Boland bag important home win as Lions edge Sharks

WRAP: The penultimate round of the Pick n Pay Women’s Super League 1 delivered big time on Saturday, with all four matches played in round six providing ample entertainment and action.

The big winners were the Sanlam Boland Dames, who scored a crucial victory over Western Province, with their 21-15 win moving them into second place on the log, while the Golden Lions Women scored late in their match against the Sharks Women to grab victory in Durban.

The EP Queens blitzed the Border Ladies in the first half of their Eastern Cape derby to win 36-10 at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha, while the perfect season for the Isuzu Bulls Daisies continued in Bloemfontein, where the visitors beat the Free State Women by 52-9.

Boland move into second place with win over WP

The Boland Dames secured an important victory at Boland Stadium in Wellington, beating their Western Cape neighbours DHL Western Province by 21-15 in their derby match that also had a significant effect on the Pick n Pay WSL 1 standings.

The three tries to two win pushed the Bolanders past WP into second place on the log with one round of matches remaining, which could earn them a potential finals berth against the Isuzu Bulls Daisies in two weeks’ time.

It was a highly entertaining match, played at a good pace, with skill levels and with the intensity a derby normally brings. Add a dash of desperation from both sides, and it cooked up a perfect rugby match.

Both sides threw their best punches, metaphorically speaking, and had their opponents in trouble, but the knock-out deliveries came from Felicia Jacobs, who started a try for the ages by lock Mihlali Mgweba, that pushed the Dames clear and then sparked another try scoring opportunity for Arthea King.

It was tight at the break, with the home side leading 7-5. The visitors took the lead early in the second half with a penalty goal by Elme Kruger, but in a glorious spell of rugby, instigated by Jacobs on both occasions, the Dames scored twice.

Both tries were converted by Chloe Adams, who came off the bench to add even more zip, and suddenly the home side looked set for the win with a 21-8 lead.

WP came back as their bench made a strong impact. A converted try cut the lead to six points and with WP gaining the upper hand in the last 10 minutes, it took some desperate defence by the home side to see this one home.

Scorers:

Boland Dames:
Tries: Mgweba, Jacobs, King
Cons: Nonkosana, Adams 2

For Western Province:
Tries: Xozwa, Snyders
Con: Kruger
Pen: Kruger

Lions score late try to beat Sharks in Durban

The Golden Lions Women had to strong first half on the attack and a strong second half on defence to thank for this 19-18 win, their third in the Pick n Pay WSL 1.

The visitors scored twice in the first half to exploit a yellow card to a Sharks player to lead 12-0 at the break and then scored a match-winning converted try in the dying minutes to claim the honours.

The Sharks will be left wondering about how this one got away. They conceded two yellow cards in the first half, with the first one resulting in two tries by the Lions.

They clawed their way back into the match, with tries by flankers Nobuhle Mjawara and Nomonde Mbanjwa and two Mary Zulu penalty goals, and held an 18-12 lead with three minutes to play.

Replacement Zonke Sethi then scored for the visitors, and replacement flyhalf Kristen Cox stepped up for the match-winning conversion.

Scorers:

For Sharks Women:
Tries: Mjwara, Mbanjwa
Con: Zulu
Pen: Zulu 2

For Golden Lions Women:
Tries: Macamba, Sethi, Thomo
Cons: Potgieter, Cox

Daisies shift gears against gutsy Free State in Bloem

The Bulls Daisies delivered a workmanlike performance in Bloemfontein, beating a gutsy but outclassed Free State Women 52-9, after leading 28-6 at the break of their Pick n Pay WSL 1 clash.

A strong wind hampered the visitors’ plans to play an open game, but they changed tactics and reverted to a power game, with their forwards taking over.

The interplay between the pack, delivering the momentum, and the backs, exploiting the resulting space, was good to watch and delivered four tries on each side of the break to the Pretoria side, scored by eight different players.

The home side came to play too and could place enough pressure on the Daisies to concede penalties in the red zone, which they converted into three pointers by flyhalf Anelca Hess.

The home side also kept the Daisies scoreless in the final 18 minutes of the match, something that will boost their confidence with one more game in the season left to play.

Scorers:

For Free State Women:
Pens: Hess 3

For Bulls Daisies:
Tries: Ubisi, Strydom, Hlatshwayo, Cilliers, Alexander, Qawe, Ngxingolo, Nkhumishe
Cons: Cilliers 3
Pens: Cilliers 2

Queens outplay Ladies in Eastern Cape derby

The EP Queens added more misery to the Border Ladies’ season by outplaying them 36-10 in Gqeberha, scoring six tries in an exciting afternoon of Pick n Pay WSL 1 rugby at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

The Queens were good value for money from the start and romped into a 24-0 lead at the break, as they used their pack with good effect to submit their Eastern Cape foes, who could only score twice in the second half.

EP were out of the blocks quickly in the opening spell, with three forwards tries by Amahla Nyoba, Olwethu Kasibe and Phelisa Mrwebi blitzing Border in the opening quarter of the match. Wing Joanne Boesak got the bonus point try before the break.

Border managed to get some parity in the second half and finished strong with two tries in the last 20 minutes, but by that time the Queens had signed, sealed, and delivered their first Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium appearance of the season with a commanding win.

Scorers:

For EP Queens:
Tries: Nyoba, Kasibe, Mrwebi, Minnaar, Haas, Boesak
Cons: Haas 3

For Border Ladies:
Tries: Mali, Basana.