{"id":76603,"date":"2025-07-02T12:33:27","date_gmt":"2025-07-02T10:33:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=76603"},"modified":"2025-07-02T12:33:27","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T10:33:27","slug":"results-final-day-lsen-week-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/?p=76603","title":{"rendered":"Results | Final Day | LSEN Week 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_76613\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-76613\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-76613\" src=\"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/lsen-2025-final--400x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-76613\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Eastern Province snatched a one-point win over Western Province in a tightly contested unofficial. Photo: LSEN Week WhatsApp Channel.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Are underdog stories not the most inspiring ones? <strong>Eastern Province<\/strong> beat <strong>Western Province<\/strong> in the unofficial final for the second year in a row and was the only side to go unbeaten at the 2025 LSEN Week.<\/p>\n<p>While they might have been regarded as underdogs in 2024, with a second title in succession, they have shed that tag and replaced it with top dogs.<\/p>\n<p>In a tight contest, it was level at 3-3 at halftime and too close to call.<\/p>\n<p>Eastern Province, though, played with a burning desire to repeat as the unofficial champs, and they pulled it off by the smallest of margins &#8211; a single point. It was 11-10 when the final whistle blew.<\/p>\n<p>Western Province had given a good account of themselves, but it was Eastern Province who jumped with joy. Their flyhalf <strong>Zaynodeen Bennie<\/strong> was named the man of the match.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_76614\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-76614\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-76614\" src=\"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Eastern-Province-trophy-lsen--400x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-76614\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Eastern Province went unbeaten and won the title for a second year in succession. Photo: LSEN Week WhatsApp Channel.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Free State<\/strong> also ended their tournament on a high note, defeating the <strong>Sharks<\/strong> 46-10.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Maluti Hoogland<\/strong> eighthman, <strong>Rato Ramanotsi<\/strong>, rampaged his way through the Sharks&#8217; defence for a brace of tries, which helped him earn the man of the match accolade.<\/p>\n<p>The <strong>Blue Bulls<\/strong> also made a strong closing statement when they outplayed the <strong>Griffons<\/strong> 41-14.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Magalies&#8217;<\/strong> eighthman, <strong>Marthinus Bester<\/strong>, bested the defence on two occasions and received the man of the match award.<\/p>\n<p>The <strong>Lions<\/strong> were the bigger cat against the <strong>Pumas<\/strong>, romping to a 40-5 victory.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Goudwes<\/strong> tighthead prop, <strong>Sbongakonke Ngcobo<\/strong>, muscled his way over the line twice to leave no doubt that he was a deserved man of the match.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_76615\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-76615\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-76615 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/ssschoolsplus.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/lsen-shagan-philander--400x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-76615\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Boland flyhalf, Shagan Philander, received the man of the match award after guiding his side to a win over the Leopards. Photo: LSEN Week WhatsApp Channel.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>South Western Districts<\/strong> and the <strong>Valke<\/strong> played their hearts out in a dazzling 33-29 victory for the Western Cape side.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Van Kervel<\/strong> blindside flank and <strong>SWD<\/strong> captain, <strong>Quintin Visser<\/strong>, was a perfect four out of four from the kicking tee, a crucial contribution in a tight game, and was named the man of the match.