Craven Week: EP continue to impress
DAY THREE WRAP: Eastern Province and Western Province maintained their unbeaten records, while there were wins for the hosts, South Western Districts, and Free State on the third day of the SA Rugby Under-18 Craven Week at Outeniqua Park in George.
EP continue to impress at the 2023 edition of Craven Week. Two days after claiming a 26-23 win against a more-fancied Free Side, they racked up a 40-26 victory over Boland, with flank De Wet Fourie scoring two of their six tries.
WP went into the fixture against the Sharks on the back of a convincing win against SWD. The clash between the two coastal giants on Wednesday lived up to the hype, with WP emerging as 35-24 victors.
Earlier in the day, SWD edged the Falcons 20-19 to record their first win of the competition. Free State also bounced back from their recent defeat, scoring eight tries in their commanding 54-14 victory over the WP XV.
The Craven Week action will continue on Thursday, with Griquas meeting the Limpopo Blue Bulls at 10.30 local time (08.30 GMT) in the first game of the day, with the last encounter a Gauteng derby between the Lions and Bulls.
Day Three scorers and scorers:
Falcons 19-20 South Western Districts
The scorers:
For Falcons:
Tries: Lynhge Pretorius, Oregopotse Shilubane.
Pens: Duan du Toit 3
For South Western Districts
Tries: Brendan Gouws, Keanon Jantjies, Jay-Jay Daters, Kurt Coetzee.
Western Province XV 14-54 Free State
The scorers:
For Western Province XV
Tries: Louw du Toit, Daniel van der Merwe.
Cons: Leejay Petersen 2
For Free State
Tries: Ranon Fouche, Stefan Venter, Jean-Henri Smit, Keegan Scholtz, JJ Theron, Christiaan van Der Westhuizen, Pieter van der Merwe, Pharrel van Wyk.
Cons: Ian van der Merwe 7
Eastern Province 40-26 Boland
The scorers:
For Eastern Province:
Tries: De Wet Fourie 2, Burrie van Heerden, Aiden de Villiers, Imaani Pemba, Dominic Malgas.
Con: Lucraine Muggels
Pen: Muggels.
For Boland
Tries: Petrus Coetzee, Carick Kustoor 2, James Daniels.
Cons: Luan Giliomee 3
Western Province 35-24 Sharks
The scorers:
For Western Province:
Tries: Justin Amos, Haashim Pead, Jameel De Jongh, Gilermo Mentoe.
Cons: Yaqeen Ahmed 3
Pens: Ahmed 3
For Sharks:
Tries: Phiwo Kubheka, Liam Terblanche, Maurice Willemse.
Cons: Chris Horak 3
Pen: Horak.
Day Four Fixtures:
10.30: Griquas v Limpopo Blue Bulls
12.00: Border v Pumas
13.30: Griffons v Leopards
15.00: Golden Lions v Blue Bulls