There was drama in Cape Town and Johannesburg with last minute scores impacting on the final results in tightly contested round nine matches of the SA Rugby Women’s Premier Division.
A missed conversion at City Park in Athlone saw DHL Western Province edging Sanlam Boland Dames by 27-25, while at Alberton Rugby Club, a try in the last play of the match helped the Golden Lions Women get past Sharks Women with a dramatic 34-33 win.
The Cape result means that DHL Western Province moved into the second spot on the log with Boland dropping to third, while the much-needed win in Alberton kept the Lions’ play-off hopes alive as they moved closer to the Sharks in fifth spot.
The Bulls Daises, who brushed Free State Women aside, are still sitting pretty in first place, while Border Ladies, who won their Eastern Cape derby against EP Queens, are in fourth spot.
The City Park clash was a highly entertaining one and a classic tale of two halves.
Boland scored early for a 5-0 lead with Aseza Hele going over in the corner, but the next half hour proved disastrous for the visitors. Under pressure from a dangerous WP backline, they conceded two yellow cards in two minutes and in the mayhem, left wing Voice Ndou scored a hat-trick. That gave WP control and a 22-5 advantage at the break.
Ndou’s fourth early in the second half, with the Dames again a player short, stretched the lead to 27-5. A dramatic comeback was on the cards through, with Hele twice scoring in the last quarter.
Amanda Klassen scored with the last play of the match, but Thanie Yeko could not convert in the blustery conditions to secure an unlikely draw.
Meanwhile, the Golden Lions scored in the last play of their match against the Sharks Women to secure a dramatic one-point win over their coastal foes. The Sharks who led 33-29 at the time, were penalised near their own line and with no time left on the clock, the home side opted for a tap penalty. That worked out perfectly for them as Stella Ncube crashed over in the corner.
The home side dominated the first half, with a brace by Piwokuhle Nyanda setting the tone, but the visitors came back well in the second half to twice take the lead in the last quarter but could not prevent a desperate home side from victory.
The Daisies smashed the Free State Women 80-0 in a one-sided affair at Loftus B in Pretoria.
The home side were ruthless with ball in hand and scored 12 tries, three of those from captain Lusanda Dumke. The Daisies were up 42-0 at the break already and just kept going in the second half to hand the Bloemfontein side a proper hiding.
The Border Ladies repeated their first-round win over EP Queens with a solid 42-3 win in East London, scoring six tries and staying in the hunt for a play-off spot.
The home side were good value for money, especially in the second half, where they scored five unanswered tries.
The Queens held firm in the opening half and Border only managed one try and two penalty goals for a 11-0 lead, but the slow poison kicked in soon after the restart and the Border team romped away.
Scorers:
DHL Western Province 27 (22), Sanlam Boland Dames 25 (5)
WP – Tries: Voice Ndou (4), Sinazo Mcatshulwa. Conversion: Alicia Willemse.
Boland – Tries: Thanie Yeko, Aseza Hele (3), Amanda Klassen.
Bulls Daisies 80 (42), Free State Women 0 (0)
Bulls – Tries: Doreen Mkhabela, Lusanda Dumke (3), Sinelitha Noxeke (2), Faith Tshauke (2), Patience Mokone (2), Relebohile Motaung, Yonela Ngxingolo. Conversions: Jakkie Cilliers (9), Zintle Nonkasana
Border Ladies 43 (11), EP Queens 3 (0)
Border – Tries: Chuma Delubom, Mado Mdliki, Esethu Mbongisa, Zahara Makhomazi, Aphiwe Ngwevu, Zintle Holofela. Conversions: Pinkie Touto (3). Penalty goals: Yandisa Nobanda (2).
EP – Penalty goal: Zaza Nojoko.
Golden Lions Women 34 (17), Sharks Women 33 (12)
Lions – Tries: Piwokuhle Nyanda (2), Provia Mashiane, Sarah Mokwebo, Ncebakazi Lutuli, Stella Ncube. Conversions: Nyanda, Mashiane.
Sharks – Tries: Sinenhlanhla Luthuli, Tayla Kinsey, Zinhle Ndawonde, Ulender Khumalo (2). Conversions: Mary Zulu (4).
Photo by Bulls Daisies Twitter
Issued by SA Rugby Communications
