The Sharks Women scored an important win over Border Ladies in the tenth round of the SA Rugby Women’s Premier Division, while the top three contenders on the log all scored convincing victories to keep the pecking order on the log intact in the weekend ending Saturday, 22 June, 2024.
The KZN side needed to win to stay connected to the top four on the log, and won a gutsy win to secure that. The Bulls Daisies are still top of the log, followed by DHL Western Province and Sanlam Boland Dames, with all three gaining a full house of points against EP Queens, Free State Women and the Golden Lions Women respectively.
On Friday in Uvongo, the Sharks Women won 14-8 to register their best win of the season in a win that also closed the gap between themselves and Border, who are currently in fourth spot, to just three log points.
It was a low-scoring affair and the home side gained a 11-0 buffer in the first half, a cushion which proved vital in the outcome of the match. Both sides scored a try apiece, but the difference was the boot of Mary Zulu, who kicked three penalties goals to earn the win.
Zulu rewarded her team’s willingness to hand her the ball in shooting range, and she has now kicked eight penalty goals so far this season, double that of Thanie Yeko from Boland.
The Bulls Daisies were expected to win handsomely against the EP Queens at Wolfson Stadium and while it was not as bad a result as in their earlier meeting, the visitors still romped away to a 74-6 triumph, scoring 12 unanswered tries with the Queens only managing a single penalty goal in each half in response.
The Daisies pack was dominant and scored eight of those tries amongst themselves. Daisies coach, Hayden Groepes, will be pleased with the effort showed by especially his forwards, with his loose trio in particular running amok in Nelson Mandela Bay.
The Sanlam Boland Dames made a hot start at the Wesbank Sportsground in Malmesbury, racing away to a 41-7 lead at the break on route to a 53-26 win over the Golden Lions Women.
The home side spiced up their attack nicely with good interplay between backs and forwards and dangerous backs Chuma Qawe and Maceala Samboya found early open spaces to exploit, with Qawe dotting down twice and Samboya once.
Credit to the visitors though, who came back in the second half to out-score the Dames in the second half, bagging three tries. Sadly, for the Gauteng side, they are still stuck in the bottom three on the log, and seem unlikely to gain further traction.
In Bloemfontein, the visiting WP scored nine tries to three for a comfortable 53-25 win over Free State Ladies. The Cape side made a strong start to the game, and at halftime was sitting pretty thanks to a 27-0 lead. Although they went on to concede three tries when the Free State rallied in the second stanza, the visitors were always in command of the match.
The home side made some changes off the bench at the break, and that seemed to spur them on as they scored 25 second half points against Province, something that will give them some confidence going into next weekend.
Round Ten Results at the SA Rugby Women’s Premier Division on the Week Ending Saturday, 22 June, 2024
Free State Women 25 (0), DHL Western Province 53 (27)
Free State – Tries: Bernice Strydom, Vuyelwa Mosala, Rivonia Leslie
Conversions: Inge Stander
Penalty goals: Stander (2)
Western Province: Anuckha Ekron, Mari Dalhouzie, Lihle Mzimkhulu, Anelisiwe Mxabo, Raeeqah Hendricks (2), Megan Kannemeyer, Asiphe Mayaba, Logan Welman
Conversions: Anja le Roux (3), Shamiela Muller
Sanlam Boland Dames 53 (41), Golden Lions Women 26 (7)
Boland – Tries: Yola Lumko, Meg Mambe, Theresa Ruiters, Amanda Klassen, Maceala Samboya, Chuma Qawe (2)
Conversions: Thanie Yeko (5)
Penalty goals: Yeko (2)
Lions – Tries: Xoliswa Khuzwayo, Ratidzo Gurajena, Provia Mashiane, Nthabiseng Monyemore
Conversions: Piwokuhle Nyanda (2), Provia Mashiane
EP Queens 6 (3), Bulls Daisies 74 (45)
EP – Penalty goals: Zaza Nojoko (2)
Daisies – Tries: Yonela Ngxingolo, Doreen Mkhabela, Surprise Baloi (2), Sinelitha Noxeke (2), Sophy Mashapa (2), Relebohile Motaung, Zintle Nonkasana (2), Nelisiwe Mnguni
Conversions: Nonkasana (6), Rumandi Potgieter
Sharks Women 14 (11), Border Ladies 8 (0)
Sharks – Try: Noluthando Mbambo
Penalty goals: Mary Zulu (3)
Border – Try: Asisipho Plaatjies
Penalty goal: Yandisa Nobanda
Original Copy: SA Rugby Communications, with editing by gsport
Photo Caption: The Sharks Women scored an important and hard-earned win over Border Ladies in the SA Rugby Women’s Premier Division, to keep in sight of the top three contenders on the leaderboard on Saturday, 22 June, 2024. File Photo: SA Rugby
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