Sharks cruise to Sevens glory
The Sharks powered to a convincing 29-14 victory over Eastern Province to claim the SARU Interprovincial Sevens at Loftus in Pretoria on Saturday.
The team from KwaZulu-Natal fielded a powerful team and they deservedly won the Cup after beating a competitive Eastern Province side. The EP Kings played some of the best Sevens at the two-day tournament, but they were no match for the favourites in the final.
The Sharks won their quarterfinal 28-0 against the Golden Lions and in the semis they defeated the Free State Cheetahs 24-7 after the Bloemfontein side offered stubborn resistance during the first half.
Rosco Speckman, the lively Sharks playmaker, had a good tournament and was named as the Player of the Tournament ahead of team mates Sibu Sithole, Tera Mthembu and Milo Nqoro. He would no doubt have caught the attention of Paul Treu, the Springbok Sevens coach, and Elite Player Development squad management members Marius Schoeman and Neil Powell who were all in attendance.
The EP Kings booked their place in the men’s Cup final after beating Falcons 22-13 in the first upset of the day. The EP side then got the better of Western Province by 19-7 to book a meeting with The Sharks in the final.
In the Women’s section the Blue Bulls lifted the crown with a comprehensive 28-0 win over Western Province. The Pretoria women qualified for the final after beating the Golden Lions 47-0 and then defeating KZN 26-0 in the last four.
Blue Bulls centre Marithy Pienaar was the standout player and thoroughly deserves her Player of the Tournament accolade. Shona-Leah Weston, Cindy Cant and Mapume Maseko also impressed for the Blue Bulls women.
Boland returned home with two trophies after their men and women won their respective Plate-finals. The Boland women won 21-7 against Free State whilst their men’s colleagues outplayed the Blue Bulls 33-21 in the Plate final.
Saturday’s results:
Quarterfinals:
Men:
KZN 28-0 Golden Lions
Western Province 19-12 Leopards
EP 22-12 Falcons
Free State 17-10 Lowveld
Pumas 33-5 Griquas
Limpopo 19-12 Griffons
Blue Bulls 17-0 SWD
Boland 21-17 Border
Women:
Blue Bulls 38-0 Griffons
Border 14-0 EP
Western Province 24-0 Golden Lions
KZN 47-0 Border B
Boland 38-7 Falcons
Leopards 12-7 SANDF
SWD 43-0 Corr. Services
Free State 14-5 Griquas
Semifinals:
CUP:
Men:
KZN 24-7 Free State
EP 19-7 WP
Women:
Blue Bulls 26-0 KZN
Western Province 21-12 Border
PLATE:
Men:
Boland 12-7 Pumas
Blue Bulls 38-10 Limpopo
Women:
Boland 17-7 SWD
Free State 34-0 Leopards
Finals:
PLATE:
Men:
Boland 33-21 Blue Bulls
Women:
Boland 21-7 Free State
CUP:
Men:
Sharks 29-14 EP
Women:
Blue Bulls 28-0 WP