Province and Pumas rout their rivals
Pumas were simply too good for the young Eastern Province Kings outfit 53-20 in Nelspruit.
Not far behind was WP, who travelled to Kempton Park to have the Falcons a 59-31 hammering.
In the two other games of the day the Blue Bulls hung on desperately in the end to edge the SWD Eagles 28-23, while the Golden Lions continued their rise up the table with a 64-28 rout of the Leopards.
All Friday's matches:
SWD 23-28 Blue Bulls
The Blue Bulls defended like demons in the dying minutes of the second half to hold on for a 28-23 (half-time 21-10) win over the SWD Eagles in their Currie Cup qualifier at Outeniqua Park in George.
The old saying – a game of two halves – perfectly summed up this match in which both teams scored three tries.
The Eagles played the final 20 minutes of the game in the Blue Bulls 22 and threatened to score constantly during the last minutes of the game but the defence of the Blue Bulls proved too strong to break down and after conceding three penalties on their try line the Eagles finally made a mistake as the final whistle blew.
In the end the Blue Bulls did enough in a dominant first half, which saw them take a 21-10 lead into half-time. They took an early 6-0 lead through two penalties by fly-half Tony Jantjies.
Even though it was the visitors who dominated the early exchanges, it was the Eagles who scored the first try of the match against the run of play with their first visit to the Blue Bulls 22.
Prop Layle Delo barged over the line from a ruck in the 25th minute after the hosts continually tested the defence of the visitors. Jacquin Jansen slotted the conversion to give the Eagles a narrow 7-6 lead.
The Blue Bulls hit back immediately after that with two tries in the space of two minutes. First lock Ruben van Heerden pulled his team back into the lead before fullback Divan Rossouw scored a fantastic try in the corner.
With the Blue Bulls on the attack, Rossouw kicked the ball down field and chased after it. Eagles captain and fly half Martin du Toit failed to control the ball and it bounced perfectly for Rossouw who collected and dived over for his team's second try.
It gave the Blue Bulls a commanding 18-7 lead before Jantjies and Jansen slotted a penalty each as the visitors went into half-time with a 21-10 lead.
The Blue Bulls enjoyed 61percent possession in the first half while the Eagles were poor in conceding nine penalties in the first 40 minutes, however, they managed to turn things around in the second half.
The Eagles came back strongly in the second 40, scoring two tries in the first 10 minutes of the second half which took them within a point of the Blue Bulls score at 21-20.
However, they conceded a crucial try a few minutes later which all but sealed their fate as Alandre van Rooyen fell over from a rolling maul.
The scorers:
For the SWD Eagles:
Tries: Delo, Hartnick, Haupt
Con: Jansen
Pens: Jansen, Kean
Blue Bulls:
Tries: Van Heerden, Rossouw, Van Rooyen
Cons: Jantjies, De Beer
Pens: Jantjies 3
Teams:
SWD Eagles: 15 Jacquin Jansen, 14 Lenesteyo Nomdo, 13 Kirsten Heyns, 12 Wilneth Engelbrecht, 11 Daniel Roberts, 10 Martin du Toit (captain), 9 Johan Steyn, 8 Thor Halvorsen, 7 Lyndon Hartnick, 6 Janneman Stander, 5 Lodewyk Uys, 4 Peet van der Walt, 3 Dean Hopp, 2 Kurt Haupt, 1 Layle Delo.
Replacements: 16 Mark Pretorius, 17 Nemo Oelofse, 18 Marco Kruger, 19 Christo du Plessis, 20 Mzo Dyanti, 21 Thomas Kean, 22 Hansie Graaff.
Blue Bulls: 15 Divan Rossouw, 14 Kefentse Mahlo, 13 Dan Kriel, 12 Marquit September, 11 Jade Stiglingh, 10 Tony Jantjies, 9 Andre Warner, 8 Hanro Liebenberg (captain), 7 Nic de Jager, 6 Ruan Steenkamp, 5 Abongile Nonkontwana, 4 Ruben van Heerden, 3 Entienne Swanepoel, 2 Jan van der Merwe, 1 Nqobiziswe Mxoli.
Replacements: 16 Alandre van Rooyen, 17 Andrew Beerwinkel, 18 Aston Fortuin, 19 Tapiwa Tsomondo, 20 Ivan van Zyl, 21 Tinus de Beer, 22 Alcino Isaacs.
Referee: Sindile Ngcese
Pumas 53-20 EP Kings
The Pumas scored eight tries to three as they routed the Eastern Province Kings 53-20 (half-time 29-8) in their new provincial tournament fixture at Mbombela stadium, Nelspruit, on Friday.
The Kings arrived in Nelspruit having won only two of their previous nine games and placed second last on the standings.
By contrast the Pumas were sitting pretty and in third position on the log and tagged as obvious favourites for the encounter.
But it was Eastern Province Kings who opened the scoring first when wing Yaw Penxe ran in for a try in the second minute.
