SUN CITY, North-West – England’s Lauren Taylor concentrated on first and foremost just being herself in the opening round of the SuperSport Ladies Challenge presented by Sun International at the Lost City Golf Course on Wednesday, and it paid off as she finished in first place on the leaderboard.
Taylor fired a four-under-par 68 to enjoy a one-stroke lead over Vanessa Knecht, Ana Dawson, Pasqualle Coffa and leading South African Kaleigh Telfer.
The 29-year-old Taylor played the back nine at Lost City first, and made the perfect start with birdies on the first three holes and another on the 15th. A bogey-birdie finish to the back nine saw Taylor go out in 32, and she then came home in level-par thanks to a birdie on the ninth making up for a bogey on the par-five seventh.
“I was just trying to be myself out there and take it hole by hole,” Taylor said. “It was a good day. I made a hot start, it’s always nice to get three birdies first up, so then I just tried to keep being aggressive.
“All parts of my game were pretty good, but the best part was that I hit every fairway. My irons were also good and that’s always a good combo which will always give you chances. So I was hitting good shots and making birdies.
“I still gave myself some chances on the front nine but I just didn’t hole the putts. But I was very happy to finish with a birdie. I was feeling confident after a good week at Fancourt in the Dimension Data Pro-Am, but anything can happen in golf and you never know how it’s going to be on the day,” Taylor said.
The in-form Dawson, who led for most of the Dimension Data Ladies Pro-Am before eventually finishing tied-third, continued her fine form, her 69 including just one bogey – on the par-three 13th.
Telfer, who enjoyed an excellent Sunshine Ladies Tour campaign last year, posted five birdies with two bogeys to position herself just behind the leader.
Two South Africans – 2022 champion Paula Reto and amateur Isabella Ferreira, were two strokes back after shooting 70s, along with Romy Meekers of the Netherlands and Sweden’s Ellen Hutchinson-Key.
Ferreira also started on the back nine and reached the turn on one-over-par, but she was excellent on the front nine, collecting three birdies.
After being out of action for three months, it is with great glee that the DP World Lions Ladies team will return to the field this weekend, as they travel to Durban to take on the HollywoodBets Dolphins in both a one-day and a T20 match.
The Dolphins will be tough opponents in the 50-over contest, where they are top of the log, three points ahead of the Titans with a game in hand, and nine points better off than the Lions.
But those tables are reversed in the T20 league. Western Province may be 12 points clear of the DP World Lions at the top of the standings at the moment, but our Pride are second with a game in hand and if they beat the Dolphins and also win their remaining three matches then it is possible for them to defend their title.
Their hosts this weekend have only won two of their six T20 matches this season and are languishing second-from-bottom on the log.
DP World Lions Ladies coach Shaun Pretorius says his team are ready and keen to get the second half of their season going, their last match having been their T20 visit to the Titans on November 19.
“All the hard work has been done in the last few weeks, the ladies have really been grafting and we have had good preparation for this weekend. They are excited to now just go out and jol,” Pretorius said.
“The T20 match is particularly vital for us because we are in a really good position in that competition. In the 50-over league, it’s about making sure we climb the log in our remaining matches, even if it’s just inches at a time. We are still going out to compete, not just to participate.”
The KwaZulu-Natal Coastal side’s reliance on spin at Kingsmead is no longer original and Pretorius said our DP World Lions Ladies are forewarned and well-prepared for the challenge.
“We have worked on plans to combat each of their bowlers and we think they’re going to have their best line-up without their Proteas. That means they will be without their formidable left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba, so that’s one threat that is away.
“We are aware that spin is their main threat down there and we are also looking at lots of spin-bowling options, depending on what the pitch looks like. The games will be all about those crucial small phases in the game and how we conduct ourselves in them will be the key,” Pretorius said.
The Dolphins will also be missing pace bowler Ayanda Hlubi, while the only member of the Lions Pride on duty for the Proteas Test squad is wicketkeeper/batter Sinalo Jafta. But the highly-promising Karabo Meso is most able to step into her shoes.
Bulls captain Marcell Coetzee carried strongly and scored two tries as his team overcame Bordeaux-Begles to ensure a place in the last 16 of the Champions Cup. Photo: Christiaan Kotze (Gallo Images)
A 46-40 victory over group winners Bordeaux-Begles has ensured the Bulls will be listed in the final 16 of the Champions Cup, and coach Jake White is delighted by that, but he did admit to being a little bemused by how hard they made life for themselves at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday afternoon.
The Bulls scored six tries, some of them absolutely brilliant, with flank Marcell Coetzee going over twice and wing Devon Williams, centre David Kriel, fullback Willie le Roux and scrumhalf Embrose Papier, with a superb individual effort, also getting on the try-scorers’ list. Flyhalf Johan Goosen converted five of the tries and his replacement, Jaco van der Walt, kicked two crucial late penalties.
Bordeaux-Begles also scored six tries, taking two bonus points from the match, which was enough to confirm they will finish top of the group.
The Bulls twice found themselves in a rock-solid position of dominance, leading 21-7 after 26 minutes and then 40-21 after 53 minutes, but on both occasions their concentration and game-management wobbled and they ended up letting the quality Bordeaux side back in the game.
It was the home side’s replacements who saw out the final quarter, their strong ball-carrying earning them the two penalties that enabled them to just hold off the French challenge.
“We did make it difficult for ourselves and maybe at halftime we started to think about winning by 36 points because that would have seen us top the pool if Bordeaux didn’t get any bonus points,” White admitted afterwards.
“Maybe we were seduced into that style of play, it became like a sevens game and that probably helped Bordeaux, who are a good team. This is such a big competition and there are very small margins, those are the things we need to be sharper on.
