The Blue Bulls, Western Province and Border, the traditional strongholds of the women’s game, all demonstrated their strength by gaining comfortable victories in their opening fixtures.

The Bulls produced the biggest win of the day when they registered a 52-0 triumph over Free State. WP were equally impressive in dispatching the Valke by 51-0.

Border underlined the power and depth of their women’s programme with a 43-0 win over SWD, while the Sharks were too good for Limpopo Blue Bulls, bagging a 41-0 victory.

The host union, the Golden Lions, made a good start by virtue of a 35-0 win against Boland and EP were also on the winning side courtesy of their 17-0 success over Griquas.

The teams enjoyed a break on Sunday with the second round taking place on Monday, when the six victorious teams will take on one another.

Round two fixtures: Monday, 23 September:
09h00: Blue Bulls vs EP
10h30: WP vs Golden Lions
12h00: Border vs Sharks
13h30: Griquas vs Free State
15h00: Boland vs Valke
16h30 Limpopo Blue Bulls vs SWD