Coastal teams impress at U16 Girls Week

Eastern Province, Western Province, the Sharks and SWD were among the big winners in the first round of the U16 Girls Week staged at Jeppe High School in Johannesburg on Tuesday.

The Golden Lions, the tournament hosts, started well in their battle against WP, and went to the break with a 14-10 lead. WP upped the tempo in the second stanza, and eventually claimed a 29-21 victory, with centres Endinalo Fihla and Nichole Hartzenberg combining to score four of their team’s five tries.

Earlier in the day, EP scored six tries in a convincing 34-5 win against the Limpopo Blue Bulls, with flyhalf Nadelean Leeuwskieter contributing a hat-trick and a total of 19 points.

In other fixtures, South Western Districts produced a second-half blitz to down the Valke 29-5, while the Sharks cruised to a 10-0 win over Griquas.

The Blue Bulls pulled a result back for the north when they edged Border 12-10 in one of the tightest contests of the day.

The Pumas and Free State claimed convincing victories, while Boland survived a late fightback by Border Country Districts to win 10-7.

The U16 tournament will conclude at Jeppe High School on Thursday.

U16 results (Tuesday 2 July):
EP 34 (24) Limpopo Blue Bulls 5 (0)
WP 29 (10) Golden Lions 21 (14)
Pumas 31 (12) Griffons 15 (10)
Leopards 0 (0) Free State 19 (12)
Sharks 10 (5) Griquas 0 (0)
Border 10 (0) Blue Bulls 12 (5)
Boland 10 (10) Border Country Districts 7 (0)
SWD 29 (5) Valke 5 (5)

Meanwhile, the second and final round of the tournament for U18 teams will be staged at Jeppe High School on Wednesday, with the action commencing with at 10h00. The Sharks will tackle the Leopards on the A Field, while the Pumas will face Free State on the B Field.

U18 fixtures (Wednesday 3 July):
10h00: Sharks v Leopards, A Field
10h00: Pumas v Free State, B Field
11h30: Griquas v Griffons, A Field
11h30: Valke v Zimbabwe, B Field
13h00: Eastern Province v Limpopo Blue Bulls, A Field
13h00: Border v SWD, B Field
14h30: Western Province v Blue Bulls, A Field
14h30: Golden Lions v Boland, B Field

The match official squad at the Girls Weeks consist of five referees who are on the national women's panel, and the other five are part of the academy, with the tournaments providing excellent opportunity to develop the next generation of match officials.

Girls Weeks SA Rugby Youth Weeks Jeppe

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