KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State built on their impressive form in the 2013 Women’s Interprovincial Series as they cruised to emphatic victories in the ‘A’ Division this past weekend.

The Blue Bulls also bounced back strongly from their shock defeat against Border in the opening round as they beat defending champions, DHL Western Province, by 27-10 at Loftus Versfeld in the absence of a few stars.

Both teams took to the field without a few key players who were withdrawn from the side in the build-up to the senior Women’s IRB Nations Cup in the USA next month. But with the Bulls having started their season two weeks earlier than the Cape side, they took advantage of their momentum.

Free State were in fine form against Boland at the Clive Solomon Stadium as they dominated the line-outs and scrums and showed innovation on attack, which earned them seven tries and an encouraging 37-0 victory. They supported this with a fantastic defensive effort and good discipline, which left Boland flustered at times.

KwaZulu-Natal were equally impressive in their clash against the Griffons at the Woodburn Stadium in Pietermaritzburg as they outclassed the visitors for a 56-5 win. Such was their effectiveness on attack, they crossed the tryline 10 times, and with their defence proving to be equally effective the Griffons had only one first-half try to show for their efforts.

In the ‘B’ Division the Valke started their season on a high note on Friday with a 17-10 victory against the Leopards at Profert Olen Park in Potchefstroom. The first half was tightly contested with the teams’ entering the break tied at 5-5 with a try a piece. But the Valke stepped up their performance in the second half and outscored the Leopards two tries to one.

In other ‘B’ Division action, Griquas defeated the Pumas 34-12 in Nelspruit, which marked their second victory in as many matches and strengthened their lead at the top of the log.

The Kimberley-based team started the match strongly and reaped the rewards with a 19-5 half time lead. They continued this dominance in the second half and increased their try tally to five, while limiting the Pumas to scoring a converted try in the second half.

Women’s Interprovincial results, Round Two:

‘A’ DIVISION:

Blue Bulls 27 Western Province 10
KZN 56 Griffons 5
Free State 37 Boland 0

‘B’ DIVISION:

Pumas 12 Griquas 34
Leopards 10 Valke 17