Grand Challenge round-up

With Despatch having a bye, PE SAPS should move to the top of the Grand Challenge log on Saturday (August 1) when they host Kruisfontein at Kemsley Park.

SARPA meets with EP Rugby

EP RUGBY MEDIA RELEASE

Eastern Province Rugby and the South African Rugby Players Association have held a number of constructive meetings throughout the day today to address challenges currently being faced by the union.

EP boys to represent SA Schools

Two Eastern Province Under-18 players have made the SA Schools squad to face England, France, Wales and Italy in an Under-18 International Series in August.

WP U21s too strong for EP

Western Province U21s produced a dominant second half display to outplay their EP Kings counterparts 44-13 in the Absa U21 provincial competition at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.

Third win for U19s

Eastern Province U19 made it three wins out of three when they held on for a thrilling 13-10 victory against Western Province in the Absa U19 provincial competition at a wet Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.

Province held on to beat Kings in friendly

Eastern Province Kings hosted Western Province in their second pre-Currie Cup warm-up match at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Saturday evening.

Teamsheets: EP Kings vs Western Province

The Eastern Province Kings will face Western Province in their second friendly ahead of their Currie Cup campeign at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Saturday evening.

EP Rugby's response to Carlos Spencer

EP RUGBY MEDIA RELEASE

It is with great disappointment that EP Rugby have read the comments made in media on behalf of former EP Rugby coach Carlos Spencer following his departure from the Kings.

Disappointing result for U21s

The Eastern Province U21 side went down 8 - 28 in their second ABSA Under-21 match at Profert Olen Park in Potchefstroom this past Saturday.

Eastern Province opened the scoring in the eleventh minute through fullback Malcolm Jaer, Simon Bolze failed to add the extras on offer as they took an early 5 - 0 lead.

Convincing win for U19s in Potch

Eastern Province outscored the Leopards six tries to four to record their second consecutive win in the ABSA Under-19 competition in Potchefstroom this past Saturday.

Bulls too strong for Kings

The Vodacom Blue Bulls scored three first half tries and a further two more in the second half to beat the Eastern Province Kings in their first Currie Cup warm-up match at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Friday night.

EP and Natal in Craven Week thriller

Eastern Province and KwaZulu-Natal provided a final match thriller to end another exciting day at the Coca-Cola Craven Week at the Markottor Sports Complex in Stellenbosch on Thursday.

Preview: EP Kings vs Blue Bulls

The Eastern Province Kings are set to face the Blue Bulls in their first Currie Cup friendly tomorrow evening at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth.

EP U19/21 sides to face Leopards

The Eastern Province U19s will hope to continue their winning ways, after beating Free State last weekend, when they travel to Potchefstroom to face the Leopards in their second match in this year's ABSA Under-19 competition on Saturday.

Kings to face Blue Bulls in first Currie Cup friendly

Eastern Province Kings Head Coach, Brent Janse van Rensburg has named his team to face the Blue Bulls in their first Currie Cup friendly at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth this Friday evening.

Eastern Province beat SWD in Craven Week opener

Eastern Province's Curwin Bosch stole the show when they faced SWD in their opener at this year's Coca-Cola Craven Week, played at the Markottor Fields Paul Roos Gymnasium in Stellenbosch on Tuesday.

EP GRAND CHALLENGE RESULTS

PE SAPS continued their impressive run in the EP Grand Challenge competition when they comfortably beat African Bombers' challenge with a decisive 56-12 win on Saturday.

Eastern Province U21s hammered in opener

The newly promoted Eastern Province Under-21 side traveled to Bloemfontein to face Free State at Shimla Park in their ABSA Under-21 Group A opener on Saturday.

Eastern Province U19s off to a winning start

The Eastern Province u19s traveled to Shimla Park to face the Free State U19s in their ABSA Under-19 opener in Bloemfontein on Saturday.

Get to know your U18 Coca-Cola Craven Week Heroes

The 52nd Coca-Cola Under-18 Craven Week kicks off next week, from the 12th to the 18th, at Paul Roos Gymnasium in Stellenbosch.

One of the players to keep an eye on is Eastern Province's Curwin Bosch.

Full Name: Curwin Bosch

Age: 18

Team: Eastern Province

EP U18 Craven Week squads

The following Eastern Cape boys will represent Eastern Province at this year's U18 Coca-Cola Craven Week, from the 12th to the 18th of July, at the Paul Roos Gymnasium in Stellenbosch.

Eastern Province: 

Victories for EP at Academy Week

Both the Eastern Province U18s and Eastern Province CD recorded wins in their respective final matches at the Coca-Cola Academy Week at the Isak Steyl Stadium in Vanderbijlpark on Thursday.

Eastern Province recorded a narrow 33 - 31 win against the Pumas, while the Eastern Province CD side recorded a well deserved 46 - 29 win over the Leopards.

