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

Kriel: “Boks want to improve even more as a team”...

Springbok centre Jesse Kriel was beaming with excitement when reflecting on the Boks’ impressive 2024 season in which th...

Blitzboks to lay foundation for new cycle in Dubai...

The Springbok Sevens team leave Cape Town for Dubai on Monday with a firm belief in their objectives for the new season ...

Du Toit named World Rugby Player of the Year 2024...

Pieter-Steph du Toit cemented his place in history by becoming the first South African to be named the World Men's 15s P...

Relentless Boks complete perfect tour in Cardiff...

The Springboks finished their 2024 Castle Lager Outgoing Tour with a commanding 45-12 win (half-time 26-5) over Wales at...

Erasmus praises Boks for unbeaten UK Tour...

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus gave all the credit to the players as the team finished the Castle Lager Outgoing Tour wi...

Boks braced for 80-minute battle against Ireland

Springbok backline coach Tony Brown and scrumhalf Grant Williams both said on Monday that they are expecting Ireland to come out guns blazing in Pretoria on Saturday when the top two teams in the world go head-to-head for the first time since the pool stages of the Rugby World Cup, and predicted that it would be a physical 80-minute battle.

Boks ask SA to go “Forever Green, Forever Gold”

The Springboks will campaign to the conclusion of the next Rugby World Cup in Australia in 2027 under a new rallying cry launched on Monday.

SA Rugby, Engen ready to fuel another 200k young players

The 2024 edition of the nationwide grassroots, Get Into Rugby (GIR) programme targeted at children aged six to 13 is officially underway and heads to the Free State province on Thursday, 18 July.

Junior Boks expecting huge Argentinean onslaught

The Junior Boks resumed training on Monday following a recovery day after their victory in the opening round of the World Rugby U20 Championship over Fiji at DHL Stadium in Cape Town on Saturday.

Eastern Cape sides lay down early marker at U18 Girls Week

Eastern Province and Border claimed big wins in the first round of the U18 Girls Week staged at Jeppe High School in Johannesburg on Monday.

Pollard: “It will take a team effort to beat Ireland”

Springbok flyhalf Handre Pollard said on Wednesday it will take a full team effort by South Africa to beat Ireland in Pretoria on Saturday in the first of two Tests against their northern hemisphere arch-rivals, and added that he and his team-mates are excited about the challenge of facing the Six Nations champions on home turf.

Loose forward battle a key factor in Stellenbosch

Junior Springbok flanker Thabang Mphafi is looking forward to the loose trio battle with Argentina when the two teams meet Thursday evening in Stellenbosch in their second Pool C game of the World Rugby Under-20 Championship.

Four teams finish unbeaten at U18 Girls Week

Border, Eastern Province, the Golden Lions and Western Province continued their dominant run when they claimed big wins in the final round of the U18 Girls Week staged at Jeppe High School in Johannesburg on Wednesday.

“We need to bring the physicality and enjoy the occasion”

Springbok wing Cheslin Kolbe has emphasised the importance of accuracy in their execution and said the team had to be physical and enjoy the occassion as they go in search of their first victory against Ireland since 2016 when the Castle Lager Incoming Series kicks off in Pretoria on Saturday.