Unbeaten Pumas stretch their lead

The unbeaten Pumas extended their lead at the top of the national First Division log to 11 points with another big win.

The Mpumalanga team secured a bonus-point victory over the Border Bulldogs in East London, while the Leopards hopped into second place thanks to their 38-27 away-victory against the Falcons.

This was assisted by the Boland Cavaliers’ edging the SWD Eagles 35-30 in Wellington and given the log-jam at the top of the table with five pool rounds remaining they will face tough competition for a home semifinal going forward.

In the other match, the EP Kings thrashed the Griffons 63-7 in Port Elizabeth to dent the Welkom team’s hopes of sneaking into the semifinals through the back door.

Border Bulldogs 10-42 Pumas

In East London, the Pumas overcame a determined first-half display by the Border Bulldogs to claim their ninth victory of the season and secure their sixth bonus-point for tries.

The Bulldogs started the clash strongly with prop Blake Kyd opening up the scoring in the 15th minute after crashing over the tryline, while fullback Dale Sabbagh added a penalty to take their points tally to 10 for the half. They supported this with a solid defensive effort, which limited the Pumas to only two tries.

But the Pumas took control of the match in the second half and earned another four tries for their efforts. Flyhalf JC Roos, meanwhile, kept the scoreboard ticking as he slotted over all six conversions to push their score to 42. Unfortunately for the home team, they failed to recover from this and finished the match with a scoreless second-half.

The scorers:

For the Border Bulldogs:

Try: Kyd

Con: Sabbagh

Pen: Sabbagh

For the Pumas:

Tries: Tries: Van der Walt, Bouwer, Bell, Mtyanda, Speckman, Marx

Cons: Roos 6

Teams:

Border Bulldogs: 15 Dale Sabbagh, 14 Ruan Jacobs, 13 Quinton Crocker, 12 Dwayne Jenner, 11 Andrew van Wyk, 10 Karlo Aspeling, 9 Sinovuyo Nyoka, 8 Rynardt van Wyk, 7 Gareth Krause (Captain), 6 Siyabulela Mdaka, 5 Wayne Lemley, 4 Sthembiso Mhlongo, 3 Wesley Cloete, 2 Dean Muir, 1 Blake Kyd.

Replacements: 16 Khwezi Mkhafu, 17 Renier Schoeman, 18 Brian Shabangu, 19 Juan Pretorius, 20 Shannon Rick, 21 Niell Jacobs, 22 Lolo Waka.

Pumas: 15 JW Bell, 14 Jerome Pretorius, 13 Wilmaure Louw, 12 Stefan Watermeyer, 11 Rosco Speckman, 10 JC Roos, 9 Shaun Venter, 8 RW Kember, 7 Christo le Roux, 6 Jaco Bouwer, 5 Eduan Van Der Walt (Captain), 4 Lubabalo Mtyanda, 3 De-Jay Terblanche, 2 Drew van Coller, 1 Vincent Koch.

Replacements: 16 Francois Du Toit, 17 Corné Fourie, 18 Uzair Cassiem, 19 Renaldo Bothma, 20 Francois de Klerk, 21 Tiaan Marx, 22 Wilhelm Loock.

Referee: Tiaan Jonker

Assistant referees: Matt Kemp, Christie du Preez

EP Kings 63-7 Griffons

The clash in Port Elizabeth was one-sided from the start as the EP Kings delivered a fine all-round performance to outplay the Griffons completely.

The Kings racked up an impressive nine tries thanks to their innovative attack and ability to use their chances, while the Griffons had only a first-half try by Japie Nel to show for their efforts.

Unfortunately for the Kings, the victory failed to improve their fourth-place log position. However, it left them only one point behind the Eagles and three points behind the second-placed Leopards, meaning they could still secure a home semifinal.

The scorers:

For the EP Kings:

Tries: Oosthuizen, Franklin, Killian, Fihlani 2, Mamojele, Agaba, Stevens 2

Cons: Van Breda 9

For the Griffons:

Try: Nel

Con: Kritzinger

Teams:

EP Kings: 15 Scott van Breda, 14 Michael Killian, 13 Wayne Stevens, 12 Tiger Mangweni (Captain), 11 Marcello Sampson, 10 George Whitehead, 9 Nicolas Vergallo, 8 Tim Agaba, 7 Devin Oosthuizen, 6 Stefan Willemse, 5 Rynier Bernardo, 4 Samora Fihlani, 3 Charl du Plessis, 2 Hannes Franklin, 1 Brenden Olivier.

Replacements: 16 Albe De Swardt, 17 Lizo Gqoboka, 18 Thabo Mamojele, 19 Kuselo Moyake, 20 Dwayne Kelly, 21 Ntabeni Dukisa, 22 Brian Skosana.

Griffons: 15 Aubrey McDonald, 14 Vuyo Mboto, 13 Werner Griesel (Captain), 12 Japie Nel, 11 Shane Hancke, 10 Tertius Maarman, 9 Inus Kritzinger, 8 Tertius Daniller, 7 Marnus Briedenhann, 6 Willmar Groenewald, 5 Chris Ehlers, 4 Jeremy Jordaan, 3 Sarel Louw, 2 Derick van Heerden, 1 Schalk van der Merwe.

Replacements: 16 AJ Le Roux, 17 Heinrich Roelfse, 18 Kevin Stevens, 19 Mlungisi Bali, 20 Martin Sithole, 21 Oshwill Nortje, 22 Shaun Prins.

Referee: Marius Jonker

Assistant referees: Lesego Legoete, Rodney Bonaparte

Falcons 27-38 Leopards

The Leopards survived a strong second-half fightback by the Falcons at the Barnard Stadium in Kempton Park to secure their 38-27 victory and climb up the log table.

