Interprovincial Sevens begins
The provincial showdown will feature 16 men's teams and 18 women's teams, with the sides going head-to-head on Friday and Saturday for the title of SARU Interprovincial champions.
The 16 teams in the men's division will feature the 14 South African provincial unions, a Pumas Lowveld team and the Limpopo Blue Bulls, while the Women's division will include teams from the 14 provincial unions, a Blue Bulls Invitational side, the Limpopo Blue Bulls, SA Students and South African National Defence Force (SANDF).
The Blue Bulls men and Border women will enter the competition as the defending champions.
Should the Border women's team succeed in defending their title, they will round off a fantastic year for women's rugby in East London, as the Border women's 15-a-side team secured their hat-trick of Women's Interprovincial titles earlier in the season, while the Imonti Penguins from East London won the SARU Women's Club Championships last month.
The participating players will have extra motivation to stamp their authority as Springbok Women's Sevens coach Renfred Dazel and SA Sevens Academy coach Paul Delport and manager Marius Schoeman will attend the tournament to scout for players.
Dazel and his scouting team will select 24 players to be invited to a three-day training camp in Stellenbosch where they will undergo medical assessments and skill and fitness evaluations. They will also receive coaching and conditioning interventions and education outlining what it takes to be a high-performance athlete.
On the final day of the camp, they will be integrated into teams with the current Springbok Women's Sevens squad and play a series of matches.
Should any of these players make the grade required to play international sevens rugby, they could be invited to train with the squad next year in Stellenbosch on an intermittent basis.
Western Province and the Leopards will line up in the opening match in the women's division at 09.00 on the A field at the Mbombela Stadium, while the Leopards and Limpopo Blue Bulls men's teams will meet in their division's opening match at 09.40.
On the B Field, meanwhile, the SA Students and SANDF women's teams will meet at 09.00, while the Border men take on the Blue Bulls at 09h40.
The top teams in each division at the end of the opening day's play will meet in the Cup quarterfinals on Saturday, while the lower-ranked team's will battle it out in the Bowl quarterfinals before the teams play for the Cup, Plate, Bowl and Shield later in the day.
SARU Interprovincial Sevens day one fixtures (Friday, November 6):
A Field:
09.00 – Blue Bulls vs EP (Women)
09.20 – Border vs SWD (Women)
09.40 – Lowveld vs Limpopo (Men)
10.00 – Free State vs Falcons (Women)
10.20 – Pumas vs Boland (Men)
10.40 – Golden Lions vs EP (Women)
11.00 – Golden Lions vs Griffons (Men)
11.20 – KZN vs Limpopo Blue Bulls (Women)
11.40 – EP vs SWD (Men)
12.00 – Griquas vs SWD (Women)
12.20 – Lowveld vs Falcons (Men)
12.40 – Free State vs SANDF (Women)
13.00 – Leopards vs Boland (Men)
13.20 – Blue Bulls vs Golden Lions (Women)
13.40 – WP vs Griffons (Men)
14.00 – KZN vs SA Students (Women)
14.20 – EP vs Border (Men)
14.40 – SWD vs Griffons (Women)
15.00 – Blue Bulls vs Lowveld (Men)
15.20 – Free State vs WP (Women)
15.40 – Pumas vs EP (Women)
16.00 – Leopards vs Pumas (Men)
16.20 – Griquas vs Leopards (Women)
16.40 – Griffons vs Griquas (Men)
17.00 – EP vs Free State (Men)
17.20 – KZN vs Blue Bulls XV (Women)
17.40 – Boland vs Blue Bulls (Women)
18.00 – Leopards vs SWD (Women)
B Field:
09.00 – Boland vs Pumas (Women)
09.20 – Griffons vs Griquas (Women)
09.40 – Blue Bulls vs Falcons (Men)
10.00 – WP vs SANDF (Women)
10.20 – Leopards vs KZN (Men)
10.40 – Pumas vs Blue Bulls (Women)
11.00 – WP vs Griquas (Men)
11.20 – Blue Bulls XV vs SA Students (Women)
11.40 – Border vs Free State (Men)
12.00 – Leopards vs Griffons (Women)
12.20 – Blue Bulls vs Limpopo Blue Bulls (Men)
12.40 – WP vs Falcons (Women)
13.00 – Pumas vs KZN (Men)
13.20 – Boland vs EP (Women)
13.40 – Golden Lions vs Griquas (Men)
14.00 – Blue Bulls XV vs Limpopo Blue Bulls (Women)
14.20 – SWD vs Free State (Men)
14.40 – Border vs Leopards (Women)
15.00 – Limpopo Blue Bulls vs Falcons (Men)
15.20 – SANDF vs Falcons (Women)
15.40 – Boland vs Golden Lions (Women)
16.00 – Boland vs KZN (Men)
16.20 – Border vs Griffons (Women)
16.40 – WP vs Golden Lions (Men)
17.00 – Border vs SWD (Men)
17.20 – SA Students vs Limpopo Blue Bulls (Women)
17.40 – Golden Lions vs Pumas (Women)
18.00 – Griquas vs Border (Women)
