KZN, Free State and Border on Saturday established themselves as forces to be reckoned with in the ‘A Division’ of the Women’s Interprovincial competition as they kicked-off the season with emphatic wins.
DHL Western Province, the defending champions, had a bye this past weekend and will be back in action next week.
KZN smashed the MTN Golden Lions 83-3 in one-sided encounter at Ellis Park, which marked another disappointing start to the Johannesburg-based side’s season, while the Cheetahs thumped the Griffons 51-10 at the North West Stadium in Welkom for the biggest wins of the weekend.
646-206
The Durban-based team started the match strongly and built up a 26-0 lead at the break, but were in a league of their own in the second half and completely dominated proceedings, leaving the Lions with no answers.
The upset of the day was Border’s 31-17 win against 2012 finalists the Blue Bulls in East London, which will undoubtedly serve as a massive confidence boost for the side as they look to establish themselves as contenders for the title. Border stamped their authority early thanks to solid efforts on attack and defence, which earned them an encouraging 19-7 lead at the break.
They continued this dominance in the second half as they increased their lead and limited the Bulls to a converted try and penalty.
In the other ‘A Division’ clash, Eastern Province defeated SWD 28-15.
Meanwhile, in the ‘B Division’ Griquas and the Pumas started their seasons on a high note.
Griquas registered a 22-14350-018 win against the Leopards in Springbok, while the Pumas outplayed the Limpopo Blue Bulls 17-5.
Women’s Interprovincial results (Round One):
‘A’ DIVISION:
SWD 15 Eastern Province 28
MTN Golden Lions 3 KwaZulu-Natal 83
Border 31 Blue Bulls 17
Griffons 10 Free State 51
‘B’ DIVISION:
Griquas 22 Leopards 14
Limpopo Blue Bulls 5 Pumas 17