An unbeaten EP Elephants team will be looking to consolidate their position at the top of the SA Rugby U21 Shield south section log when they face the Boland Kavaliers in Gqeberha on Saturday.
After beating the Kavaliers 38-24 in the opening round of the competition in Worcester, EP will be confident of stretching their unbeaten run to four matches on home soil at Otto du Plessis High School (kickoff 2pm).
EP took a big step towards reaching the semifinals when they crushed the Border Bulldogs 41-12 in KuGompo City last week.
Boland will arrive in Gqeberha in a confident frame of mind after they beat the SWD Eagles 72-26 at the Boland Stadium in Wellington.
A rampant Elephants side ran in six tries against the Bulldogs on their way to opening up a four-point lead at the top of the South Section log over their closest rivals, the Boland Kavaliers.
EP’s try scorers against Border at the Sisa Dukashe Stadium in Mdantsane near KuGompo City were Lyle Meintjies (2), Cole Hilpert, Xander Wiltshire, Aiden Els and Uyanda Tsaka.
Fullback Lyle Meintjies booted four conversions and a penalty to boost EP’s points tally.
“EP have a lot of work-ons, but we’ll focus on getting our basics in place for our fourth game of the campaign against Boland,” EP coach Shaun “Trok” Oliver said.
“Boland will come guns blazing in Gqeberha, but we’ll be ready to defend the badge at home.
“Our set piece is a department where we will strive to get it right from the start and to execute our game plan from there.
“We will set high standards for ourselves and home games are not negotiable.
“This EP team believe we can go all the way to the knockout stage in the Shield competition.
“We have had time to gel as a team and we still have some of our players from last season.”
After kicking off their campaign with a thrilling 29-26 victory over the SWD Eagles in Gqeberha, EP have shown they have got what it takes to lift silverware.
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 features 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.
South Section log (all teams have played three matches): EP Elephants 15, Boland 11, SWD Eagles 8, Border Bulldogs 1.
Saturday’s South Section fixtures: EP Elephants v Boland Cavaliers, Border Bulldogs v SWD Eagles.
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