Thrilling start to U17 Interprovincial Sevens
The Under-17 Interprovincial Sevens got off to a thrilling start at Durban High School on Friday as Western Province, the Griffons and Golden Lions won all three of their pool matches on a day where 886 points and 145 tries were scored.
Western Province’s strong start to the competition kept alive their hopes of winning a hat-trick of titles. But given the impressive performances by the other top contenders for the title, the final stages on Saturday are expected to be thrilling.
Western Province defeated African neighbours, Namibia 29-7 in their opening match and built on this with a narrow 15-12 victory against Free State and a 19-10 win against Griquas, while the Griffons defeated the Falcons 33-17, SWD 21-19 and Eastern Province 19-17.
The opening day was equally rewarding for the Golden Lions as they defeated hosts, KwaZulu-Natal, 21-14 in the opening match of the day, and then beat the Limpopo Blue Bulls 20-5 and the Pumas 17-12.
These results earned Western Province a place in the Cup quarter-final on Saturday against KwaZulu-Natal, while the Golden Lions will take on Free State, the Griffons will go up against Boland and the Falcons will battle it out with the Blue Bulls.
In the Bowl section on Saturday, meanwhile, Griquas will meet the Pumas, Namibia takes on the Limpopo Blue Bulls, Eastern Province will go up against the Leopards and SWD will meet Border.
The results in these matches will determine which teams advance to the Cup, Plate, Bowl, and Shield playoff matches late on Saturday. The winners will be crowned in the final match of the day at 15h00.
All the results:
Pool A:Free State 43, Griqualand West 14; Western Province 29. Namibia 7; Griqualand West 17, Namibia 0; Western Province 15, Free State 12; Western Province 19, Griqualand West 10; Free State 38, Namibia 5.
Pool B: Griffons 33, Valke 17; Eastern Province 28, South Western Districts 0; Griffons 21, South Western Districts 19; Valke 28, Eastern Province 20; Griffons 19, Eastern Province 17; Valke 27, South Western Districts 17.
Pool C: Boland 19, Leopards 14; Blue Bulls 21, Border 19; Boland 26, Border 12; Leopards 24, Blue Bulls 17; Border 31, Leopards 7; Blue Bulls 29, Boland 5.
Pool D: Golden Lions 21, Sharks 14; Limpopo Blue Bulls 24, Pumas 19; Golden Lions 20, Limpopo Blue Bulls 5; Sharks 22, Pumas 7; KwaZulu-Natal 36, Limpopo Blue Bulls 10; Golden Lions 17, Pumas 12.
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