The Sharks Women will take on their southern neighbour, Border Ladies in Uvongo on Friday in what will be a crucial measure of their ambitions in this year’s SA Rugby Women’s Premier Division.
The KwaZulu Natal side (22 log points) has been blowing hot and cold this season and will be well aware that another defeat against Border (28 log points) will keep them in the bottom half of the log. Border won their first-round clash 45-17 in East London and will be favourites to maintain their fourth place on the log.
This opening match in the tenth round of action will take the game to the KZN South Coast for the first time this year, while on Saturday, supporters in the West Coast region will have an opportunity to see their Sanlam Boland Dames in action when they face Golden Lions Women in Malmesbury.
The home side will be livid with their poor discipline in last weekend’s close defeat to DHL Western Province and will find a Jozi side full of confidence at the Wesbank Sportsgrounds after they secured a late win over the Sharks a week ago.
Boland cannot afford another defeat if they want to overhaul DHL Western Province, currently second on the log, over the next couple of matches, with a home semi-final the big attraction for both Cape sides.
The Capetonians travel to Bloemfontein where they will find a Free State Women side low on confidence, but with the ability to frustrate and spoil a free-flowing playing style, so nicely executed by the WP side.
Their wins over the log leaders, Bulls Daisies and Dames last week, is a clear indication of the abilities of this WP side, and they should have too many weapons in their armor for the home side. The Free Staters had two poor outings in recent weeks, and they will be desperate to get their groove back with another month of fixtures still ahead.
The Daisies won 120-0 last time they faced the EP Queens in Pretoria and a similar score is a real possibility in the Wolfson Stadium on Saturday. The defending champions are merciless on attack and against the weakest defence in the tournament, they could have a field day down in Nelson Mandela Bay.
Round ten fixtures for the weekend:
Sharks Women v Border Ladies
Friday, 21 June 2024
Venue: Douglas Mitchell Sportsgrounds, Uvongo
Kick-off: 14h00
Referee: Aneka Fick
EP Queens v Bulls Daisies
Saturday, 22 June 2024
Venue: Wolfson Stadium, Nelson Mandela Bay
Kick-off: 12h00
Referee: Siyanda Pikoli
Livestream: Springbok YouTube
Sanlam Boland Dames v Golden Lions Women
Saturday, 22 June 2024
Venue: Wesbank Sportsgrounds, Malmesbury
Kick-off: 13h00
Referee: Cammy Dyers
Free State Women v DHL Western Province
Saturday, 22 June 2024
Venue: Grey Kollege A-field, Bloemfontein
Kick-off: 15h00
Referee: Angie Bezuidenhout
Photo by SA Rugby website
Issued by SA Rugby Communications
