The 2022 Women’s Premier Division kicked off with a big upset on April 23, when the Blue Bulls shocked defending champions Border 12-0 in Pretoria to lay down an early marker in the new season.
Beaten finalists in 2021, DHL Western Province managed a 20-5 win over the Cell C Sharks in Durban, while the EP Queens handed newcomers to the Premier Division, the Mastercard Golden Lions, a first defeat in Nelson Mandela Bay by winning 18-10.
Boland had a bye on the weekend.
At Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, the home side combined determined defence, especially in the first half of their clash against the visitors from the Eastern Cape, and clinical finishing to make a huge statement at the start of the 2022 season.
The hosts scored a try in each half, both by wing Lynn Subke, and kept out the Border side with some solid defending. Subke’s first try was converted by Springbok flyhalf Libbie Janse van Rensburg to give the home side a 7-0 lead.
Subke’s second-half effort was another fine piece of finishing that proved decisive. Having had a sustained time on attack, the home side finally moved the ball to the wing, who managed to break through several despairing cover defenders to score in the corner.
Border will lament some handling errors while on attack and their inability to break down the Blue Bulls’ defence by varying their play will also need to be fixed if they hope to be successful.
They also suffered some injuries, which did not help their momentum at all.
In Nelson Mandela Bay’s Wolfson Stadium, the EP Queens started strong against the newly-promoted Gauteng side, but credit to the Lions as they managed to stay in the fight for large portions of the first half.
Byrhandre Dolf kicked an early penalty goal, but also missed two in the opening quarter as EP dominated. The visitors took an unexpected lead halfway through the half as left-wing Maria Tshiremba set off on a blistering run to score under the poles.
Springbok prop Sanelisiwe Charlie soon restored the lead for the Queens when she crashed over from a short distance to edge her side ahead 8-5.
The home side started strong in the second half two and wing Onesimo Mlamla was worked over following sustained pressure by the EP pack. Several picks and drives committed the Golden Lions defence and Mlamla found some space to work with and score for a 13-5 lead.
The visitors came back strongly and enjoyed their best spell of the match and after being held up over the line, Tshiremba again raced from out wide to score in the corner (13-10). Fullback Raylene Noubos then eased the nerves with a try in the corner after a couple of lineout mauls had the Joburg side in trouble.
A well-drilled DHL Western Province side started strongly in Durban, and it was no surprise to see flyhalf Kirsten Conrad slotting the first penalty goal in the opening minutes.
The Cape side enjoyed a massive territorial advantage and when the women from KwaZulu-Natal were penalised for a ruck offence, the flyhalf took a quick tap to score for an 8-0 lead.
That seemed to shock the Cell C Sharks into action, and they managed good field position after several good set phases, left-wing Bongekile Langazane was worked over the left-hand corner.
The Cape side started the second half with only a three-point advantage, but continued to build on that lead as the match progressed. Springbok prop Babalwa Latsha was rewarded with two tries in a storming game.
Latsha scored soon after the home side’s centre Zinhle Ndawonde was given a yellow card and the Capetonian pack drove strongly for a 13-5 lead.
DHL WP centre Chumisa Quma was red-carded soon after for a high tackle, but that did not break the Capetonians’ momentum, and Latsha scored a converted try for WP to ease them into the win.
