Queens slip to fourth after Daisies defeat
The EP Queens slipped to fourth on the SA Rugby Women’s Premier Division rugby log when they were beaten by the Bulls Daisies at the Wolfson Stadium in Kwazakhele on Saturday.
It was the second consecutive loss for the Queens, who have a bye this weekend before hosting the Sharks in Gqeberha on June 3 in round four.
After starting with a win over the Golden Lions in Johannesburg, defeats against Border Ladies and the Bulls have left EP with work to do if they want to qualify for the semifinals.
The Bulls scored six tries in their 34-10 win, with national players Ayanda Malinga (wing) and Unathi Mali (outside centre) scoring two apiece.
Raylene Noubos and Johnerecia Booysen scored tries for the Queens, who had been aiming to bounce back after their defeat to Border.
The unbeaten Daisies have moved up to second place in the standings and will be among the frontrunners to lift the Premier Division trophy
While the team from Pretoria have the same number of log points as Western Province, the Capetonians remain at the top due to their superior points difference.
The Daisies fielded a muchchanged lineup and were without the services of 14 of their members who were called up for national duty with the Springbok side in Madagascar.
The Daisies got their campaign off to a bright start when they beat defending champions Border 31-0 in their opening match in Buffalo City.
The Golden Lions women fought back against Boland Dames to secure a narrow win.
Teams were missing key players on Saturday because many of their players are on duty for the Springbok team, who made an impressive start to their Rugby Africa Cup campaign when they thrashed Cameroon 87-0 on Saturday.
With 28 of the top players unavailable for a couple of key matches, the depth of provincial squads is being tested.
Round three kicked off with the Golden Lions beating the Boland Dames 21-20 at the Wits Rugby Stadium.
The visitors led 12-7 at the break, but a late rally ensured that the home team clinched a much-needed victory, their first of their campaign.
The result in Johannesburg sees the Lions moving up to fifth place and the Boland Dames, who had a big defeat in their season opener against WP the previous weekend, languishing in the last spot.
Border proved too strong for the Sharks in a match at the Sisa Dukashe Stadium in Mdantsane on Saturday.
The defending champions ran in four tries in a 31-3 bonus-point victory.
Border are in third place, while the Sharks, who have won one match and lost two, are in sixth spot.
Saturday’s fixtures: Western Province v Sharks, Boland Dames v Border Ladies, Sharks v Bulls Daisies
Log (with matches played): WP 10 (2), Bulls Daisies 10 (2), Border Ladies 9 (3), EP Queens 5 (3), Golden Lions 5 (3), Sharks 4 (3), Boland Dames 1 (2).