Girls U18 Week Starts
The SA Rugby Girls Under-18 Week kicked off on an action-packed note at Jeppe High School for Boys in Johannesburg on Tuesday.
The opening day was characterised by big victories and skilful play, with Border, Border Country Districts, the Pumas and hosts the Golden Lions registering convincing wins.
In the Girls Week, Western Province, who were the top team last season, started their tournament off on a winning note with a 15-5 victory against South Western Districts, with three second-half tries – two of which were scored by Nomphelo Bokwe – earning them the victory. The Cape side ran hard on attack and forced the George team to defend for most of the match, and their patience on attack paid off.
Border were also in fine form against Limpopo, with their hard running, skilful attack and solid defence steering them to nine tries – with a hat-trick by Amahle Khohliso – and a rewarding 57-7 victory. Limpopo tried hard to make their presence felt throughout the match, but they were shut out by the committed Border defence.
The Golden Lions put on a good performance for their home crowd as they showed innovation on attack and backed this up with solid support play to register a 59-0 victory against Free State. Such was the high quality of their play they scored nine tries, while they denied the Bloemfontein outfit from scoring.
Border Country Districts also got their campaign off to a strong start as they snuffed out the gaps in the defence and did well to retain possession and apply pressure on the Leopards, which earned them an impressive 10 tries and a 64-0 victory.
The Pumas were equally dominant in their clash against the Griffons which paid off with a 48-19 victory. The girls from Mpumalanga ran in eight tries, with Londiwe Mashinini earning a brace, while they limited the opposition to three, which were all scored by Shoti Mohalali.
Zimbabwe made a strong account of themselves as they beat the Blue Bulls 24-5 thanks to their ability to make the most of their try-scoring chances. The Blue Bulls showed promise on attack throughout the match, but the strong Zimbabwean defence kept them at bay.
A strong first-half by Eastern Province, meanwhile, guided them to a 17-0 victory against Griquas with all three of their tries being scored in the first half. Griquas tried hard to fight back in the second half and they tightened up their defence, but they were unable to break through the solid defence.
The clash between Boland and the Sharks was closely-fought from the outset as both teams gave everything on attack and defence, and in the end, the Western Cape side’s five tries to the Durbanites’ four secured them a 27-22 victory.
The Under-16 girls will be back in action on Wednesday, as their Under-18 counterparts have the day off,
Results Day One
Western Province vs South Western Districts, 15-5
Border Country Districts vs Leopards, 64-0
Boland vs Kwa-Zulu Natal, 27-22
Pumas vs Griffons, 48-19
Border vs Limpopo, 57-7
Eastern Province vs Griquas, 17-0
Golden Lions vs Free State, 59-0
Zimbabwe vs Blue Bulls, 24-5
Fixtures Day 2 – Thursday, 28 June 2018
10.00: Griquas vs Golden Lions
10.00: Limpopo vs Kwa-Zulu Natal
11.15: Free State vs Pumas
11.15: Western Province vs Blue Bulls
12.30: Griffons vs Leopards
12.30: Border CD vs Boland
14.20: Zimbabwe vs Eastern Province
15.35: Border vs South Western Districts
Issued by SA Rugby Communications
