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DHL WP U16 end top at Grant Khomo Week

PUBLISHED: June 28, 2019


DHL Western Province U16 ended the U16 SA Rugby Grant Khomo Week at High School Rob Ferreira in White River as the top side while DHL Western Province U13 lost their final game.

Both final matches in White River on Friday were against the Sharks’ teams, as the Kwa-Zulu Natal side edged DHL Western Province 26-24 in a nail-biting U13 SA Rugby Craven Week final match, while the Cape side had the upper hand in the U16 SA Rugby Grant Khomo Week, beating the Sharks 34-10.

SWD was the only other team in U16 showpiece that did not to taste defeat, playing to two draws and a win.

The Under-16 SA Rugby Grant Khomo Week also saw the introduction of the SA Iqhawe team, with the newcomers winning two of their three matches, justifying their invitation.

The two tournaments again gave an exciting perspective of the talent in the school boy ranks as the crowds were treated to a solid display of skill, speed and tries.

No less than 1323 points were scored in the Under-13 SA Rugby Craven Week and 1471 in the U16 SA Rugby Grant Khomo Week.

Grant Khomo Week Final game

DHL Western Province U16 scored 18 tries in their opening two matches and added six more in the closing match of the tournament as they outplayed the Sharks 34-10 after holding a slender 12-10 halftime lead.

Four of those tries came in the second half and more importantly, unopposed as they broke the shackles the Sharks had on them in the opening stanza.

The KZN team started well with an early penalty goal, before the Cape side’s Coetzee le Roux barged over. The East Coast team took the lead again with a splendid try by fullback Munashe Dukuswa, but they were overhauled again just before the break with another five pointer by the Capetonians.

The second half was a one-way street as the DHL WP strike-runners started to find space, with the likes of winger Bevan Simons and lively No 8 Abulele Ndabambi getting well-deserved tries, with scrumhalf Michael Kock setting up Hakeen Kunene before dotting down himself as the Cape skill became too much for the Sharks to handle.

U13 Craven Week final game

In the grand finale of the Under-13 SA Rugby Craven Week, the Sharks edged DHL Western Province 26-24 in a nail-biter of a match.

The KwaZulu-Natal side started very strongly, crossing the DHL WP tryline in the opening minutes to jump to a 7-0 lead. The Capetonians struck back soon after with a try by winger Bena Barthelemie, who was put in space by a delightful pass from flanker Zylan Fortuin, and David Simon (centre) converted.

The Sharks picked up a penalty try when the Cape side took out a defender without the ball to edge them seven points up again, and they extended that lead even further when lively flyhalf Sisonke Ndiela ran through a gap after a tactical move at the back and scored near the poles. That gave them an encouraging 19-7 lead at the break.

DHL WP struck back with two quick tries after the restart, the first by No 8 Chris Cloete and the second by Simon who pounced on a loose ball in the Sharks in-goal. He could not convert his own try and that left his team trailing by two. Cloete, however, earned his second five-pointer under the sticks with a long-range run to nudge the side ahead for the first time in the match.

The Sharks got the lead back again with minutes left when Ndiela got his second and the conversion by fullback Luke Davidson split the uprights. That handed the Sharks a 26-24 lead, and they managed to hang on for a hard-fought win.

Under-13 SA Rugby Craven Week final round results:

Sharks 26-24 DHL Western Province
Bidvest Waltons Golden Lions 12-0 Itec Blue Bulls
SWD 43-15 Forever Resorts Limpopo Blue Bulls
EP Elephants 26-7 Itec Griquas
Boland 71-5 Thepa Trading Griffons
Border 40-17 Old Mutual Zimbabwe
Namibia 20-17 Border Country Districts
Leopards 26-12 Free State Cheetahs
ITS Valke 22-12 Phakisa Pumas

Under-16 SA Rugby Grant Khomo Week final day results:

Free State Cheetahs 45-12 EP Elephants
SWD Eagles 46-20 Bidvest Golden Lions
DHL Western Province 34-10 Sharks
Boland 25-10 Leopards
Phakisa Pumas 29-24 Thepa Trading Griffons
Blue Bulls 44-43 Border
Old Mutual Zimbabwe 41-13 Namibia
Everest Wealth Pumas XV 28-25 Ford Human Griquas
Valke 35-12 Limpopo Blue Bulls
SA Iqhawe 45-7 Border Country Districts