Elephants chasing third consecutive U21 Shield win in KuGompo City

The table-topping EP Elephants will be looking to inflict more misery on a struggling Border Bulldogs outfit when the teams clash in the SA U21 Shield rugby competition in KuGompo City on Saturday.

While EP are unbeaten after two outings, the Bulldogs have made a sluggish start to their Shield title defence after losses against the Boland Cavaliers and SWD Eagles.

If EP are to pull off a third consecutive win at the Sisa Dukashe Stadium in Mdantsane near KuGompo City they will have one foot in the Shield semifinals (kickoff 2pm).

Last week, a vital 38-24 away win over the Boland Kavaliers in Worcester left EP on top of the South Section of the Shield competition.

After kicking off their campaign with a thrilling 29-26 victory over the SWD Eagles in Gqeberha, EP produced another solid display to signal they will be among the favourites to lift silverware in 2026.

EP’s try scorers against Boland were Aiden Els, Lyle Meintjies, Angelo Adams, Xander Wiltshire and Johan van Zyl.

In-form Meintjies successfully converted all EP’s tries and also booted a penalty to help seal victory for his team.

“The team will stay humble after our opening two wins,” EP coach Shaun “Trok” Oliver said.

EP Elephants U21 coach Shaun "Trok" Oliver (Supplied)

“Now we are fully focused on our next job against the Bulldogs in Mdantsane on Saturday.

“Against Boland the guys stuck to the plan, and we got five valuable points on the road.”

Border, who slumped to a 37-17 defeat against the SWD Eagles in George last week, will be desperate for their first win of the season.

Nine provincial teams have been divided into two sections in the Shield.

The south comprises Boland (2024 champions), Border, Eastern Province and SWD; and the north, featuring 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.

Logs (all teams have played two matches):

South Section: EP Elephants 10, SWD Eagles 7, Boland 6, Border Bulldogs 1.

North Section: Griffons 10, Limpopo 6, Pumas 5, Valke 2, Griquas 0.

Saturday’s fixtures:

South Section: Boland v SWD Eagles, Border v EP Elephants.

North Section: Griffons v Valke, Griquas v Pumas.