“But I can’t be cross with the team, we had four forwards under the age of 22. This is the next step to Test rugby and the only way the team is going to learn to cope with these sort of situations is by going through it. We need to be more streetwise, but that comes with time. When we have our debrief, we’ll look at what some of the best options should have been.
“But I’m obviously still very proud of the win and scoring 46 points versus Bordeaux, they don’t often concede that many and they have been dominant in France. So I’m happy and it’s nice to learn when you’ve won,” White said.
The Bulls gave the visitors, on an eight-match winning streak, a ferocious welcome as eighthman Cameron Hanekom was ruled to have just lost the ball over the line and tighthead prop Carlu Sadie was yellow-carded for a ruck offence. After seven minutes, the Bulls were finally on the board as Coetzee went over from a tap-penalty.
Bordeaux equalised six minutes later when fullback Romain Buros knifed through to score, but the Bulls then thrilled the crowd of more than 10 000 with a superbly-executed try off a lineout. Strong carries by hooker Jan-Hendrik Wessels and lock Ruan Nortje were followed by a lovely pass out wide from Goosen to Williams, who scampered over for the try.
Coetzee forced his way over for a second try on 26 minutes, but in the last 10 minutes, the Bulls had to call on all their scrambling ability in defence as Bordeaux put them under severe pressure following prop Gerhard Steenekamp’s yellow card for ruck offences.
The Bulls did concede a try to lock Adam Coleman, but half-time beckoned with them still in the lead, 21-14, and then they added a vital score against the run of play. Stedman Gans sparked the counter with a half-break and lovely offload to Le Roux, who was through the gap in a flash and then threw a pinpoint pass to Kriel, who went all the way from long range.
The 26-14 lead would have pleased White, and the try that opened the second half would have delighted him even more. Goosen produced a brilliant up-and-under despite being under big pressure from two defenders, wing Sebastian de Klerk made a fine aerial win and Kriel then made the initial break before Le Roux was, as is his trademark, in the right place at the right time to score.
Papier’s try was a brilliant piece of individual play as his team presented him with untidy, backfoot ball, but the scrumhalf spotted a hole in the defence and raced through it before swerving past the cover defence to dot down.
But White would have then been po-faced as Bordeaux scored three times in the next 15 minutes. But the smile was back as his team held on for a good win.
With Saracens beating Olympique Lyon later on Saturday night, the Bulls remained second in the final group standings and will have a home match in the last 16.
Ironically, White believes finishing second and getting a home match in the last 16 could boomerang on the Bulls.
“I would love to have a home knockout game in this competition, but that means we will play Dragons and Leinster away in the URC, come back for a home last-16 Champions Cup match and then an away quarterfinal before coming back to Loftus to play Munster.
“It will be helluva tough flying back and forth like that. But the nice thing is it shows the improvement and growth we’ve had in the Champions Cup. There is belief that we can win it, but we also need to understand that the big guns are now coming.
“It will be teams where 20 of the 23 are internationals playing against youngsters who are still growing and learning the ropes. I’m a realist and this competition now goes on steroids,” White said.
Scorers
Bulls – Tries: Marcell Coetzee (2), Devon Williams, David Kriel, Willie le Roux, Embrose Papier. Conversions: Johan Goosen (5). Penalties: Jaco van der Walt (2).
If we think of the Sharks team as being a motor vehicle then the car’s most definitely back on the road and starting to gain speed in the fast lane, following their 37-10 victory over the Lions in their United Rugby Championship derby at Kings Park.
That’s not to say the Sharks did not have spluttering moments. They raced into an early 12-0 lead but then did not score another point in nearly half-an-hour, as the Lions were only down 10-15 as the hour-mark loomed. But the home team then put their foot down in the final quarter and roared away to a five-try, bonus point victory.
Sevens legend Frankie Horne once said that Neil Powell took the Blitzboks car for performance enhancements after previous national coach Paul Treu built the car, and Powell seems to be having a similar effect as director of rugby at the Sharks. They have now won four matches in a row since he took over the head coaching duties, and they played some great rugby against the Lions, their ball-retention and direct attacking style being superb at times.
“We’re obviously always pushing for the perfect game and we had glimpses this evening, but unfortunately we couldn’t keep it up for 80 minutes,” Powell said after the win which lifted the Sharks to sixth on the URC log, but with at least one game in hand over all the teams above them.
“The first 15-20 minutes were exhilarating, but then a couple of soft moments let the Lions back in. Once you give away momentum, it’s difficult to get back.
“But it was another step in the right direction and we know where we can improve. But it’s been great to see the improvement over the last four games, especially the effort in defence.
“At times we were really good, we definitely respected the ball a lot more and asked questions of the opposition defence. Getting through phases was definitely one of our work-ons,” Powell said.
The things Powell said the Sharks could improve on were the stupid mistakes just as they had seized control of the match and being even more patient on attack.
“There were three individual errors after we went 12-0 up and at times the players went out of the structure,” Powell said.
“We can also be a lot more patient on attack inside the 22, it feels as if we’re almost rushing ourselves.
“But we managed the game well in general and only conceded one try. We’re starting to believe that we can be successful in the URC and the EPCR,” Powell said.
Philemon 1:7 – “Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.”
“Every disciple of Jesus has a capacity for love. The most effective way to serve the Master is to share his love with others. Love can comfort, save the lost, and offer hope to those who need it. It can break down barriers, build bridges, establish relationships and heal wounds.” – A Shelter From The Storm, Solly Ozrovech
If there’s a frustrating vacuum in your spiritual life and you fervently desire to serve the Lord but don’t know how you’re meant to do that, then start by loving others in his name.