But four tries from the Pumas before the break, with two from hooker Frank Hearne, saw them strike up a commanding lead over the Kings. Flank Lambert Groenewald secured the bonus point try shortly before the whistle sounded for half-time. Flyhalf Justin van Staden converted three of the four tries and also landed a penalty.
With lock Tazz Fuzani doing well in the loose and line-outs, the Kings narrowed the gap when play resumed as Penxe got in for his second try of the game. Michael Brink converted after landing an earlier penalty for the Pumas to lead 29-15.
But flank Brian Shabangu's secured the home team's fifth try in the 55th minute with the Kings struggling to keep the strong running Pumas at bay. But they managed to keep trading blows as Courtney Winnaar scored their third try only for Groenewald to reply with his second try for the Pumas after 61 minutes.
With 10 minutes remaining, replacement Reuben Johannes crashed over for his team's seventh try and Van Staden converted for a 46-20 lead.
The Pumas took it past the 50-mark when Deon Helberg touched down with five minutes left on the clock to cap a fine evening for the hosts.
The scorers:
Pumas:
Tries: Herne 2, Sampson, Groenewald 2, Shabangu, Johannes, Helberg
Cons: Van Staden 5
Pens: Van Staden
EP Kings:
Tries: Penxe 2, Winnaar
Con: Brink
Pen: Brink
Teams:
Pumas: 15 Heinrich Steyl, 14 Bernado Botha, 13 Wilmaure Louw, 12 Hennie Skorbinski, 11 Marcello Sampson, 10 Justin van Staden, 9 Reynier van Rooyen, 8 Nardus van der Walt, 7 Lambert Groenewald, 6 Brian Shabangu, 5 Hugo Kloppers (captain), 4 Stephan Greeff, 3 Dee-Jay Terblanche, 2 Frankie Herne, 1 Yskas Kotze.
Replacements: 16 Swys du Toit, 17 Sabelo Nhlapo, 18 Jannie Stander, 19 Reuben Johannes, 20 Emile Temperman, 21 Marlou van Niekerk, 22 Deon Helberg.
EP Kings: 15 Michael Brink, 14 Ivan-John du Preez, 13 Somila Jho, 12 JP du Plessis, 11 Lindelwe Zungu, 10 Garrick Mattheus, 9 Rouche Nel, 8 Lusanda Badiyana, 7 Stephan Zaayman, 6 Juan Jonck, 5 Sintu Manjezi, 4 Mthetheleli Fuzani, 3 Louis Albertse, 2 Warrick Venter, 1 Liam Hendricks.
Replacements: 16 Jean-Pierre Jamieson, 17 Mzu Sofisa, 18 Cornell Hess, 19 Stephanus Nieuwoudt, 20 Sibusiso Ngcokovane, 21 Siphu Msutwana, 22 Courtney Winnaar.
Referee: Lourens van der Merwe
Falcons 31-59 Western Province
Left wing JP Lewis scored three tries as Western Province moved to the top of the provincial tournament log with a 59-29 (half-time 26-17) thumping of the Falcons at the Barnard Stadium in Kempton Park on Friday.
Lewis rounded off his hat-trick shortly after the half-time break but it was the home side who made a strong start, opening up a 14-point lead within the first 10 minutes as tries from lock Shane Kirkwood and left wing Grant Janke set the visitors on the back foot.
Province hit back with two tries of their own as wingers Lewis and Khanyo Ngcukana crossed the line but with Stormers flyhalf Robert du Preez only able to convert Ngcukana's try, the visitors were left two points adrift. The visitors extended their lead to five points as flyhalf Karlo Aspeling landed a penalty but then hooker Chad Solomon and Lewis rounded off the first half with tries to leave Province nine points ahead at the break and a bonus point in the bag.
WP then took control of the match in the second half, running in another four tries before the Falcons were able to add anything to their score. Lewis grabbed finished off his hat-trick just six minutes after the restart while Du Preez waltzed over for his own converted try just four minutes later to leave the visitors 23-points up.
The tries kept coming for WP as replacement flank Eital Bredenkamp rumbled over for another seven pointer before Devon Williams, who replaced the injured Ngcukana, crossed the whitewash for Province's eighth try of the afternoon.
Centre Andries Trutter managed to cross the line for the hosts with 10 minutes remaining before replacement hooker Cullen Collopy scored WP's ninth try with Du Preez converting to leave the visitors 37 points ahead and only five minutes remaining on the stadium clock.
The Falcons rounded off the afternoon with a consolation, bonus-point try through lock Marlyn Williams and after replacement wing Christo Coetzee slotted the conversion, referee Quinton Immelman blew the whistle to send WP to the top of the log with nine wins from 10 matches.
The scorers:
Falcons:
Tries: Truter, Janke, Williams, Kirkwood
Cons: Aspeling 2, Coetzee, Du Plessis
Pen: Aspeling
Western Province:
Tries: Lewis 3, Solomon, Collopy, Williams, Bredenkamp, Ngcukana, Du Preez
Cons: Du Preez 7
Falcons: 15 Christian Rust, 14 Coert Cronje, 13 Andries Truter, 12 Ruan Allerston, 11 Grant Janke, 10 Karlo Aspeling, 9 Anrich Richter, 8 Ernst Ladendorf, 7 JP Mostert (captain), 6 Adriaan Pansegrouw, 5 Marlyn Williams, 4 Shane Kirkwood, 3 Grant Watts, 2 Dean Muir, 1 Henri Boshoff.
