Try festival on day two of U18 Girls Week
The second day of the National Girls U18 Week proved to be a try festival on Wednesday at the HT Pelatona Projects Stadium in Welkom, as five of the eight winning teams scored over 35 points each in an exciting round.
Eastern Province, Zimbabwe, Border, Free State and Western Province registered their second victories in as many games and will enter Friday’s final round high on confidence.
Border, who won the final match of the tournament last season, did well to create try-scoring chances and capitalize on them against SWD, despite a determined effort by the opposition forwards to apply pressure on them. Their effective attack saw them cross the chalk eight times on route to a 51-3 win, while their solid defence left SWD with only a penalty goal for their efforts, despite getting close to the try line at times.
Western Province, meanwhile, found their rhythm after a tight first half against Border CD in which the teams entered the break level at 7-7. The converted try for the Eastern Cape side proved to be their only points, as Western Province defended like demons and stretched the ball wide on the attack to score five unanswered tries in the second half to win 38-7.
The clash between Zimbabwe and the Blue Bulls was epic as both teams threw everything at one another, leaving the sides scoreless going into the last 10 minutes. A late try by Zimbabwe, however, sealed the 5-0 victory.
The battle between Eastern Province and Boland was also hard-fought as both teams ran hard at one another on attack and showed commitment on defense. Such was the closeness of the first half, the Eastern Cape side took a narrow 10-7 lead at the break, but two second-half tries to add to their two in the first half, to only one by Boland secured them a 22-12 victory.
KZN, meanwhile, bounced back strongly from their 59-0 defeat in the opening round to overpower the Pumas 46-15. The Durban side cruised to a 24-0 halftime lead, and they built on this in the second half to finish the match with an impressive eight tries. The Pumas tried hard to force their way back into the match and scored three tries for their efforts, but they battled to shut out the Durban side on defense.
The Limpopo Blue Bulls also produced a solid display all around, as they beat hosts, the Griffons, 45-10 with seven tries to only four by the home team, while the Golden Lions’ forwards and backs combined well to set them up for a rewarding 46-10 victory after the teams entered the break tied at 10-10.
The ladies will have Thursday off to rest, with the competition concluding on Friday.
Meanwhile, the final day of the Learners with Special Education Needs (LSEN) Week will be hosted at Glenwood High School in Durban on Thursday after a well-earned rest for the players, with Boland facing the Valke in the final match.
National Girls U18 Week day two results (Wednesday, 5 July):
KZN 46-15 Pumas
Griffons 24-45 Limpopo Blue Bulls
Golden Lions 46-10 Leopards
Border 51-3 SWD
Free State 5-12 Griquas
Western Province 38-7 Border CD
Zimbabwe 5-0 Blue Bulls
Eastern Province 22-12 Boland
LSEN Week day three fixtures (Thursday, 6 July):
09h00 – KZN vs Pumas
09h00 – Blue Bulls EE v Griffons
10h20 – SWD v Free State
10h20 – Blue Bulls v Eastern Province
11h40 – Golden Lions EE v Leopards
13h00 – Golden Lions v Western Province
14h20 – Valke v Boland
Issued by SA Rugby Communications
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