A clinical second-half display carried the EP Queens to a vital 29-19 win over the Sharks Women in an exciting Pick n Pay Super League clash in Gqeberha on Saturday, coach Deon Jordaan said.
After trailing 14-7 at halftime, the Queens ran in four sizzling second-half tries to clinch a memorable win at Otto Du Plessis High School.
EP’s try scorers were Hlomla Puzi (2), Joe-Anne Boesak, Sinoxolo Soga, and Olwethu Kasiba.
After three rounds the Queens are third on the log and handily placed to clinch a berth in the final.
With only a single round of matches leading into the final, the margin for error is small, and the Queens cannot afford to drop any points on home soil.
“This was a good outing for us against the Sharks, and the ladies really played well after some honest and hard conversations after the Free State loss,” Jordaan said.
“One of the things we spoke about was discipline in terms of our breakdown and our tackle height.
“The heart that the ladies took to the field really helped.
“In the second half the Queens were more clinical, and we knew exactly what we wanted to achieve.
“A big up to our fly-half Julene Haas and our fullback Sipenathi Yeko, who really controlled things and created opportunities for our try scorers.”
EP Queens coach Deon Jordaan (The Herald)
Next up for the Queens is a pivotal clash against a strong Boland Dames team in Gqeberha on Saturday.
Defending champions the Bulls continued to set a hot pace at the top of the log when they beat the Boland Dames 47-8 at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
Last week five yellow cards proved to be fatal for the Queens when they slipped to a 21-12 defeat against the Free State women in a second-round fixture in Bloemfontein.
EP Kick, who kicked off their campaign with an impressive 32-12 win over the Golden Lions in Alberton two weeks ago, returned to winning ways on home soil.
“The result against Free State was very disappointing, but we highlighted a few key areas where we needed to improve against the Sharks,” Jordaan said.
“While our commitment and effort were evident in Bloemfontein, our discipline let us down, and five yellow cards cost us our game.
“Moving forward, we knew we needed to reinforce our discipline standards.
“We reviewed the Free State loss honestly.”
The Border Ladies team remained rooted at the bottom of the log when they were beaten 24-7 by Western Province.
Scorers:
EP Queens 29: Tries: Hlomla Puzi (2), Joe-Anne Boesak, Sinoxolo Soga and Olwethu Kasiba. Conversions: Siphenathi Yeko (2).
Sharks Women 19: Tries: Xoliswa Mbatha (2), Sinenhlanhla Luthuli. Conversions: Mary Zulu (2).
Results:
EP Queens 29 Sharks Women 19, Golden Lions 48 Free State Women 32, Bulls Daisies 47 Boland Dames 8, Border Ladies 7 Western Province 24.
Saturday’s fixtures: Golden Lions Women vs Border Ladies, Western Province vs Bulls Daisies, EP Queens vs Boland Dames, Free State Women vs Sharks.
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