SWD held on to claim a 39-31 win over the Sharks, while there were wins for Boland, the Pumas and Western Province on day three of the U18 Craven Week on Wednesday.
Only two of the eight teams in action on Wednesday remained unbeaten: SWD and Western Province.
The clash between SWD and the Sharks was a high-scoring affair, with the George team surviving a determined second-half fightback by the KwaZulu-Natalians for victory.
SWD got on the scoreboard early with two tries in quick succession and were causing the Sharks plenty of problems with a clever kicking game. At one stage it looked as if SWD were cruising to a comfortable win, taking a 33-5 lead in the second half.
However, the Sharks staged a dramatic comeback, showing patience on attack, while they tightened up their defence to score 26 points and put their opponents under pressure. SWD slotted two penalties to put themselves out of touch.
Meanwhile, a strong first half by Boland paved the way for their 36-31 victory against the Valke, with a conversion and penalty goal proving to be the difference on the scoreboard in the end. Boland started the clash well and built up a 17-5 lead, and this proved to be invaluable as the East Rand side fought back with intent in the second half.
Boland centre Roann Jansen crossed the chalk twice, while flyhalf Nathan Engelbrecht contributed a try, four conversions and a penalty goal. Valke No 8 Franco Enslin was the star performer for his team, as he earned a hat-trick.
In other results, the Pumas thrashed the Leopards 54-19, while Western Province put a 13-man Free State to the sword in a 51-14 victory to close the day’s action.
In the Academy Week, there were wins for the Limpopo Blue Bulls, Western Province, Eastern Province, Pumas CD, Sharks CD and the Blue Bulls.
Craven Week results (Day 3):
Pumas 54 Leopards 19 (A Field)
Boland 36 NWU Valke 19 (A Field)
SWD Eagles 39 Sharks 31 (A Field)
Free State Cheetahs 51 Western Province 14 (A Field)
Academy Week results:
Blue Bulls 19 Leopards 5 (A Field)
Blue Bulls CD 5 Sharks CD 30 (B Field)
Limpopo Blue Bulls 50 Western Province XV 0 (A Field)
Pumas CD 41 Eastern Province CD 21 (B Field)
Eastern Province 43 Zimbabwe 19 (B Field)
Free State Cheetahs 45 Boland 26 (B Field)
Western Province 41 Sharks 19 (B Field)
