DHL Western Province tops LSEN Week, keep winning at U16 Girls Week

The DHL Western Province team claimed bragging rights at the Learners with Special Education Needs (LSEN) Week in Bloemfontein today, as they remained the only unbeaten team after three matches by beating SWD Eagles 53-5 at Sentraal High School.

This match concluded a highly successful tournament in the Free State, where 21 matches delivered no less than 172 tries and 1099 points being scored.

Meanwhile, at Jeppe Boys High School, three teams are still undefeated at the SA Rugby Under-18 Girls Week, following eight matches today. The DHL Western Province, Boland and hosts, Bidvest Waltons Golden Lions, will all go into the final day tomorrow undefeated.

Both the SA Rugby Under-18 Girls Weeks and the SA Rugby Under-16 Girls Weeks will conclude on Friday.

LSEN summary and results, day three:
DHL Western Province finished the Learners with Special Education Needs (LSEN) Week as the top gong after a very impressive final match against SWD Eagles, emerging as 53-5 winners on the final day at Sentraal High School in Bloemfontein.

As the score suggest, there was only really one team in command and the Cape side kept their clean slate for the tournament by scoring no less than nine tries to the solitary effort from SWD. DHL WP’s No 8, Dimitri Gossmann, was a big thorn in die SWD side with his three five pointers on this occasion, but it was a team effort that resulted in the side crossing the line 22 times in their three matches played at the 2019 Week.

The Leopards scrumhalf, Lesego Seikaneng, finished the tournament as leading points’ scorer with 57 points, including seven tries in three matches.

However, in their match against the Gauteng XV, not even the prolific Seikaneng was the most productive points’ scorer. Gauteng XV’s centre Michael Dicks scored four tries and kicked six conversions for a personal tally of 32 points in the match, which his team won 52-26. The Gauteng XV continued with their good performances they managed to deliver this past week and outplayed Leopards in a match that delivered no less than 12 tries.

The Gauteng side were off to a fast start and jumped into a commanding 35-7 lead at the break.

The EP Elephants finished their week with a win over Griffons when they defeated the Goldfields team 31-22. Leading 17-10 at the break, the EP side continued with their dominance and outscored the Griffons by five tries to four. EP flanker Nando Kemp scored three of those, while Keanan Webb (centre) added three vital conversions. Lock Wian Herbst managed to score two tries for the losing side.

The match-up between Golden Lions EE and Pumas turned out to be a well-balanced affair. The Lions scored first and managed to hold on for a 5-0 lead at the break. The second half was just as competitive and both teams scored twice, with the first half effort from Bandile Mazibuko (flyhalf) proving the difference in the end.
The Free State Cheetahs left their best performance for last as they totally dominated the Sharks 45-5 in their final encounter. The hosts ran in seven tries, with six of those coming in the second half. Scores were tight at the break with KZN just in front at 7-0, however, they overran their opponents in the second half by scoring three of their six tries through No 8 Tsekiso Mokhele.

The Jukskei derby between Blue Bulls and Golden Lions was a real nail-biting affair and it was the Pretoria team who prevailed by 15-14. Both teams scored a converted try in first half play but it was a drop goal from flyhalf Luan Gouws that gave the Blue Bulls the edge at the break. The second half also delivered two tries and despite converting theirs, the Golden Lions still found themselves a point short of their opponents when the final whistle sounded.
Meanwhile nine tries were scored in the 43-28 Valke win over Boland and credit must go to the two goal kickers on each side. Ettiene Fourie (flank) converted five of the six Valke tries and also kicked a penalty goal while the Boland flyhalf, Clifton le Fleur, converted all three of their tries, including his own try. The Cape team were also awarded a penalty try.

The LSEN Week Day Three results are:
Golden Lions EE 15-10 Pumas
EP Elephants 31-22 Griffons
Free State Cheetahs 45-5 Sharks
Gauteng XV 52-26 Leopards
Blue Bulls 15-14 Golden Lions
Valke 43-28 Boland
DHL Western Province 53-5 SWD Eagles

SA Rugby Under-16 Girls week summary and results
DHL Western Province toppled the SWD Eagles on Thursday, with Boland and Bidvest Waltons Golden Lions beating Free State and Griquas respectively to remain the three undefeated teams at the SA Rugby Under-16 Girls Week.
Following the conclusion of another round of games, there are now just one more round of matches left to play on Friday in Johannesburg. It was a highly competitive round two, with close scores and no less than two draws, illustrating how closely the teams are matched.

