WP secure back-to-back U17 Interprovincial Sevens titles
Western Province on Saturday secured back-to-back South African Rugby Union Under-17 Interprovincial Sevens titles as they defeated SWD 43-7 in the Cup Final at Hoërskool Paarl Gimnasium to complete the competition unbeaten.
The Pumas won the Plate Final, while Free State won the Bowl Final and KwaZulu-Natal the Shield Final.
Western Province booked their place in the final after registering a morale-boosting 29-0 victory against Western Cape neighbours, Boland, in the Cup Semi-final.
Earlier in the day they defeated Griquas 48-0 in the Cup Quarter-final.
SWD, meanwhile, defeated the Blue Bulls 28-14 in the Cup Quarter-final and then beat the Lions 21-15 in the Cup Semi-final to book their spot in the final.
The final day’s play followed on a thrilling opening day with a series of big wins and a few tight games keeping fans entertained throughout the day.
In total 296 tries and 1852 points were scored in the two days of rugby. Western Province’s Damian Willemse was the highest points scorer in the tournament with 42 points, while his team-mate Muller du Plessis’ seven tries were the highest by a player.
The Cup Final was exciting with SWD taking an early 7-0 lead compliments of a stunning try by WP van Heerden. But Western Province bounced back with a try by Wian van Zyl, who found space out wide, allowing them to level the scores. WP’s Vian Fourie added their second try minutes later as he dashed to the tryline and broke through two tackles to score under the posts. This strong start boosted their confidence as Khanya Nkusane added another try on the stroke of halftime thanks to his raw pace, which earned the hosts an encouraging 19-7 lead.
Western Province continued to run riot on attack in the second half with Damian Willemse, Muller du Plessis, Charl Serdyn and Mike Mavovana scoring to increase their try tally to seven for a 43-7 victory. SWD, meanwhile, were forced to feed off the scraps throughout the match, and with no possession with which to launch an attack, they were unable to make their presence felt.
In the Plate Final, the Pumas struck first against the Blue Bulls with a try by JC Pretorius and they added another a few minutes later compliments of Jaco Joubert to take a 12-0 lead. The Blue Bulls tried hard to force their way into the match as the first half progressed, but their efforts were countered by the effective Pumas defence. The Mpumalanga side continued their dominance after the break with two tries in quick succession to stretch their lead to 24-0. The Bulls hit back a minute before the final whistle with a try by Lincoln Daniels, but this was cancelled out by the Pumas from the kick-off as they ran in yet another try to secure a 29-5 victory and the Plate trophy.
U17 Interprovincial Sevens day-two results:
Bowl Quarter-finals:
Griffons 47 – 15 Namibia
KZN 14 – 19 Limpopo Blue Bulls
Free State 33 – 5 Leopards
EP 7 – 31 Border
Cup Quarter-finals:
Western Province 48 – 0 Griquas
Pumas 17 – 33 Boland
SWD 28 – 14 Blue Bulls
Falcons 5 – 19 Lions
Shield Semi-finals:
Namibia 10 – 31 KZN
Leopards 24 – 10 EP
Bowl Semi-finals:
Griffons 31 – 26 Limpopo Blue Bulls
Free State 26 – 17 Border
Plate Semi-finals:
Griquas 0 – 38 Pumas
Blue Bulls 24 – 12 Falcons
Cup Semi-finals:
Western Province 29 – 0 Boland
SWD 21 – 15 Lions
Shield Final:
KZN 41 – 7 Leopards
Bowl Final:
Griffons 21 – 26 Free State
Plate Final:
Pumas 29 – 5 Blue Bulls
Cup Final:
Western Province 43 – 7 SWD
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