DHL Western Province delivered a masterclass in the final match of the SA Rugby U20 Women’s Week, outplaying the Blue Bulls 33-00 in a pulsating match at Queens High School in Johannesburg on Friday.
The match concluded a highly successful tournament, where the 14 participating teams delivered an encouraging display of the next generation of women’s rugby, while simultaneously offering several match officials valuable exposure and opportunities.
The final day belonged to a rampant Western Province. They have outplayed their opponents 134-8 in their three matches, scoring 20 tries and conceding only one.
Five of those 20 tries came against the Blue Bulls, who did not have an answer to the Cape side’s support play and individual brilliance, with a fast start by WP laying the foundation to a successful result.
The first try, scored by impressive No. 8, Logan Welman, showed the intent of the defending champions early on. Welman stepped past a couple of defenders, but the setup was as solid. A couple of good carries by the forwards created chaos in the Bulls’ defensive line, and Welman found space and pounced.
Flyhalf Anja le Roux added the conversion, and WP were on their way.
A second try followed soon after when rapid winger Saadiqah Corbett dived over in the corner, brilliantly converted by Le Roux, and the 14-0 lead was good value after 12 minutes of play.
Le Roux then scored a memorable try. From broken play, she sold the Bulls a delightful dummy 65 meters out and outsprinted all comers to dot down under the posts. She added the conversion as well, allowing WP to build up a 21-0 lead.
The Bulls took more than 20 minutes to get into the WP 25-meter areas, and pressed hard for their first points, but WP defended as well as they attacked and kept them out for a good five minutes until the break.
Welman opened the scoring in the second half with a try pretty similar to her five-pointer in the first half. A couple of good hit-ups by the pack eliminated numbers on defence and Welman spotted the gap to score, with Le Roux converting for a 28-0 lead.
That was extended to 33 when replacement scrum-half Nikicia Eksteen raced through the smallest of gaps to score within a minute of replacing Donëy Filies, confirming the dominance of the Cape side.
Earlier, KwaZulu-Natal finished their week on a strong note, with a 41-5 win over Griquas, who suffered their first defeat.
The Sharks played with too much pace for their opponents and scored four tries in the first half and added three more in the second half. Credit to Griquas, however, who never gave up, but found a team on the day that played the basics better and executed when it mattered.
Beaten finalists from last year, Border, had to work hard for their 33-14 win over the Golden Lions. They held a 19-14 lead at the break, but pulled away in the second half, with a penalty try at the death to add to the hosts' misery.
No less than 120 tries were scored in the 21 matches, with Eastern Province winger, Lithalethu Nombakuse, finishing as the leading try scorer with ten, eight of those scored against the Northern Invitational XV on Friday.
Eastern Province totally outplayed their opponents in the opening match of the day, winning 83-0, scoring 13 tries in the process. Nombakuse, who scored in all three matches, finished the tournament as top scorer as well.
The Pumas also managed to keep the Valke scoreless in their match, with their 22-0 win securing a second win of the week. Not every match was a runaway, though, as Boland just outlasted SWD 10-3 and Free State edged the Limpopo Blue Bulls 12-5.
Boland scored the only tries of the match against SWD, while Free State’s brace came in the second half to cancel the 5-0 lead Limpopo held at the break.