius Schoeman and his assistant coach, Paul Delport, in attendance, a number of players showed that they can play at a higher level, but in the end it was good team play that ruled the day.
Numerous tight matches highlighted the men’s competition.
The Leopards edged past the Blue Bulls in pool A due to a better points differential after their match ended 19-19. Both teams progressed to the Cup quarters at the expense of Border and Boland.
In pool B, the Sharks won their first match against Eastern Province by one point, only to lose to Western Province by the same margin. They were shocked by Griquas in their final match and failed to advance to the Cup competition on Saturday. EP, who were beaten by WP in the final play of their match, slipped into second and Cup contention by points’ difference. EP will again look at Jacques Fick, who contributed 39 to end the day as leading point’s scorer in the men’s tournament.
Pool C saw South Western Districts top the pool, courtesy of a 17-14 win over the Golden Lions. SWD did drop a result to the Pumas (Highveld), but when the hosts lost to the Golden Lions, they slipped into third on the log and out of Cup contention.
Pool D saw Griffons and Pumas (Lowveld) qualify. Selvyn Davids scored seven tries for the Welkom team to lead the try scoring stakes for the day. Free State finished pool play without a win, with Limpopo Blue Bulls also not advancing to the Cup.
The women’s tournament saw a number of blow-outs.
In Pool A, defending champions, the Blue Bulls again showed good form and won all three their matches. Free State proved a handful as well and ended the day undefeated, with Mellanie Smith contributing 9 tries to end the day top try scorer. Hosts Pumas, Leopards and the SANDF team missed out on Cup contention.
Pool B saw impressive play from Western Province, who only conceded two tries and scored 15 themselves. They will be joined in the Cup competition by Golden Lions, with Boland and Griffons missing out.
Border proved to be pretty productive on attack and dominated pool C. They scored 17 tries and conceded only three on their way to top the pool. Zintle Mpupa took full advantage of this and bagged 48 points to finish the day as top points’ scorer. SA Students also impressed with their skills and advanced to the Cup competition courtesy of wins over Limpopo Blue Bulls and SWD.
The Sharks also showed lots of structure and shape in their three wins in pool D and will be a tough nut to crack on Saturday. They will be joined by Eastern Province in the Cup quarters, with Griquas and Valke missing out on the main prize.
In the men’s Cup quarters, Leopards face Golden Lions, Western Province takes on Griffons, SWD take on Blue Bulls and Pumas (Lowveld) host Eastern Province.
The Cup quarterfinals fixtures in the women’s tournament are: Blue Bulls v SA Students; Western Province v Eastern Province; Border v Free State; Sharks v Golden Lions.
Day One Results:
Women:
Pool A: Blue Bulls 26, Leopards 0; Pumas 34, SANDF 12; Free State 38, Leopards 0; Free State 26, SANDF 5; Free State 35, Pumas 0; Blue Bulls 45, SANDF 0; Blue Bulls 42, Pumas 0; Blue Bulls 26, Free State 5; Leopards 17, Pumas 10.
Pool B: Western Province 29, Boland 5; Golden Lions 36, Griffons 0; Western Province 36, Griffons 0; Golden Lions 12, Boland 12; Western Province 22, Golden Lions 7; Boland 47, Griffons 14;
Pool C: SA Students 29, Limpopo Blue Bulls 0; Border 38, SWD 7; SA Students 27, SWD 0; Border 48, Limpopo Blue Bulls 0; Leopards 19, SANDF 15; Limpopo Blue Bulls 27, SWD 7; Border 17, SA Students 12.
Pool D: Griquas 7, Valke 5; Sharks 10, Eastern Province 7; Sharks 33, Valke 0; Eastern Province 24, Valke 0; Sharks 56, Griquas 0; Eastern Province 24, Griquas 0.
Men
Pool A: Leopards 34, Border 7; Blue Bulls 40, Boland 7; Blue Bulls 26, Border 19; Leopards 33, Boland 0; Blue Bulls 19, Leopards 19; Boland 33, Border 31.
Pool B: Sharks 22, Eastern Province 21; Western Province 38, Griquas 10; Western Province 22, Sharks 21; Eastern Province 33, Griquas 14; Western Province 19, Eastern Province 15; Griquas 15, Sharks 7
Pool C: SWD 17, Golden Lions 14; Valke 17, Pumas (HV) 7; Golden Lions 35, Valke 24; Pumas HV 33, SWD 17; SWD 33, Valke 5; Golden Lions 17, Pumas HV 14.
Pool D: Griffons 36, Free State 19; Pumas (LV) 12, Limpopo Bulls 10; Pumas (LV) 22, Griffons 14; Limpopo 24, Free State 7; Griffons 19, Limpopo Bulls 0; Pumas LV 22, Free State 17.
Issued by SA Rugby Communications
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