The EP Queens and Cell C Sharks Women will kick off the Premier Division action on Saturday in Port Elizabeth at 12h00

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, June 17, 2021 — While the scramble for second place on the standings will be a big driving force for a few Women’s Premier Division teams this weekend as the competition enters round seven, the teams participating in Group 2 of the First Division will look to build momentum after kicking off their competition last week.

The EP Queens and Cell C Sharks Women will kick off the Premier Division action on Saturday in Port Elizabeth at 12h00, while the Boland Dames take on log-leaders, DHL Western Province, in the Western Cape derby in Wellington at 14h00, where the hosts will hope to create the upset of the season. Both matches will be streamed live on Springboks.rugby.

The main match-up of the round will play out at Loftus Versfeld where the Blue Bulls Women will go full-out to defeat the Border Ladies as they attempt to reduce the gap between the sides on the log with an eye on closing in on second place for a possible final berth. This match will be broadcast live on SuperSport Variety 4 at 13h00.

The two matches in the First Division will see the Pumas begin their campaign against the Valke in Standerton and the Leopards go up against the Limpopo Blue Bulls in Potchefstroom, with both encounters kicking off at 13h00.

Premier Division

The EP Queens will be hunting their fourth victory in five outings against the Cell C Sharks Women and their second win a row in the competition when the sides meet at the Wolfson Stadium on Saturday.

Both teams have struggled to find their rhythm this season with the Port Elizabeth outfit winning only two of their six games up to now and the KwaZulu-Natalians one. But with only four pool rounds remaining – including this match – both teams will be hoping to make their way off the lower end of the table with relegation looming for the last-placed side this season.

The EP Queens have been superior on attack this season, scoring more than double the number of points as the visitors, but they have conceded more points, which is something they will want to improve on.

In Wellington, defending champions DHL Western Province will enter their clash against the Boland Dames as favourites after earning six wins on the trot this season and given their impressive form, which has seen them top the attack and defence statistics.

The Dames, however, have a newfound confidence after registering back-to-back wins against Cell C Sharks Women and EP Queens, and they will enter the match feeling they have nothing to lose.

The Blue Bulls Women, meanwhile, will enter their clash against the Border Ladies knowing that a victory would be invaluable in opening up the door for them to possibly force their way into the top two in the next few weeks, as they trail Border by only seven log points.

The home side stumbled last week after back-to-back wins and will be keen to return to their winning ways as the business end of the competition approaches, but they will be wary of the fact that the Border Ladies are under pressure to win to maintain their breathing space on the table over Boland and the Blue Bulls with an eye on earning a final berth.