A rampant EP Elephants side charged into the semifinals of the SA Rugby U21 Shield rugby competition when they thrashed the SWD Eagles 57-19 in George on Friday.
EP will now face the Boland Cavaliers in a playoff to decide which team advances to play the winners of the North Section in a Grand Shield final.
Boland ended on top of the South Section table on points difference after they hammered the hapless Border Bulldogs 78-0 in Wellington on Saturday.
SA Rugby have yet to announce where the semifinal will be played, but it is expected to be in Wellington.
EP were keen to pile on the points to improve their points difference and they crossed the Eagles line on eight occasions on Saturday.
The Elephants try scorers were Sean van Zijl (2), Xander Wiltshire, Dandre van Jaarsveld, Cameron Doyle, Lyle Meintjies, Luyolo Nqeno and Brent Koraan.
Meintjies was in good form off the kicking tee and booted seven conversions and penalty.
“We will be playing for the Eastern Cape in the semifinal,” Elephants coach Shaun “Trok” Oliver said.
“Now we are looking forward to the semi-final and we are not afraid of the Boland Cavaliers.
“It was important to maintain our winning momentum ahead of the semis.”
EP won five of the six matches they played during the league phase of the competition to qualify for the playoffs.
Last week a fired-up EP side scored six scintillating tries on their way to a resounding 41-21 win over the Border Bulldogs in Gqeberha.
Nine provincial teams were 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 six matches): Boland Kavaliers 26, EP Elephants 26, SWD Eagles 9, Border Bulldogs 5.
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