The South African franchises will be under immense pressure to bounce back strongly from disappointing results in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship last week – apart from the Emirates Lions – as the competition reaches the fourth-last pool round and the scramble for quarter-final spots reaches boiling point.
The Junior Springboks wrapped up their preparations for the forthcoming Under-20 Rugby Championship with a training session against the Golden Lions Under-21 squad in Sandton on Tuesday and will fly out to Australia on an early evening flight on Wednesday.
Dylan Sage will return to the Springbok Sevens team for the first time in four years and Siviwe Soyizwapi for the first time this season when the Blitzboks contest next weekend’s HSBC SVNS tournament in Singapore.
SA Rugby praised referees, coaches, and players in the FNB Varsity Cup for their positive approach to the new tackle height laws that were introduced to the community game in South Africa this year – and already appear to be making a difference.
The Springboks will line up against Rugby World Cup opponents, Scotland and England, before taking on Wales in the Castle Lager Outgoing Tour in November, with the last Tests confirmed on Monday.
Suzuki Griquas and the Airlink Pumas maintained their unbeaten record in the SA Cup when both again scored important away wins during the weekend’s fifth round action.
The Sanlam Boland Dames scored six tries in their 35-15 victory over DHL Western Province to maintain their good start to the Women’s Premier Division season in Wellington on Saturday, while the Bulls Daisies retained their unbeaten status with a 24-3 win over Free State Women in Bloemfontein in the second round.
The Emirates Lions registered the only victory for SA’s teams in a frustrating round in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship, with the Johannesburg team delivering the top result of the weekend against log-leaders Leinster with a comprehensive 44-12 bonus-point win.
Regional bragging rights and valuable log points will be on offer this weekend, with Eastern and Western Cape derbies highlighting the action in the second round of the Women’s Premier Division.
The three teams at the top of the SA Cup log – Suzuki Griquas, the Airlink Pumas and Toyota Cheetahs – will have their credentials as frontrunners tested when they hit the road for tricky away fixtures this weekend in round five of the competition.