Eastern Cape sides lay down early marker

DAY ONE WRAP: Eastern Province and Border claimed big wins in the first round of the Under-18 Girls Week staged at Jeppe High School in Johannesburg on Monday.

EP scored 15 tries in their 99-5 win over Free State, with wings Lukhanye Lolo (five tries) and Girly Tembani (three) proving especially potent.

Flyhalf Micayle Hendricks contributed a try as well as 12 conversions to finish the game with 29 points.

Border proved too strong for the Leopards, running in 16 tries over the course of the 96-5 victory. Lock Zeze Gcaza and inside centre Semi Maliwa scored two tries apiece.

Earlier in the day, Western Province and the Golden Lions delivered impressive attacking performances in their big wins over Zimbabwe and the Griffons respectively.

Limpopo Blue Bulls rebounded from a seven-point half-time deficit to beat the Sharks 15-12, while another tight contest between the Pumas and Boland was eventually edged 20-19 by the Cape side.

The Blue Bulls also started with a win as they kept the Falcons scoreless in their 20-0 victory – the only team on the opening day to keep a clean sheet.

Under-18 results (Monday, July 1):

EP 99 (43) beat Free State 5 (5)
Blue Bulls 20 (10) beat Falcons 0 (0)
Limpopo Blue Bulls 15 (5) beat Sharks 12 (12)
Western Province 37 (22) beat Zimbabwe 5 (5)
SWD 24 (21) beat Griquas 5 (5)
Border 96 (45) beat Leopards 5 (5)
Golden Lions 48 (10) beat Griffons 5 (5)
Boland 20 (15) beat Pumas 19 (10)

The national Under-16 tournament will kick off at 10.00 on Tuesday when EP face the Limpopo Blue Bulls.

U16 fixtures (Tuesday, July 2):

10.00: EP v Limpopo Blue Bulls, A Field
10.00: WP v Golden Lions, B Field
11.15: Pumas v Griffons, A Field
11.15: Leopards v Free State, B Field
12.30: Sharks v Griquas, A Field
12.30: Border v Blue Bulls, B Field
13.45: Boland v Border Country Districts, A Field
13.45: SWD v Falcons, B Field