An exciting round of clashes awaits the eight Women’s Premier Division teams on Saturday where two teams, the Bulls Daisies and Sanlam Boland Dames, will look to continue their dominance after winning all three of their opening matches.
The action will continue this weekend in Cape Town, Bloemfontein and Hermanus, while one of the matches will play out at one of the country’s top stadiums, Hollywoodbets Kings Park in Durban, where the Sharks Women will host the unbeaten Bulls Daisies.
Some of the teams will be hamstrung by the unavailability of their Springbok Women’s players though, as the national squad are currently in Madagascar where they are defending their African Cup title and that will level the playing fields a bit.
The clash in Durban is set to be one of the main matches of the weekend given the Pretoria side’s dominance this season, which has seen them earn a full house of points and the big stage they will be playing on, with the other being the match-up between the Dames – who are second on the standings with 15 points – and the Border Ladies at Hermanus High School.
A big challenge awaits the Free State Women and EP Queens at CUT Stadium in Bloemfontein as both teams look to register their first victory of the season, while DHL Western Province will host the Golden Lions Women at City Park in Athlone, Cape Town.
The Sharks will have to deliver one their best performances yet to topple the Daisies, who have been a formidable force in the last three rounds and who will be beaming with confidence after coming off a comprehensive 120-0 victory against the Queens.
The Durbanites will enter the match with the attitude that they have everything to gain despite going down against Border last week and WP in the opening round and will draw comfort from the fact that they will be playing at home, where they registered their only victory so far, against the Golden Lions Women.
With the Daisies having scored an impressive 201 points in their three matches to date, the hosts will be wary of the defensive challenge that awaits them – an area that they would have placed a big emphasis on in their preparations earlier in the week.
In Cape Town, third-placed WP will have their sights set on staying close to the competition pacesetters when they host the Golden Lions but the Johannesburgers will be fully aware of the boost a victory would give them both in terms of their log standing and for their confidence levels if they come away with a win.
The visitors will, however, have their work cut out to achieve this as the Capetonians have scored 93 more points in their three matches so far, although the Golden Lions have been marginally better on defence, setting the scene for a thrilling encounter.
The bottom-of-the-table clash between the Free State Women and EP Queens could also prove to be exciting as both teams look to end their winning drought.
The Free Staters have been more effective on attack and defence, which will give them confidence but the Queens will have all the motivation they need to move off the foot of the log, which sets the scene for a thrilling encounter.
The clash between the Dames and Border could also prove to be a humdinger as both teams are currently hovering in the top half of the table.
The Bolanders will enter the match as favourites with home ground advantage and form counting in their favour but with Border's track record showing two wins in three outings and the team trailing the two top sides by only five points, they will have their sights set on creating an upset.
Fixtures
Sharks Women v Bulls Daisies - Saturday @ Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban (1pm)
Referee: Angie Bezuidenhout
DHL Western Province v Golden Lions Women - Saturday @ City Park, Cape Town (1pm)
Referee: Bulela Qwane
Free State Women v EP Queens - Saturday @ CUT Stadium, Bloemfontein (3pm)
Referee: Aneka Fick
Sanlam Boland Dames v Border Ladies - Saturday @ Hermanus High School, Hermanus (3pm)
Referee: Ashleigh Murray-Pretorius
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