Border Ladies ended a disastrous season on Saturday with a disappointing 41-24 defeat to Free State Women in the Women’s Super League at Police Park.
This means that for the first time in twenty years, Border has failed to win a top match in a season.
Although they finished bottom of the table, they will not be relegated like other teams in previous seasons.
SA Rugby’s JJ Hamse said this last week the promotion and relegation system was not in motion this year.
The Free State game was thought to be a chance for Border to at least register something in the points column.
This was because Vrijstaat was also a wooden spoon candidate.
At halftime there was nothing to separate the teams at 17-17.
Prop Nombuyekezo Mdliki went further to give Border a 24-17 lead, but Border’s inexperienced bench was exposed again in the second half.
They struggled to make any impact and Free State, on the other hand, stepped on the accelerator.
To make matters worse, Border’s Ethandwa Marawu was let down towards the end.
During her 10 minutes on the sidelines, Free State scored two tries.
The remaining Border tries in the match came through captain and center Aphiwe Ngwevu, who scored a brace in the first half.
Free State scored first as winger Sikholiwe Mdletshe celebrated her return to the match after an injury sustained in the first round.
The other five-pointers came via Anelca Hess, Anita Tom, Vuyelwa Mosala and Bernice Strydom.
Other results in the final round-robin stage saw the Blue Bulls Daisies almost score another 100 points as they dismissed their Gauteng rivals, Golden Lions Women, with a 95-5 win, while the Boland Ladies faced a much tougher battle in Durban.
They defeated the Sharks Women 33-22 in a thrilling match at Kings Park 2.
In Gqeberha, Western Province scored eight tries to end the season with a 42-17 win over EP Queens, who finished fourth overall.
The Bulls Daisies again finished at the top of the rankings, while the Boland Ladies finished in second place.
The two will meet each other in the final on Saturday at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.
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Anathi Wulushe
www.dailydispatch.co.za