EP finish strong at the U16 Grant Khomo week

Eastern Province finished the U16 Coca-Cola Grant Khomo Week on a high, when they beat the Free State in their final match at the Bridgton Sports Grounds in Oudtshoorn on Thursday.

The battle was epic as both teams put their bodies on the line on attack and defence. Interestingly Free State were reduced to 14 men in the 25th minute following a tip tackle, but despite this they continued to deliver a passionate performance.

EP juniors off to Bloem

The Eastern Province U19 and U21 sides travel to Bloemfontein this Saturday for their respective Currie Cup Premier Division openers.

Outside centre Jeremy Ward will captain the U19 side, while flanker CJ Velleman captains the newly promoted U21 side.

Disappointment for EP Academy side

Fresh from their 34 - 29 win against Border, the Eastern Province Academy side faced a strong Western Province side in their second match at the Isak Steyl Stadium in Vanderbijlpark.

Western Province restricted the EP boys to just three points in the first half, as they took a comfortable 15 - 3 lead at the break.

The boys from Port Elizabeth managed to add two tries in the second half, while Western Province added a further thirty eight points to finish the game 53 - 17.

Eastern Province will face the Pumas in their final match on Thursday. The game will be played on the B Field and kick-off is at 12:45pm.

EP U16s too strong for Falcons

Eastern Province recorded their first win at the Under-16 Coca-Cola Grant Khomo Week when they beat the Falcons on Tuesday.

The boys from Port Elizabeth suffered an 11 - 24 loss in their opener against KwaZulu-Natal, but made amends today when they scored five tries to beat the boys from Kempton Park on the second day at the Bridgton Sports Grounds in Oudtshoorn.

The first half was exciting as both teams tried hard to make their presence felt. Eastern Province had the first say with two tries in the first seventeen minutes, which they converted to take a 14-0 lead. The Valke hit back five minutes later with a converted try of their own to reduce the deficit to 14-7, which they held onto for the rest of the half.

The Valke came out strong in the second half as they burst through for their second try, but this was cancelled out by Eastern Province as they added another try minutes later. The Valke again hit back, but two tries by Eastern Province in the last four minutes pushed them into a convincing lead to finish the match 35 - 17.

Scorers:

Eastern Province (14) 35 – Tries: Elandre Smit, Chrispian Jaggers, Le-Kleu Stokes, Ayabonga Matroos, Waqar Solaan. Conversions: Vaughn Isaacs (5).

Falcons (7) 17 - Tries: Ruben Beytell, Quan Eymann, Lee-Irwin Andries. Conversions: Ruben Beytell.

EP Academy U18s off to a winning start

Eastern Province recorded a narrow 34 - 29 win over their neighbours, Border, in their opener of the Coca-Cola Academy Week at the Isak Steyl Stadium in Vanderbijlpark.

Eastern Province CD unfortunately went down to hosts, the Rooi Valke, in a massive 5 - 71 defeat in their opener.

Tomorrow's fixtures sees Eastern Province take on Western Province in their second match at 2:05pm on the A Field, while Eastern Province CD face off against Border CD at 10:05am on the B Field.

Coca-Cola Academy Week day-one results:

Rooi Valke 71 - 5 Eastern Province CD
Limpopo Blue Bulls 21 – 56 Griffons
Blouvalke 19 - 29 Namibia
Free State 25 - 24 SWD
Lions 19 - 36 Western Province
Griquas 45 - 19 Pumas CD
Blue Bulls 59 - 24 KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal CD 48 - 7 Griffons CD
Border 29 - 34 Eastern Province
SA LSEN 12 - 23 Griquas CD
Pumas 21 - 18 Boland
Border CD 0 - 57 Leopards

EP lose to KZN in Grant Khomo opener

Eastern Province kicked off their Under-16 Coca-Cola Grant Khomo Week when they faced KwaZulu-Natal at the Brighton Sports Grounds in Oudtshoorn on Monday.

The boys from Port Elizabeth scored one first half try and a penalty in reply to Natal's two tries as they trailed 8 - 10 at the break.

Natal built on their two point lead in the second half as they scored back-to-back tries, while they shut out Eastern Province on defence to increase their lead to 24 points and their try tally to four. In return EP were only able to add a penalty, which resulted in them suffering a 24-11 defeat.

Scorers:

Eastern Province (8) 11 - Try: Curtly Deysel. Penalties: Vaughen Isaacs (2).