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Wellington SOS<\/strong> flyhalf, <strong>Shagan Philander<\/strong>, once again proved influential in <strong>Boland&#8217;s<\/strong> narrow 32-28 triumph over the <strong>Leopards<\/strong>. He scored a try, a penalty and two conversions to take home the man of the match award.<\/p>\n<p>After the last match, a 23-player SA Special Schools squad was named. It included\u00a013 Eastern Province players, seven from Western Province, two from the Valke, and one Boland representative.<\/p>\n<p><strong>SA Special Schools Squad\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>1. Liam Allen (Western Province)<br \/>\n2. Jean McEwan (Western Province)<br \/>\n3. Luciano Byneveldt (Eastern Province)<br \/>\n4. Rajh Felix (Eastern Province)<br \/>\n5. Rigen Chigosie (Valke)<br \/>\n6. Shaundre Pienaar (Eastern Province)<br \/>\n7. Chandley Jacobs (Western Province)<br \/>\n8. Jordan Derrocks (Eastern Province)<br \/>\n9. Gavin Armoed (Eastern Province)<br \/>\n10. Yusuf Hannibal (Western Province)<br \/>\n11. Najmee Hajie (Boland)<br \/>\n12. Uvern Adams (Eastern Province)<br \/>\n13. Marcos Lubaco (Western Province)<br \/>\n14. Rylan Hawkins (Eastern Province)<br \/>\n15. Ralton Rhode (Western Province)<br \/>\n16. Andre Barnard (Eastern Province)<br \/>\n17. Liza Tetani (Eastern Province)<br \/>\n18. Ayema Mbotya (Eastern Province)<br \/>\n19. Kaydon Kerspuy (Eastern Province)<br \/>\n20. Siya Mangali (Westen Province)<br \/>\n21. Elario Forbes (Eastern Province)<br \/>\n22. Thinus van Willing (Valke)<br \/>\n23. Zaynodeen Bennie (Eastern Province)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Scorers<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Free State 46 (29) &#8211;<\/strong> Tries: Ruben van Aswegen (2), Rato Ramanotsi (2), Thabiso Motsoeneng, Nomario Jannetjies, Duncan Montgomery, Obinna Sandys. Conversions: Nomario Jannetjies (2), Ruben van Aswegen; <strong>Sharks 10 (5) &#8211;<\/strong> Tries: Ayabonga Nqopiso, Hayden Oroschin.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Blue Bulls 41 (22) &#8211;<\/strong> Tries: Marthinus Bester (Captain) (2), Blessing Dhlamini, Lefa Nsibane, Reitumetse Mbele, JT Johnston, Sphiwe Mokau. Conversions: Juandre Marias, Reitumetse Mbele, Denzil Coetzee; <strong>Griffons 14 (0) &#8211;<\/strong> Tries: Nyombe Hlahla, Ricardo Chatwind. Conversions: Nyombe Hlahla (2).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Lions 40 (7) &#8211;<\/strong> Tries: Sbongakonke Ngcobo (2), Jeremiah Joshua, Timothy Nortman, Lwazi Dlamini, Donovan Jansen van Vuuren. Conversions: Timothy Nortman (5); <strong>Pumas 5 (0) &#8211;<\/strong> Tries: Mongezi Qometa.<\/p>\n<p><strong>SWD 33 (21) &#8211;<\/strong> Tries: Brendan-junior Kasanya (2), Sakhie Dyani, Wayden Heyns, Ambrace Africa. Conversions: Quintin Visser (Captain) (4); <strong>Valke 29 (10) &#8211;<\/strong> Tries: Rigen Chigosie (2), Thinus van Willing (2), Liyema Songinzi. Conversions: Ompile Dubase, Pieter le Roux (Captain).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Boland 32 (19) &#8211;<\/strong> Tries: Giwaan Isaacs (2), Shagan Philander, Lorenzo Harmse, Gabriel Smith. Conversions: Shagan Philander (2). Penalties: Shagn Philander; <strong>Leopards 28 (15) &#8211;<\/strong> Tries: Reamogetse Gaje (2), Michael Cloete (2). Conversions: Boeta Johnson. Penalties: Boeta Johnson (2).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Eastern Province 11 (3) &#8211;<\/strong> Tries: Kaydon Kerspuy. Penalties: Zaynodeen Bennie (2); <strong>Western Province 10 (3) &#8211;<\/strong> Tries: Jaydon September. Conversion: Yusuf Hannibal. Penatlies: Yusuf Hannibal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Are underdog stories not the most inspiring ones? Eastern Province beat Western Province in the unofficial final for the second year in a row and was the only side to go unbeaten at the 2025 LSEN Week. While they might have been regarded as underdogs in 2024, with a second title in succession, they have [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":76614,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76603","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76603","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/40"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=76603"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76603\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/76614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=76603"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=76603"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.ssschoolsplus.co.za\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=76603"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}