The DHL WP side won 26-5 against SWD thanks to a superior second-half effort. The SWD side were still in the match at the break with the score at 7-5 but they failed to add to their solitary try scored by Amanda Klassen (wing). The Capetonians, meanwhile, scored three second times in the second stanza clinch the match.
Boland outplayed Free State 17-5 in a tight clash. They enjoyed a 7-0 lead after Niveena Jantjies (flank) scored and Debra Fredericks (flyhalf) slotted the conversion.

The second half pretty much belonged to the Boland pivot, who scored a try and converted it plus added a penalty goal in the only scoring action of the second half. This win was also Boland’s second in as many matches.
Tournament hosts the Bidvest Waltons Golden Lions, had to dig deep to overcome Griquas. The home side held a slender 5-0 lead at the interval which proved vital. Both sides scored a converted try in the second half, however, the Golden Lions prevailed thanks to their first half advantage the win allowed them to keep their undefeated status.
The competitive nature of matches continued when in the next game Border and the KZN Sharks shared the honours 7-7, with defense ruling over attack for most of the match. A second half try by Border the fullback, Ayakha Myeko, and converted by Aphelele Wanyaza (flyhalf), got Border on the scoreboard. The Sharks responded though with a Nonjabulo Ngobese (fullback) try. Mary Zulu (No 10) succeeded with the conversion to tie the game.

There was also a draw between Old Mutual Zimbabwe and Blue Bulls, who shared the spoils at 5-5. The Zimbabweans led 5-0 lead at halftime and looked set to keep their winning run intact before a try by the Blue Bulls flank Lesego Mdhluli equalled matters.

The match between Griffons and Pumas proved a hugely contested one, with the Northern Free Staters emerging 20-17 winners. The scores were tied 5-all at halfway but a fourth try gave the Griffons the edge over the Pumas in the end, who could only managed three tries.

The Schutte-twins, playing for the Griffons, will have mixed emotions of this match though, as Bianca (No 8) scored a try while Danele (centre) was red-carded.

The Border Country Districts had an impressive start to their day and managed to beat the Leopards 32-5 while scoring six tries to one. They were 17-0 up already at the break from scoring three tries and added another three in the second half. Lively No 9 Uthimna Kanana scored four tries as she showed her potential to the appreciating crowd.

The only blow-out in today’s matches came from EP Elephants, who had way too much class for Limpopo Blue Bulls. The Eastern Cape side scored seven tries without any reply in their 39-0 romp with the talented fullback, Thandolwethu Hena, bagging a hat-trick. The Elephants were 24-0 in front after the first half and continued their dominance in the second half.

The SA Rugby Under-18 Girls Week results are:
Griffons 20-17 Pumas
Border Country Districts 32-5 Leopards
Boland 17-5 Free State
Bidvest Waltons Golden Lions 12-7 Griquas
Border 7-7 Sharks
EP Elephants 39-0 Limpopo Blue Bulls
Old Mutual Zimbabwe 5-5 Blue Bulls
DHL Western Province 26-5 SWD Eagles

SA Rugby Under-16 Girls day three fixtures:
Friday, 21 June
09h00: Leopards v Free State Cheetahs
09h00: Boland v Griffons
10h15: Valke v Pumas
10h15: Griquas v Border CD
11h30: Bidvest Waltons Golden Lions v Sharks
11h30: EP Elephants v Limpopo Blue Bulls
12h45: Border v DHL Western Province
12h45: Blue Bulls v SWD Eagles

SA Rugby Under-18 Girls day three fixtures:
Friday 21 June
09h00: Griquas v Free State
09h00: Leopards v Pumas
10h15: Border Country Districts v Griffons
10h15: Boland v Bidvest Waltons Golden Lions
11h30: EP Elephants v Sharks
11h30: Limpopo Blue Bulls v Border
12h45: Old Mutual Zimbabwe v SWD
14h00: DHL Western Province v Blue Bulls
​
Issued by SA Rugby Communications