Sharks Boast Unbeaten Season Ahead of IPT Semis

Border and the Sharks secured their home semifinals in the A Division of the Women’s Interprovincial Competition this weekend, while Griquas and the Limpopo Blue Bulls cemented their places in the B Division final as the round-robin stages reached a close.

(Scroll down to read the tournament results and logs, and links to tournament wraps for each round)

Border will host the Free State in East London and the Sharks will battle it out with Western Province in the semifinals on September 14.

In the A Division Border secured the top spot on the log in Section 1 by a single point on points’ difference after suffering a 15-0 defeat against Western Province in Cape Town.

But while the thought of losing out on a home semifinal by two match points was undoubtedly a bitter pill to swallow for the Cape side, there was some relief for them as they secured the other semifinal place up for grabs in the Section.

In Section 2, meanwhile, Free State secured their semifinal spot alongside the Sharks following their bonus-point 93-5 romp against the Golden Lions. The Sharks had a bye, but bonus point victories in all four of their matches sealed their fate ahead of the final round.

Griquas on the other hand, thumped the Valke 26-5 in Vanderbijlpark in the B Division, while the Limpopo Blue Bulls went down 39-26 against the Leopards in Potchefstroom, resulting in the Kimberley side finishing the league stages at the top of the log.

However, this will have little significance when they meet the Limpopo Blue Bulls in the final, as the match will be hosted at the same venue as the A Division final.

In the other matches, the Blue Bulls finished their season on a high as they annihilated SWD 62-0 at Loftus Versfeld, while Boland defeated the Griffons 34-10 in Wellington.

The defeats for the Lions and SWD left them without a single victory this season, while the Sharks were the only team across both divisions to finish the pool stages unbeaten.

In Cape Town, the wet weather and heavy underfoot conditions after two weeks of rain resulted in a tight clash between Western Province and Border.

Border were also missing a handful of star players, including Springbok Women’s captain Mandisa Williams, who was withdrawn from the match ahead of next Saturday’s Rugby World Cup qualifier against Uganda in East London.

The home team, however, made the most of the tough conditions as they scored two tries – one of which was converted – and slotted over a penalty, while Border failed to get onto the scoreboard.

In Bloemfontein, meanwhile, the home team outclassed the Lions and ran in a remarkable 15 tries to only one by the visitors, while the Blue Bulls outscored SWD 10 tries to none.

In the B Division, Griquas managed to cross the tryline four times against the Valke, which will give them confidence ahead of the final. But the Limpopo Blue Bulls will also take comfort from the fact that they too secured their bonus point try despite being outplayed by the Leopards.

The finals of both Divisions will take place on September 21.

(With editing by gsport)