Golden Lions, Western Province unbeaten
One round to go in U19 tournament
With only one round of the South African Under-19 tournament left, there are just two unbeaten sides – the Golden Lions and Western Province.
In that last round, Western Province, who have not lost a match, play Eastern Province. Western Province should win the South Section, but the North Section is still wide open.
On Saturday the Golden Lions play the Blue Bulls. The Golden Lions have won all five while the Bulls lost to the Leopards at Olën Park in Potchefstroom. The Golden Lions have 25 points in the North Section,. the Blue Bulls 21.
Both teams had huge victories on Saturday. The Golden Lions beat Griquas 91-11. The Blue Bulls, who have just acquired the brilliant Border scrumhalf Mandilakhe Tile, beat the Griffons 71-19.
In the north section, the real contenders have been the Golden Lions, the Blue Bulls and the Leopards,. In the South Section the real contenders have been Western Province, KwaZulu Natal and the Cheetahs.
The Blue Bulls and the Leopards have each lost one match, but because of bonus points the Blue Bulls have 21 points, the Leopards 19. The Leopards play the Griffons this weekend, which should pose no problems at all.
In the South Section, Western Province beat the Free State in Bloemfontein and KwaZulu Natal thrashed them, also in Bloemfontein. That make the Western Province-KwaZulu Natal clash at Newlands last Friday evening so important.
It was an exceedingly drab match of multitudinous penalties. Five players were given yellow cards and very little happened. Western Province scored a splendid try through Terry Jacobs and KwaZulu Natal got one when Dale Farnham strolled over after many phases.
The goal kicking, especially by Western Province, was poor but Western Province contrived to win 17-14 which produced the outbursts of exuberance that seem part and parcel of South Africa's age-group teams. They threw hands in the air and hugged while management and the bench went bounding onto the field. They did not seem to mind that the match could have been the drabbest at Newlands in decades!
There are no semi-finals in this competition, just a final in which Western Province look likely to play either the Golden Lions or the Blue Bulls.
Fixtures for the last round:
Blue Bulls vs Golden Lions at Loftus Versfeld Stadium
Falcons vs Mpumalanga at Pam Brink Stadium
Free State vs Border at Vodacom Park
KwaZulu Natal vs South Western Districts at ABSA Stadium, Durban
Leopards vs Griffons at Olën Park
Western Province vs Eastern Province at Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch
Results till now:
Blue Bulls vs Griffons, 71-19
Blue Bulls vs Griqualand West, 59-6
Blue Bulls vs Falcons, 51-7
Blue Bulls vs Mpumalanga, 51-6
Boland vs Border, 38-0
Boland vs South Western Districts, 33-0
Border vs Eastern Province, 22-17
Border vs South Western Districts, 31-27
Eastern Province vs Boland, 19-12
Eastern Province vs South Western Districts, 29-22
Free State vs Boland, 34-22
Free State vs Eastern Province, 29-24
Free State vs South Western Districts, 26-20
Golden Lions vs Falcons, 65-10
Golden Lions vs Griffons, 101-0
Golden Lions vs Griqualand West, 91-11
Golden Lions vs Leopards, 32-23
Golden Lions vs Mpumalanga, 56-10
Griffons vs Falcons, 40-19
Griffons vs Griqualand West, 41-33
Griffons vs Mpumalanga, 47-7
Griqualand West vs Falcons, 32-20
Griqualand West vs Mpumalanga, 20-18
KwaZulu Natal vs Boland, 43-6
KwaZulu Natal vs Eastern Province, 49-5
KwaZulu Natal vs Border, 43-7
KwaZulu Natal vs Free State, 45-14
Leopards vs Blue Bulls, 26-20
Leopards vs Falcons, 38-24
Leopards vs Griqualand West, 85-0
Leopards vs Mpumalanga, 64-9
Western Province vs Boland, 50-10
Western Province vs KwaZulu Natal, 17-14
Western Province vs Border, 39-0
Western Province vs Free State, 16-13
Western Province vs South Western Districts, 45-0