Replacements: 16 Gihard Visagie, 17 Andries Schutte, 18 Reg Muller, 19 Barend Steyn, 20 Johan Pretorius, 21 JP Du Plessis, 22 Christo Coetzee.
Western Province: 15 Grant Hermanus, 14 Khanyo Ngcukana, 13 Johnny Kotze, 12 Tim Whitehead, 11 JP Lewis, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Godlen Masimla, 8 Kobus van Dyk, 7 Janco Venter, 6 Luke Stringer, 5 Chris van Zyl (captain), 4 Jurie van Vuuren, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Chad Solomon, 1 Kyle Whyte.
Replacements: 16 Cullen Collopy, 17 Christo van Wyk, 18 David Ribbans, 19 Eital Bredenkamp, 20 Jano Vermaak, 21 Dennis Cox, 22 Devon Williams.
Referee: Quinton Immelman
Leopards 28 – 64 Golden Lions XV
The Golden Lions XV won the battle of the cats as they ran in 10 tries to beat the Leopards 64-28 (half-time 26-7) in a provincial tournament clash at Olen Park Stadium in Potchefstroom on Friday.
Both sides secured a bonus-point for scoring four tries but the Lions had registered theirs by the time referee Stuart Berry had blown the half-time whistle. The Leopards started brightly by opening the scoring as early as the fourth minute when right wing Bradley Moolman dashed over the line with fullback Rhyno Smith converting to give the hosts a 7-0 advantage.
That was the only success the home team would have in the opening half as the Lions took control. The men from Johannesburg opened their account through tighthead prop, Jacques van Rooyen, with flyhalf Marnitz Boshoff adding the extra points to level matters after 15 minutes.
Lions inside centre Jarryd Sage and hooker Ramone Samuels added tries to the tally before Berry dished out the first yellow card of the game, sending Leopards hooker Wilmar Arnoldi to the bin for the remainder of the first half with the visitors 19-7 up.
Flank Cyle Brink rounded off a good first half by crossing the line shortly before the half-time whistle for the bonus-point try which Boshoff converted to leave the Lions 19 points in front.
The visitors turned on the style in the second stanza, opening up a 38-point lead as tries from replacement fullback, Sylvian Mahuza, No 8 Ruan Ackerman and lock Lourens Erasmus knocked the stuffing out of the home side. The Leopards find some gas in the tank and hit back with two tries of their own through scrumhalf Malherbe Swart and replacement wing Jaco Hayward. Smith converted both tries to reduce the deficit to 14 points before Berry whipped out a yellow card again.
Mahuza, who started the scoring in the second half, was given a ten-minute respite by the referee which allowed the home side to register their fourth try, and a bonus-point, as Arnoldi rumbled over to score. But it was the visitors who finished off the game the stronger by running in a further three tries as Erasmus burst over for his second score, as well as replacement centre Rohan Jansen van Rensburg and left wing Anthony Volmink.
Scorers
Leopards:
Tries: Moolman, Swart, Hayward, Arnoldi
Cons: Smith 4
Golden Lions:
Tries: Erasmus 2, Van Rooyen, Sage, Samuels, Brink, Mahuza, Ackerman, Jansen van Rensburg, Volmink
Cons: Boshoff 7
Teams:
Leopards: 15 Rhyno Smith, 14 Bradley Moolman, 13 Juffrou Vermeulen, 12 Johan Deysel, 11 Lucian Cupido, 10 Schalk Hugo, 9 Malherbe Swart, 8 Juandre Rudolph (captain), 7 Marno Redelinghuys, 6 Jaco Jordaan, 5 Walt Steenkamp, 4 Francois Robertse, 3 Bart le Roux, 2 Wilmar Arnoldi, 1 Mashudu Mafela.
Replacements: 16 Dane van der Westhuyzen, 17 Roan Grobbelaar, 18 Stairs Mhlongo, 19 Juan Language,20 Chriswil September, 21 Gene Willemse, 22 Jaco Hayward.
Golden Lions: 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Selom Gavor, 13 Nicolaas Hanekom, 12 Jarryd Sage, 11 Anthony Volmink, 10 Marnitz Boshoff (captain), 9 Ross Cronjé, 8 Ruan Ackermann, 7 Cyle Brink, 6 Warwick Tecklenburg, 5 Makou Erasmus, 4 Andries Ferreira, 3 Jacques van Rooyen, 2 Ramone Samuels, 1 Corné Fourie.
Replacements: 16 Pieter Jansen, 17 Dylan Smith, 18 Martin Muller, 19 Robert Kruger, 20 Ashlon Davids, 21 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 22 Sylvian Mahuza.
Referee: Stuart Berry
Source: sarugby.co.za
