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DHL WP Women back at City Park

PUBLISHED: July 30, 2015


The teams participating in the SARU Women’s Interprovincial Series will look to build momentum on Saturday as the pool stages reaches the halfway stage and the battle for log positions becomes more significant with an eye on possibly securing final berths.

In the A Section, the unbeaten Blue Bulls will meet SWD at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria and Eastern Province will go up against KwaZulu-Natal at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Port Elizabeth.

The DHL Western Province Women, meanwhile, will play host to the defending champion Border team at City Park on Saturday (kick-off 12h30).

The DHL WP Women are currently unbeaten, having beaten Eastern Province at home and SWD away, and they will have their hands full at City Park ahead of two more Province matches at the venue on Saturday, with DHL WP’s Under-19 and Under-21 teams in action at 14h00 and 16h00, respectively. (Entry at City Park is just R10 – for kids and adults.)

In the B Section, Griquas take on Boland in Springbok, the Griffons go up against the Free State in Welkom, the Leopards meet the Limpopo Blue Bulls in Potchefstroom and the Valke host the Golden Lions in Vanderbijlpark.

In Pretoria, the Blue Bulls will enter their clash as favourites as they come off back-to-back victories against Eastern Province and KwaZulu-Natal, while SWD have yet to win a game.

The hosts, however, will be cognisant of the fact that SWD delivered a much more competitive performance against DHL WP in their last outing after going down 81-7 against Border in the opening round, and limited them to only 20 points. With the team having shown a vast improvement on defence, they will look to step up their attack, which could result in a competitive clash.

The battle between DHL Western Province and Border could be the game of the weekend, as both teams have displayed solid form this season and have built up good momentum in the series thus far.

Border will take comfort from the fact that they have only conceded 12 points in their first two matches, while DHL WP have conceded 25. The East London side has also scored 112 points compared to the Cape side’s 54. But with home ground advantage favouring Province, the clash is expected to be thrilling.

The clash between Eastern Province and KwaZulu-Natal is expected to be hard-fought as both teams hunt their first victories in the tournament. With home ground advantage and smaller losing margins favouring EP, however, they could enter the clash with a slight edge. But both teams will desperate to turn their seasons around, meaning the home team will be wary about underestimating the Durban side.

In the other matches Boland will be looking to build on their encouraging 56-15 victory against the Griffons when they line up against Griquas, while the Free State will enter their match against the Griffons with confidence after the Welkom side went down in their first two matches.

The Leopards and Limpopo Blue Bulls, meanwhile, come off morale-boosting victories and both teams will look to stamp their authority early on in their clash at Profert Olën Park, which should set the scene for a thrilling encounter, while neighbours the Lions and Valke are also expected to be involved in a tight tussle.

SARU WOMEN’S INTERPROVINCIAL FIXTURES, SATURDAY, AUGUST 1:

A Section:

DHL Western Province
Venue: City Park, Cape Town
Kick-off: 12h30

Blue Bulls v SWD
Venue: Loftus Versfeld B Field, Pretoria
Kick-off: 15h00

Eastern Province v KwaZulu-Natal
Venue: NMMU – Misionvale Campus
Kick-off: 15h00

B Section:

Griquas v Boland
Venue: Nababeep Sports Grounds, Springbok
Kick-off: 15h00

Griffons v Free State
Venue: Bronville Stadium, Welkom
Kick-off: 15h00

Leopards v Limpopo Blue Bulls
Venue: Profert Olën Park, Potchefstroom
Kick-off: 14h00

Valke v Golden Lions
Venue: Izak Steyl Stadium, Vanderbijlpark
Kick-off: 15h00