Eastern Province will have a chance to secure a third successive unofficial title of champions at the annual LSEN Week (for learners with special educational needs).
They will face Western Province for a third successive year in the main match of the tournament. This year’s tournament is hosted in East London by the Baysville School of Skills.
Last year, EP beat WP by the narrowest of margins by 11-10 in the main match. In 2024, they came out on top by 17-7.
Western Province was in a tough encounter on the second day of the tournament. They defeated the Blue Bulls in an exciting, tightly contested match by 19-3. The accurate boot of outside centre, Yusuf Hannibol, was the difference between the two sides in the end.
The Bulls led 7-3 at the break before WP’s hooker, Jean McEwan, and left-wing, Orlando Carolus, scored in the second half. Hannibol slotted another two penalties to secure a place in the main match.
Eastern Province had an easier match on the second day as they stamped their authority over Boland with a 31-0 victory. Their flyhalf, Zaynodeen Bennie, contributed 16 points to the victory. He scored one of his side’s four tries, converted all four and slotted a penalty.
Naturally, Bennie was also named Man of the Match for his splendid effort in the match.
The Free State’s right-wing, Tshepang Nthako, scored his side’s only points in the second half with a try to help them secure a 14-12 victory over the Sharks. The winning side’s other points came through the boot of flyhalf, Nomario Jannetjies, who was also named Man of the Match.
The Valke bagged a victory of 20-7 over South Western Districts, with flanker Taylor Stanford scoring 10 points with his boot. He converted both his side’s tries by Ekene Diribe (scrumhalf) and Omphile Dubase (inside centre) while also scoring two penalty goals.
Fixtures | Day 3
15:20 – Eastern Province vs Western Province
13:50 – Boland vs Blue Bulls
12:30 – Valke vs Free State
11:10 – Golden Lions vs Pumas
09:50 – Leopards vs Griffons
08:30 – South Western Districts vs Sharks
Scorers:
Western Province 19 (3) – Tries: Jean McEwan, Orlando Carolus. Penalties: Yusuf Hannibol (3). Blue Bulls 13 (7) – Try: Letlotlo Molubi. Conversion: Juandré Marais. Penalties: Marais (2).
Eastern Province 31 (17) – Tries: Zaynodeen Bennie, Jade Goliath, Rechenald Human, Kaydon Kerspuy. Conversions: Bennie (4). Penalty: Bennie. Boland 0.
Valke 20 (14) – Tries: Ekene Diribe, Omphile Dubase. Conversions: Taylor Stanford (2). Penalties: Stanford (2). South Western Districts 7 (0) – Try: Alvin Hardnick. Conversion: Micah Lottering.
Free State 14 (9) – Try: Tshepang Nthako. Penalties: Nomario Jannetjies (3). Sharks 12 (12) – Tries: Ayabonga Makhubu, Leon de Kock. Conversion: Jayden Pain.
Golden Lions 24 (0) – Tries: Mendose Tai (2), Donté van Dyk, Lwazi Shasha. Conversions: Morné Mkhabela (2). Leopards 16 (6) – Try: Luyanda Mtshatsheni. Conversion: Tshepang Johnson. Penalties: Johnson (3).
Pumas 38 (10) – Tries: Wandile Biyela (2), Wandile Nkosi (2), Jancho Oberholzer, Siboniso Simelane. Conversions: Jacques Muller (4). Griffons 0.