KwaZulu-Natal (10) 24 – Tries: Kamvelihle Fatyela, Cham Zondeki, Morne van Rensburg, JJ Van den Mescht. Conversions: Morne van Rensburg (2)

U16 Coca-Cola Grant Khomo Week day-one results:

SWD Eagles 22 - 27 Pumas

Namibia 27 - 31 Valke

DHL Western Province 25 - 24 Free State

SWD Eagles XV 14 - 32 Border

Blue Bulls 19 - 40 Bidvest Golden Lions

Griquas CD 17 - 50 Limpopo Blue Bulls

KwaZulu-Natal 24 - 11 Eastern Province

Griquas 20 - 17 Zimbabwe

Griffons 6 - 69 Boland

Border CD 0 - 27 Leopards

Bulls u13s too strong for EP in final match

Eastern Province faced tough opposition in their final match at the Under-13 Coca-Cola Craven Week, when they played the Itec Blue Bulls at Hoërskool Rob Ferreira in White River on Friday morning.

The boys from Pretoria outscored the Port Elizabeth based side in the first half by four tries to one.

The Blue Bulls dominated up-front and showing an impressive attacking prowess out wide. The Blue Bulls’ attack was fantastic as they forced EP onto the back-foot and the rewards followed as they crossed the tryline four times in the first half.

Eastern Province did their best to force their way into the match, but their efforts were curtailed by the effective Blue Bulls defence, leaving them to settle for only one converted try in the first half and a 21 point deficit at the break.

Eastern Province tightened up their defence significantly in the second half as they limited the Blue Bulls to only one more try. The Port Elizabeth side managed to score a second try, as the game ended 35 - 14 in favour of the Blue Bulls.

Scorers:

Eastern Province (7) 14 – Tries: Larquin Goliath, Ethan Liberty. Conversions: Daniel Smith (2).

Itec Blue Bulls (28) 35 – Tries: Jooste Nel, Rolen Visagie, Chris Schoombee, Zandre Du Toit (2). Conversions: Jooste Nel (5).

EP U13s secure convincing win

Eastern Province secured a convincing win in their penultimate round of fixtures at the Under-13 Coca-Cola Craven Week, when they beat the Limpopo Blue Bulls at Hoërskool Rob Ferreira in White River on Thursday.

Eastern Province did well to capitalise on their try-scoring chances against the Limpopo Blue Bulls despite both teams showing their attacking prowess in a hard-running first half.

Eastern Province backed up their exciting attack with a solid defensive structure, which, combined with mistakes at crucial times by the Limpopo side, only allowed them to cross the tryline once in the first half.

Eastern Province’s three first half tries allowed them to take a comfortable 19 – 7 lead at the break.

They picked up where they left off in the second half and scored a further two tries, thanks to their impressive support play and hard running, which allowed them to continue finding the gaps in the defence.

The Limpopo Blue Bulls bounced back strongly in the dying minutes to score a consolation try as the game ended 31 – 12 in favour of the Port Elizabeth side.

Scorers:

Eastern Province (19) 31 – Tries: Ethan Liberty, Kuhle Desha, Aliswa Mapuma, Larquin Goliath, Siviwe Zondani. Conversions: Daniel Smith (2), Lathita Nqebe.

Limpopo Blue Bulls (7) 12 – Tries: Renzo Du Plessis, Pieter Vorster. Conversion: Juan Smith

U13 Coca-Cola Craven Week day-three results:

Boland 18 – 15 TW Profile Services Valke
DHL Western Province 17 – 3 SWD
Itec Blue Bulls 29 – 0 Border CD
Bidvest Golden Lions 0 – 33 KwaZulu-Natal
Border 15 – 27 Leopards
Pumas 31 – 14 Free State
Namibia 14 – 13 Zimbabwe
Eastern Province 31 – 12 Limpopo Blue Bulls
GWK Griquas 0 – 18 Griffons

EP U13s to face Blue Bulls in their final match

The Eastern Province u13s will face the Itec Blue Bulls in their final match at the Under-13 Coca-Cola Craven Week on Friday.

The boys from Port Elizabeth have only managed to win one out of their three matches played at Hoërskool Rob Ferreira in White River Mpumalanga. Both of their previous two matches against Bidvest Golden Lions (12 - 13) and Leopards (17 - 18) ended in one point defeats.

Both teams will enter tomorrow's match with confidence as Eastern Province outscored Limpopo Blue Bulls five tries to two, in their 31 - 12 third round match played on Thursday.

The Itec Blue Bulls scored twenty nine unanswered points, which included five tries, in a 29 - 0 victory against Border CD in their third round match.

The game will be played on the A Field, and kick-off is at 11am.

U13 Coca-Cola Craven Week day-four fixtures:

A Field:

09h00 – Limpopo Blue Bulls vs GWK Griquas
10h00 – Pumas vs Border
11h00 – Eastern Province vs Itec Blue Bulls
12h00 – Valke vs SWD
13h00 – DHL Western Province vs Boland

B Field:

09h00 – Zimbabwe vs Free State
10h00 – Border CD vs Namibia
11h00 – Bidvest Golden Lions vs Griffons
12h00 – KwaZulu-Natal vs Leopards