Border and Eastern Province aim to extend winning run

May 22 • General News • 1969 Views • Comments Off on Border and Eastern Province aim to extend winning run

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Border and Eastern Province will look to extend their winning runs in the SARU Women’s Interprovincial Series to three matches on Saturday as round three of the tournament kicks off and the pressure begins to mount on the chasing teams with an eye on semifinal spots.

Only two rounds of pool matches remain after Saturday’s clashes which means victories for the Eastern Cape sides would place them in favourable positions to play their way to possible home semifinals.

In stark contrast SWD and KwaZulu-Natal will be under immense pressure to register victories in all their remaining matches to keep alive hopes of staying in the running for semifinal places following heavy victories in the first two rounds.

With the IRB Women’s Rugby World Cup taking place in France from August 1 to 17 and the Springbok Women also travelling to London and France on a World Cup warm-up tour to add to two training camps before the international showpiece, the final stages of the Women’s A Section will be contested in September with that of the B Section, which begins in July.

The clash between Border and Western Province at the BCM Stadium in East London will be the pick of the weekend’s matches because apart from the clash marking a repeat of last year’s final, the hosts have been in fine form this season and have established themselves as early favourites.

They will go up against a Western Province outfit that comes off a morale-boosting 55-3 victory against SWD and one that will be determined to celebrate a 50th provincial cap for lock Chantel Sieckers with an upset in East London. Adding to this, the Cape side will also want to avenge their 41-8 defeat in the final last season.

Sieckers, known by her team-mates as “Perd” because of her love for horses and her brute strength, which has allowed her to overpower a few opponents, made her debut for Western Province in 2004 and is only the second player at the union to achieve this feat. Making this milestone even more special for the player, she has achieved this despite having diabetes.

While this occasion is expected to lift Western Province for the clash, they will be aware of the fact that they have to match Border physically and defend like to demons to create an upset.

Eastern Province, meanwhile, will enter their clash against KwaZulu-Natal as favourites on form following victories against the Blue Bulls and Western Province. The Sharks, meanwhile, have only a converted try and a penalty to show for their efforts this season, meaning they will have to produce their best performance yet to compete against the visitors.

The Blue Bulls will also look to take advantage of SWD’s struggling form in their clash in Oudtshoorn. However, the hosts proved in the first half of their round-one encounter against Border that they have what it takes to put up a brave fight against the top sides, and will look to replicate that form when they take on the Pretoria side.

SWD flyhalf Haroline Rhodes, in particular, will have a point to prove after being included in the national women’s training camp in Cape Town last week. She will go up against veteran Springbok Women’s halfback Yolanda Meiring in one of the key battles.

SARU Women’s Interprovincial Round three fixtures:

SWD vs Blue Bulls
Venue: Bridgton Sports Grounds, Oudtshoorn
Time: 15h00
Date: 24 May 2014

Border vs Western Province
Venue: BCM Stadium, East London
Time: 15h00
Date: 24 May 2014

KZN vs Eastern Province
Venue: Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium (Clermont), KwaZulu-Natal
Time: 15h00
Date: 24 May 2014

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