U/17 Pumas take the Bowl at interprovincial tournament
The Pumas u/17 sevens team performed very well at Tafel Lager Park in Kimberly, taking the Bowl final against the Eastern Province.
The Pumas u/17 sevens team defeated Eastern Province 28-12 to win the Bowl final in an action-packed display of sport during the SA Rugby u/17 Interprovincial Sevens tournament at Tafel Lager Park in Kimberley.
The top junior sevens players in the country went head-to-head during the weekend-long tournament, which featured 15 provincial teams and one from Namibia, battling it out across four pools.
According to Louw de Waal, assistant coach of the junior Pumas team, the squad was well-prepared and faced six hard games to take the Bowl on Saturday.
“The first half was tough and the guys struggled a little, but by the second half they did very well in bringing the game back under their control, ensuring a convincing win,” he said.
The head coach of the Pumas squad, Piet Bothma said the they faced a couple tough matches considering the team’s experience.
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“We had a good weekend, but played in the toughest pool. Despite the initial struggles I think the team did very well, winning four of the six games we played.”
Pumas player, Coenraad Visser scored the second most points and the most tries during the tournament, according to Bothma.
Each team played three matches in the pool rounds on Friday, with the seeding matches played on Saturday with the teams competing in the Shield, Bowl, Plate and Cup competitions.
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Free State, which took top honours last season, competed in Pool A with the Valke, Border and SWD, while Pool B comprised the Blue Bulls, Pumas, Western Province and Griquas.
Western Province faced the Sharks in the Cup final, scoring a 29-12 victory.
A SA national junior team will be selected this week. Some of the Pumas players stand a good chance of making it into the squad of 30 players to represent the country.
“Our captain Tiaan Kotzee, Coenraad Visser and Stefan Smit played great games over the weekend and they truly were the stars of the squad during the tournament,” said Bothma.