The Leopards dominated the first half as they ran in three tries – the first of which was in the seventh minute – for their 21 points, while the Falcons' only points were scored from a penalty by Juan Kotze.

The Leopards extended their lead in the second half as SA Under-2o wing Luther Obi scored two tries and replacement lock Stephan Bezuidenhout one, to push the match beyond the Falcons' reach.

With the victory in the bag, the Leopards let their guard down while the Falcons upped the ante, which saw them run in an impressive four tries in 21 minutes to salvage some pride and secure a bonus point.

The scorers:

For the Falcons:

Tries: Maritz, Nokwe, Hendricks 2

Cons: Hendricks, Roberts

Pen: Kotze

For the Leopards:

Tries: Dames, Tossel, Obi 2, Kruger, Bezuidenhout

Cons: Engelbrecht 4

Teams:

Falcons: 15 Kyle Hendricks, 14 Sandile Ngcobo, 13 Coert Cronje, 12 Willie Odendaal, 11 Jongi Nokwe, 10 Jaun Kotze, 9 Anrich Richter, 8 JP Mostert (Captain), 7 MP van Eeden, 6 Vince Gwavu, 5 Jacques Alberts, 4 Francois Fourie, 3 Wessel Du Rand, 2 Birtie Powell, 1 Brendan Tshoshane.

Replacements: 16 Bruce Muller, 17 Dandre van der Westhuizen, 18 Shaun McGeer, 19 Friedle Olivier, 20 Jaco Snyman, 21 Wesley Roberts, 22 Franco Maritz.

Leopards: 15 Danie Dames, 14 Luther Obi, 13 Charl Weideman, 12 George Tossel, 11 Edmar Marais, 10 Adriaan Engelbrecht, 9 Tiaan Dorfling, 8 Henro Swart, 7 Robert Kruger, 6 Philip de Wet, 5 Peet van der Walt, 4 Luvuyiso Lusaseni, 3 Elardus Venter, 2 Edgar Marutlulle (Captain), 1 BG Uys.

Replacements: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Martin Dreyer, 18 Stephan Bezuidenhout, 19 Victor Kruger, 20 Bernie van Rooyen, 21 Marnus Tack, 22 Jarryd Buys.

Referee: Rasta Rasivhenge

Assistant referees: Lusanda Jam, Stefan Breytenbach

Boland Cavaliers 35-30 SWD Eagles

The battle in Wellington was fierce as the Boland Cavaliers and SWD Eagles threw everything at each other with an eye on semifinal places.

The Cavaliers had an edge in the first half thanks to an early try by captain Franzel September, which bolstered their confidence. They continued to capitalise on their point-scoring chances with Jonathan Francke crossing the chalk in the 12th minute to increase their lead.

But the SWD Eagles matched these efforts in the second quarter to earn two tries of their own. With two minutes left in the first half Boland’s Cheswin Williams ran in their third try for a 22-15 lead.

This, however, was short-lived as the Eagles cancelled it out with their third try one minute into the second half. Both teams crossed the line for a fourth time in the half, which forced the game to come down to goal kicking.

And with Boland flyhalf Eric Zana slotting over three penalties and three conversions in total to the Eagles two penalties and two conversions, the Boland side emerged victorious.

Unfortunately for Boland, however, they remain in fifth position on the log.

The scorers:

For the Boland Cavaliers:

Tries: Gerber, Williams, September, Francke

Cons: Zana 3

Pens: Zana 3

For the SWD Eagles:

Tries: Bock, Wagman, Le Roux, Ferreira

Cons: Smith, Van Staden

Pens: Van Staden 2

Teams:

Boland Cavaliers: 15 Jacquin Jansen, 14 Cheswin Williams, 13 Jonathan Francke, 12 Wynand Pienaar, 11 Brendon April, 10 Eric Zana, 9 Ntando Kebe, 8 PJ van Zyl, 7 Bradley Fortuin, 6 Franzel September (Captain), 5 John-Charles Astle, 4 Ben Venter, 3 Jacques Kotze, 2 Clemen Lewis, 1 Sabelo Nhlapo.

Replacements: 16 Ulrich Pretorius, 17 Francois Hanekom, 18 Hanno Kitshoff, 19 Lodewyk Uys, 20 Ricky Schroeder, 21 Braam Gerber, 22 Senan Van Der Merwe.

SWD Eagles: 15 Justin van Staden, 14 Clinton Wagman, 13 Gerrit Smith, 12 Jeff Taljard, 11 Alshaun Bock, 10 Martin du Toit, 9 Jandré Blom, 8 Christo Du Plessis, 7 Buran Parks, 6 Kabamba Floors (Captain), 5 Mzwanele Zito, 4 Schalk Oelofse, 3 Grant Kemp, 2 Martin Ferreira, 1 Roy Godfrey.

Replacements: 16 Hansie van Dyk, 17 Raoul Larson, 18 Grant le Roux, 19 Lyndon Hartnick, 20 Dumisane Meslane, 21 Mzo Dyantyi, 22 Daniel Roberts.

Referee: Quinton Immelman

Assistant referees: Daniel Fortuin, Linston Manuels

First Division standings

(Under played, won, points)

1. Pumas (9, 9, 42)

2. Leopards (9, 6, 31)

3. SWD Eagles (9, 5, 29)

4. EP Kings (9, 5, 28)

5. Boland Cavaliers (9, 6, 27)

6. Griffons (9, 2, 15)

7. Border Bulldogs (9, 1, 11)

8. Falcons (9, 1, 11)