A vital 38-24 away win over the Boland Kavaliers in Worcester on Saturday has left the unbeaten EP Elephants on top of the South Section of the SA U21 Shield rugby competition.
After kicking off their campaign with a thrilling 29-26 victory over the SWD Eagles in Gqeberha, EP produced another polished display to signal they will be among the favourites to lift silverware in 2026.
EP’s try scorers against Boland were Aiden Els, Lyle Meintjies, Angelo Adams, Xander Wiltshire and Johan van Zyl.
In-form Meintjies successfully converted all EP’s tries and also booted a penalty to help seal victory for his team.
“The boys were very focused, and they understood that we had a big job to do against Boland,” EP coach Shaun “Trok” Oliver said.
“Boland started well by scoring the first points, but EP responded and before halftime we took control of the game.
‘“After the break we were able to manage the game, and our No 9 Lu-Crain Miggels, flyhalf Adams and skipper Sean van Zyl all contributed to our success.
“In the end the guys stuck to the plan, and we got five points on the road.
“Now we will just stay focused for our next job against the Border Bulldogs in Mdantsane on Saturday.”
Border, the defending Shield champions, slumped to a 37-17 defeat against the SWD Eagles in George on Saturday.
It was a second consecutive defeat for Border, who went down 47-34 against Boland in their opening match at the Sisa Dukashe Stadium in Mdantsane near KuGompo City.
Nine provincial teams have been divided into two sections in the Shield.
The south comprises Boland (2024 champions), Border, Eastern Province and SWD; and the north, featuring the Pumas (2023 champions), Harmony Griffons, Griquas, Valke and Limpopo.
Teams in the south section play three home and three away matches (six in total) and in the north a single round (four in total).
At the conclusion of the league phase, the two teams with the highest number of log points will contest the semi-finals within their sections.
The two winners will play in the grand final between the south and north groups.
Results:
South Section: Boland Kavaliers 24 EP Elephants 38, SWD Eagles 37 Border Bulldogs 17.
North Section: Valke 26 Pumas 47, Griffons 47 Limpopo 24.
Logs (all teams have played two matches):
South Section: EP Elephants 10, SWD Eagles 7, Boland 6, Border Bulldogs 1.
North Section: Griffons 10, Limpopo 6, Pumas 5, Valke 2, Griquas 0.
Saturday’s fixtures:
South Section: Boland v SWD Eagles, Border v EP Elephants.
North Section: Griffons v Valke, Griquas v Pumas.
- Follow The Herald WhatsApp channel today and stay connected to the stories shaping our world.
The Herald
