Blue Bulls crowned winners at 2016 Interprovincial Sevens
The Blue Bulls men’s sevens rugby team this weekend successfully defended their title as national champion, but the women's team unfortunately lost in the final against Border.
The Blue Bulls and Border sevens teams were crowned SA Rugby Interprovincial Men’s and Women’s champions respectively on Saturday, following the staging of a highly entertaining two day tournament in the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit.
For the Blue Bulls, it was a second win in Nelspruit, after they also took honours in 2015 and their 40-10 win over the Golden Lions in the final was full of merit.
The Border Women’s team had a much closer affair in their final, edging out the defending champion, the Blue Bulls Women, 15-12.
In the men’s final, the Golden Lions were on the scoresheet first. They won a line-out close to the Blue Bulls line, changed direction and Mark Alberts crashed over.
They scored a second unconverted try soon after, before a burst by WJ Strydom saw the Blue Bulls close the gap to three points. Another try shortly thereafter put the Blue Bulls in the lead for the first time.
Another burst by Strydom on the buzzer saw them jump into a 21-10 lead at the break.
Strydom, who finished the tournament as top scorer with 85 points, was also named Player of the Tournament.
The Blue Bulls started the second half well, scoring a quick try, which gave the Blue Bulls a lot of confidence. After that they ran riot and secured the win long before the final hooter.
The Blue Bulls beat hosts, the Pumas (Lowveld) in the one semi-final and the Golden Lions edged the Griffons in the other.
The Blue Bulls had to overcome a strong start by the Pumas (Lowveld) to secure a place in the final. They held a 21-0 lead at the break and had most of the field position and possession.
The home side came back into the game with two tries, but the Blue Bulls sealed the result with a fourth try, winning 26-12.
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