KNYSNA NEWS - Defending Betway 1st Divi-sion champions Titans Rugby Academy began their 2026 Betway Women's Club Championship campaign over the past weekend with a narrow 14-12 victory over EP club champions Middelburg Stormers.
The match was played at Alberton Rugby Club in Johannesburg.
In a thrilling clash between two of South Africa's oldest standalone women's rugby clubs, Titans made the stronger start, using their physicality and the tactical kicking of Siphenathi Yeko to keep the Stormers pinned inside their own 22m area.
Despite the sustained pressure, the Titans struggled to turn their early dominance into points during the opening 15 to 20 minutes.
The breakthrough eventually came after excellent interplay between Yeko and 19-year-old Amey Harker, who crossed for her first Betway Club Championship try. Yeko added the conversion to put Titans 7-0 ahead.
With five minutes remaining in the first half, Yeko extended the advantage with a try of her own before adding the conversion, giving Titans a 14-0 lead at the interval.
The Middelburg Stormers returned from the break with renewed intensity and dominated the opening 10 minutes of the second half.
Ywayda de Vos and Shanice Scholtz, who had been flown in from the SA U23 camp on Sunday evening specifically for the match, immediately made their presence felt. De Vos opened the Stormers' scoring with an impressive individual try, which Scholtz converted to reduce the deficit to seven points.
Just five minutes later, Scholtz crossed the try line herself to bring Middelburg within striking distance at 14-12. Her conversion attempt from out wide narrowly missed, leaving the Titans with a slender two-point advantage.
The closing stages turned into a test of composure and character as Middelburg continued to apply pressure in search of a winning score.
The Titans, however, held firm under the relentless pressure and defended their narrow advantage through the final five minutes to secure a hard-fought victory.
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