Snappy Province blitz hapless Pumas
Fri, 30 Jul 2010 20:59
Anton van Zyl: Playing like a captain should. (c) Gallo
Western Province cemented their place at the top of the Currie Cup standings when they recorded an emphatic 54-13 win over the Pumas at Newlands on Friday.
Province were good value for their seven tries to two win, with the hapless Pumas outfit simply no match for the tournament's form team.
A short burst just before half-time produced three tries for Western Province and could have killed the match as a competition had it not been for the positive Pumas in the second half.
They eventually lost, but scored the most spectacular try of the match. In fact they got two tries against the parsimonious defence of the Western Province.
The Pumas did many things well. Their line-outs were perfect till they changed hookers. Their backs were pedestrian till they changed halves, for then, suddenly, there was quick and accurate distribution and they thrived on it. The scrumming was just all right in that not one collapsed in the whole match. They won the penalty count 9-4.
They clearly are a well-coached and determined team. It was just that here and there Western Province had too much class. They battled to get going but kept on battering away till the dam wall broke and they scored four tries in 11 minutes to secure their bonus point before half-time and be assured of staying at the top of the log.
It started with penalties - one for each and then two more for Western Province to make the score 9-3 after 18 minutes, but the Pumas were doing more defending and they did it with a will. The Pumas had two massive props in Ashley Buys and Ronnie Uys. Uys had the odd determined charge but was stopped hard and dumped by the like of Dwayne Vermeulen - and Newlands shuddered.
From a line-out Western Province went right, left, right, left and Pieter Louw forced his way ahead of two defenders, stretched and scored. 16-0 after 29 minutes.
There was a sudden feeling that the Pumas were disheartened. Gio Aplon scored successive tries. For the first he danced with three Pumas at close quarters and left them lying on the ground in despair as he broke free to score at the posts. 23-3 after 32 minutes.
The Pumas kicked off directly into touch and Western Province went right. Conrad Jantjes came into the line to give Aplon an overlap. The speeding right wing just managed to get away from Tiaan Marx on a sprint for the corner. Elgar Watts made a good fist of tackling Aplon at the corner, but the TMO was able to advise the referee that Aplon had just squeezed over for a try. That made it 28-3 after 34 minutes.
From a scrum on the half-way line, Juan de Jongh scooted through a gap and was away. Western Province flung themselves into the attack till captain Anton van Zyl burst away from a tackle/ruck, ran 15 metres and surfed in for a try, enthusiastically applauded by his father Mike who also had played lock for Western Province in his day.
That was the bonus point and Western Province led 35-3 at the break.
Western Province won the second half as well, but only 19-13 and seven of those 19 points came from an intercept.
The Pumas came with a fresh approach in the second half, keeping the ball in hand and always probing the Western Province defence. But Western Province got the first try when they won a line-out 20 metres out, mauled and drove the maul with increasing momentum over the line for a try credited to Louw. Lionel Cronjé, on for Willem de Waal, converted. 42-3.
The Pumas came back at the home side with phase after phase. A kickable penalty became a five-metre line-out but the throw was skew. A second penalty became a five-metre line-out on the right and this time they won the ball and went wide with firm handling till replacement scrumhalf Shaun Venter dummied and forced his way over for a try close in. 42-8 after 67 minutes as the conversion was astray.
Then they scored the try of the evening which started well inside their own 22. They moved play up the field and Marx took an inside pass from Ricardo Croy inside his own half and cut clean through the Western Province defence. There was support. Pieter Meyer was involved twice and Dee-Jay Terbl;anche was on hand till Junior Bester drove for the line and flipped an underarm pass to replacement hooker Torsten van Jaarsveld who burst over for the splendid try. Again it was close in and again the conversion was missed. 42-13 after 70 minutes.
There was time to score two more tries. The first came when the noble Pumas were running well inside their own half and Cronjé intercepted to saunter 23 metres to score at the posts. 54-13 with four minutes left.
From a line-out on the left near the halfway line Western Province went right. Conrad Hoffmann, now playing fullback, came in outside the outside centre, ran wide and played inside to big, long-striding JJ Engelbrecht who flashed 40 metres, or so, for a try in the right corner.
Even after the final siren sounded the Pumas were trying for another try and nearly got one when Siviwe Magaba broke and was tackled just short and then when he grubbered and Frikkie Welsh carried over,
Man of the Match: It was a contest between two mighty loose forwards - hyperactive Pieter Louw and relentless Duane Vermeulen and our choice of Man of the Match is Duane Vermeulen.
The scorers:
For Western Province:
Tries: Louw 2, Aplon 2, Van Zyl, Cronjé, Engelbrecht
Cons: De Waal 3, Cronjé 2
Pens: De Waal 3
For the Pumas:
Tries: Venter, Van Jaarsveld
Pen: Watts
The teams:
Western Province: 15 Conrad Jantjes, 14 Gio Aplon, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Paul Bosch, 11 Frikkie Welsh, 10 Willem de Waal, 9
Conrad Hoffmann, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Rynardt Elstadt, 6 Pieter Louw, 5 Anton van Zyl (captain), 4 Adriaan Fondse, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Tiaan Liebenberg, 1 JD Moller.
Replacements: 16 Hanyani Shimange, 17 JC Kritzinger, 18 Martin Muller, 19 Pieter Myburgh, 20 Louis Schreuder, 21 Lionel Cronjé, 22 JJ Engelbrecht.
Pumas: 15 Carl Bezuidenhout, 14 Ashwin Scott, 13 Tiaan Marx, 12 Siviwe Magaba, 11 Allister Kettledas, 10 Elgar Watts, 9 Jacques Coetzee, 8 Doppies le Roux, 7 Alwyn Bester, 6 Corné Steenkamp, 5 Marius Coetzer, 4 Willem Serfontein, 3 Ashley Buys, 2 Hannes Franklin (captain), Ronnie Uys.
Replacements: 16 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 17 Dee-Jay Terblanche, 18 Dawie Steyn, 19 Andries Kruger, 20 Pieter Meyer, 21 Shaun Venter, 22 Ricardo Croy.
Referee: Pro Legoete
Assistant referees: Stuart Berry, Eugenia Daniels
TMO: Shaun
Veldsman
By Paul Dobson
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