Ehlanzeni takes U20 regional crown
In the recent Mpumalanga Rugby Union U20 Regional Cup, Ehlanzeni took home top honours after they downed Nkangala in the final fixture at Nelspruit Rugby Club.
Ehlanzeni’s U20 rugby players are top of the pops after they secured the Mpumalanga Rugby Union U20 Regional Cup title, beating Nkangala at Nelspruit Rugby Club on Saturday March 9.
The U20 Regional Cup is contested annually between up-and-coming rugby players in the Ehlanzeni, Gert Sibande and Nkangala districts, and each side plays the other two twice in a round-robin format.
The team at the top of the log after the round-robin games is then the winner of the cup. The youngsters from the UXI Pumas Rugby Institute also take part in games, but don’t contend for the title.
This year’s competition was a closely contested affair, as all three districts were in with a chance to win the competition going into the final day. Gert Sibande were top of the log, but had no remaining matches left, so they had to sit by and hope for a favourable result.
Ehlanzeni needed a bonus point victory to ensure they could win the title, as this would bring them level on log points with Gert Sibande, but thanks to a superior points difference they would take home the crown.
Determined as ever, Ehlanzeni had already scored the four tries required for a bonus point by half time, leading 26-17, and then all they had to do was ensure they finished the game with a win.
They played well in the second half too, adding two more tries to their tally, while Nkangala only managed a further one. This ensured a 38-22 result in favour of Ehlanzeni, which meant they emerged as the winners of the 2024 Mpumalanga Rugby Union U20 Regional Cup.
