Can anyone stop Free State from defending their u17 IPT Sevens title?
The defending champions of the annual inter-provincial sevens tournament, Free State, will once again be the favourites to walk away with the honours at this year’s tournament in Bethlehem.
The matches will be played at Voortrekker and will be live-streamed on SuperSport Schools (www.supersportschools.com).
Free State will face South Western Districts in the opening match on Friday in a Pool A clash. Limpopo Blue Bulls and Namibia are also in Pool A.
Free State’s team, consisting mostly of players from Grey College, will be a force to be reckoned with. Grey College was crowned Champion of Champions of the Toyota High School Sevens Series last week. The Free Staters defeated the Sharks 15-14 in last year’s inter-provincial final.
Two players from the defending champions to look out for are Ethan Adams and Junior Titoti. The latter scored a vital try during last year’s final for the Free Staters.
In 2022, Eastern Province were the champions, while the Sharks lifted the trophy in 2019.
The hosts, the Griffons, will face the Sharks in their opening clash. The Purple People Eaters have a good record in sevens as they’ve produced Blitzbokke like Cecil Afrika, Hoffman Maritz, Seabelo Senatla and Branco du Preez, to name just a few.
The Griffons will however be without players from their top sevens’ school, Welkom Gimnasium. The Gimmies decided to play in the Heidelberg-leg of the Toyota High School Sevens Series, which took place on the same weekend as the Griffons’ trials.
The fact that Western Province, the Valke and Border have decided not to send a team to Bethlehem is truly a sad day for sevens rugby in those three regions.
With sevens rugby being part of the Olympics it is alarming that those unions don’t provide the schoolboys in their systems an opportunity to showcase their talent at the highest level available for schoolboy players in South Africa.
Pool C will probably be the toughest pool as the Golden Lions, Eastern Province, Pumas and Free State B will lock horns. The Pumas have produced Blitzbok heroes like Kwagga Smith and Werner Kok in recent years.
The final will be played on Saturday.
The Pools:
Pool A: Free State, South Western Districts, Limpopo Blue Bulls, Namibia.
Pool B: Sharks, Griffons, Griqualand West, TBC.
Pool C: Golden Lions, Eastern Province, Pumas, Free State B.
Pool D: Boland, Blue Bulls, Griffons B, Leopards.
The Fixtures | Day 1
08:00 – South Western Districts vs Free State; 08:20 – Limpopo Blue Bulls vs Namibia; 08:40 – Griffons vs Sharks; 09:00 – Griqualand West vs TBC; 09:20 – Eastern Province vs Golden Lions; 09:40 – Pumas vs Free State B; 10:00 – Blue Bulls vs Boland; 10:20 – Griffons B vs Leopards; 10:40 – Free State vs Limpopo; 11:00 – Namibia vs South Western Districts; 11:20 – Sharks vs Griqualand West; 11:40 – Griffons vs TBC; 12:00 – Golden Lions vs Pumas; 12:20 – Free State B vs Eastern Province; 12:40 – Boland vs Griffons B; 13:00 – Leopards vs Blue Bulls; 13:20 – Free State vs Namibia; 13:40 – South Western Districts vs Limpopo Blue Bulls; 14:00 – Sharks vs TBC; 14:20 – Griffons vs Griqualand West; 14:40 – Golden Lions vs Free State B; 15:00 – Eastern Province vs Pumas; 15:20 – Boland vs Leopards; 15:40 – Blue Bulls vs Griffons B.
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