The final round of action in the Women’s Premier Division will see a frantic charge for fourth position and the final play-off spot by the Border Ladies and Sharks Women, while Sanlam Boland Dames will go big to give themselves an outside chance of overhauling DHL Western Province to finish second and grab semi-final hosting rights.
The Bulls Daisies have already secured top spot on the log and will only play for Gauteng bragging rights when they host the Golden Lions Women in Pretoria on Saturday.
The team from Pretoria dominated the tournament for a second successive season and should easily dispatch of their Jozi counterparts and start focussing on the knock-out stages after that.
Western Province (51 log points) face bottom of the log EP Queens in Cape Town and are not only expected to win the match but retain their second place on the log, which will secure semi-final hosting rights next weekend.
The Dames (48 points) will be mindful of their previous result against the Sharks (36 points), when they were shocked by the KZN side in Durban. The Sharks also need to win this encounter with a bonus point to stay in fourth place and qualify for the play-offs.
Despite the expected urgency in the visitors’ play, the Dames will be running out favourites at Boland Park in Worcester. A solid performance will boost their confidence, should they finish third and most likely take on WP in Cape Town next weekend.
The Free State Women will be desperate to finish their season on a high note after a recent slump in performances by the newcomers to the competition but will find a formidable opponent in Border Ladies (35 log points), who must win big to overhaul the Sharks, one log point above them after 13 rounds of rugby.
The most likely scenario looks like a top-three finish for the Daisies, WP and Dames, with either the Sharks or Border falling desperately short of the final four.
Fixtures
DHL Western Province v EP Queens - Saturday @ City Park Stadium, Athlone (12pm)
Referee: Aneka Fick
Sanlam Boland Dames v Sharks Women - Saturday @ Boland Park, Worcester (12.15pm)
Referee: Charlwin Darries
Bulls Daisies v Golden Lions Women - Saturday @ Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria (2.30pm)
Referee: Richard Bruno
Livestream: Official Springbok YouTube
Free State Women v Border Ladies - Saturday @ Fichardt Park High School, Bloemfontein (3pm)
Referee: Marquine Potberg
Meanwhile, in the Women’s First Division, only the SWD Eagirls gave confirmed hosting rights for next weekend’s semi-finals, with the last round of league fixtures due this weekend.
The Eagirls (24 log points) secured hosting rights last weekend and just need one point out of their clash against Limpopo Blue Bulls Women in Groot Brakrivier to finish top of the log.
The Leopards Women (19), who travel to Kempton Park to play the Valke Women, will have to win that match to secure second place on the log, which will see them host the other semi-final in Potchefstroom next weekend. They could move first in the unlikely event of SWD not getting anything out of their game.
A defeat by the Leopards could see them dropping out of the top four altogether, depending on other results. Limpopo (16) and the Valke (14) will need to score at least four tries in their matches to secure a top four spot.
In the final match of the day, the Griffons Women will be looking for a first win of the season when they host Griquas Women (10) in Welkom. The visitors have a mathematical change of still sneaking into the top four, but they will need a record win and some other results going their way to do so.
The Pumas Women (15) have a bye. They are currently in fourth position and could be overhauled by Valke if the East Randers get any points out of the Leopards game.
Fixtures
Valke Women v Leopards Women - Saturday @ Barnard Stadium, Kempton Park (1.15pm)
Referee: Siyanda Pikoli
SWD Eagirls v Limpopo Blue Bulls Women - Saturday @ Greenhaven Sport Stadium, Groot-Brakrivier (2.30pm)
Referee: Lilitha Kalawe
Griffons Women v Griquas Women - Saturday @ Down Touch Investment Stadium, Welkom (3pm)
Referee: Martie Mostert
Commentaires