The Bulls Daisies made it very clear that they are not giving an inch in the defence of their Women's Premier Division title when they outplayed DHL Western Province in Pretoria on Saturday, while the Sanlam Boland Dames, Sharks Women and Border Ladies were also victorious in their second-round clashes.
After back-to-back titles in 2023 and 2024, the Daisies seem to have stepped up a notch this year by dismantling last year's runners-up by 69-0 at Loftus Versfeld B in Pretoria. They scored 10 tries and were awarded a penalty try.
It was a one-sided match, with the home side proving too strong in all aspects of the contest and at times, they seemingly scored at will as injuries and fatigue hampered WP’s defensive effort.
Credit to WP, who tried attacking from all corners, but this was a brutal performance by the champions which bodes well for their charge to yet another final.
The Sharks Women secured their first win of the season by beating Free State Women 36-30 in an entertaining affair at Hollywoodbets Kings Park 2. The home side held a 22-15 lead at the break and managed to keep that buffer for most of the game.
The visitors rallied in the second half and came within a converted try of an upset win, but the Durbanites’ game management was excellent, and they could walk away victorious.
The Border Ladies scored a second win at home, this time by 27-12 over the visiting Golden Lions Women after holding a 10-7 lead at the end of a tight first half at Baysville High School in East London.
Both packs of forwards had their moments in the match and that created good attacking space for the respective backlines, who responded in kind.
Two early tries by Border gave them a perfect start, but when Thobile Msizazwe got the ball in space, the speedster finished a well-worked try in the right-hand corner. A good conversion by Klarissa van der Linden cut Border’s lead to three.
The Ladies delivered a strong second half though, with usual suspects, Aphiwe Ngwevu and Eloise Webb, on the score sheet again.
BOLAND DAMES DOMINATE EP QUEENS
Sanlam Boland Dames delivered another impressive performance to their faithful supporters at the Boland Stadium in Wellington, beating EP Queens 59-5 in a one-sided affair.
The Dames, boosted by a hat-trick scored by scrumhalf Felicia Jacobs, held a 26-0 lead at the break and continued in that vein in the second half.
A late change to their midfield partnership with the withdrawal of Veroeshka Grain hampered the Dames’ fluency in the backs, but once everyone settled in, it was one-way traffic.
Ruzanne George scored a second-half try for the Queens to make their trip from the east coast a little more enjoyable.
Scorers:
Bulls Daisies 69 (29), DHL Western Province 0 (0)
Bulls – Tries: Lusanda Dumke, Faith Tshauke, Ayanda Malinga, Chumisa Qawe, Patience Mokone (2), Xolelwa Diliza, Sophy Matshapa, Chuma Qawe, Shaunique Alexander, Penalty try. Conversions: Jakkie Cilliers (6).
Sharks Women 36 (22), Free State Women 30 (15)
Sharks – Tries: Nomonde Mbanjwa, Snethemba Mzimela, Kwanele Zungu, Ulender Khumalo (2). Conversions: Anesipho Malgas (2), Mary Zulu (2). Penalty goal: Malgas.
Free State – Tries: Neidene Solomons, Bernice Strydom, Chante Olivier, Ziyanda Gqontshi. Conversions: Strydom, Inge Sander. Penalty goals: Sander (2).
Border Ladies 27 (10), Golden Lions Women 12 (7)
Border – Tries: Bridgette Coetzee, Eloise Webb, Aphiwe Ngwevu, Nombuyekezo Mdliki, Chuma Delubom. Conversion: Zintle Holofela.
Lions – Tries: Tshegofatso Lekganyane, Thobile Msizazwe. Conversion: Klarissa van der Linden.
Sanlam Boland Dames 59 (26), EP Queens 5 (0)
Boland – Tries: Felicia Jacobs (3), Theresa Ruiters (2), Lulu Tyibilika (2), Nomawethu Mabenge, Maceala Samboya. Conversions: Lara Schats (7).
EP – Try: Ruzanne George.