The opening of the Carfind.co.za Iqhawe Week saw the best of u-15 rugby in the country bringing together all the rugby playing provinces to show their talents. Some 257 points were recorded with 40 tries scored on the trot.
The u-15 Carfind.co.za Iqhawe Week is taking place at the Bill Jardine Stadium in Johannesburg from October 1 to 5.
Boland, Free State and the Pumas scored the biggest victories on the day during which seven matches were played.
The Carfind.co.za Iqhawe Week was established in 2013 and is a joint venture between SA Rugby and the SA Rugby Legends Association. The tournament offers players from rural, lower-league and non-traditional rugby schools an opportunity to participate in a high-level provincial competition with the objective of creating a pathway for them to advance through to SA’s rugby structures.
Photo: Annette van Schalkwyk.
The Free State demolished hosts Golden Lions in their encounter scoring 27-5. The Golden Lions can only blame themselves for the big points difference as they made too many handling errors. Free State dictated play from start to finish and the Lions could only find the try-line once.
A hat-trick by flanker Duan Steyl and a solid performance by flyhalf Tim Frederix, who dictated play with ease, proved to be instrumental in the victory. The team backed this up with solid defence which limited the hosts to an unconverted try.
Boland ran circles around Eastern Province thanks to their fast and skillful backs with the team from the Western Cape cruising to a comprehensive 40-5 victory. The boys from Wellington scored two converted tries in the first half for a 14-0 lead but the floodgates opened in the second as they added four tries – with Rowan Henecke and Justin Bosman each crossing the try-line twice in the match – while their effective defence limited the Port Elizabeth outfit to only five points for their efforts.
A strong first half showing by the Pumas, in which they powered their way to a 24-5 lead, set them up for a rewarding 36-19 victory against the Valke. Pumas No 8 Sandile Sjimbo scored two of his team’s five tries while the Valke’s three tries were all scored by No 8 Divan Erasmus.
Photo: Annette van Schalkwyk.
In the opening match of the day, DHL Western Province defeated the KZN 20-10 thanks to their four tries to two by the KwaZulu-Natalians. The Capetonians dominated the first half as they camped in the opposition’s half and applied pressure on attack which saw them build up a 20-5 half-time lead. KZN, however, tightened up their defence in the second half and tried to force their way back into the match but they fell short despite these efforts.
Meanwhile, a brace by Blue Bulls fullback Mechack Nzike guided his team to a 21-12 victory against the Leopards. The first half was close with the sides entering half-time tied at 7-7 but the Pretoria side found their rhythm soon after and crossed the try-line twice more while they limited the Leopards to only one five-pointer in the second half.
The Griffons staged a strong comeback from 12-3 down against SWD who took top honours in last year’s tournament, to register a hard-fought 18-12 victory. Both sides scored two tries and converted one but two penalty goals by the Welkom side sealed the victory for them.
The clash between Griquas and Border was nail-biting as Griquas overturned a 10-8 half-time deficit to secure a narrow 17-15 victory. Interestingly, Border outscored Griquas three tries to two but the Kimberley side’s superior goal-kicking earned them the win.
The competition will continue on Tuesday while the players will have Wednesday off to rest and recover before the final day’s play on Thursday.
Iqhawe Week day three fixtures (Thursday, 5 October):
9am – Eastern Province v Valke (B Field)
9am – Border v Free State (A Field)
10.05am – Griffons v KZN (B Field)
10.05am – Golden Lions v SWD (A Field)
11.10am – Pumas v Leopards (B Field)
11.10am – Griquas v Blue Bulls (A Field)
12.20pm – Boland v Western Province (A Field)
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