Strong first half drives Border women home

Defending Women’s Premier Division champions, DHL Western Province, and the Border earned back-to-back wins in the competition in a gripping second round on Saturday, while the Cell C Sharks managed their first win this season.

DHL Western Province scored five tries to one against the Blue Bulls Women — who were down to 12 players at a point due to their ill-discipline in Pretoria — for a 29-8 victory, while a strong first half by the Border Ladies laid the foundation for their 17-10 victory against the EP Queens in Gqeberha.

The Cell C Sharks Women, meanwhile, ground out a narrow 7-5 victory against the Boland Dames in a soaking wet Wellington.

Border made a strong statement early on against the EP Queens at the Wolfson Stadium in Gqeberha as Sticks Lafutha (winger) crashed over for a try in the opening minutes and Sxobo Diliza (hooker) added another in the 29th minute as they made their presence felt throughout the first half.

The 2019 finalists dominated possession and territory, and their forwards laid a solid foundation, which they backed with determined defensive effort.

This resulted in the home side only getting close to the try-line once in the half, while their only points in the first stanza were compliments of a penalty goal by Zenay Jordaan (flyhalf).

The Border’s finishing let them down as they were unable to capitalise on a number of additional scoring opportunities, which may have inflated their 10-3 halftime lead.

The second half proved much tighter with each side scoring a try, with Thando Hena (winger) crossing the chalk for the EP Queens and Lafutha earning her second for the Border Ladies, but fortunately for the home side their first half efforts came in handy as they secured a 17-10 victory. Scorers:

EP Queens 10 (3) — Try: Thando Hena. Conversion:

Zenay Jordaan. Penalty goal: Jordaan.

Border 17 (10) — Tries: Sxobo Diliza, Sticks Lafutha (2). Conversion: Teddy Nobanda.

The second half proved much tighter with each side scoring a try