Craven Week: Province edge gutsy Lions
WRAP: There are more ways than one of playing a rugby match. Here we had an enthralling match and a 13-5 victory for Western Province over the Golden Lions – a really gripping match in what is becoming an old-fashioned way, one that pitted eager attack against zealous defence – two sides of rugby bravery and skill that make up both facets of the game – attack and defence.
In the first three matches of the day, 203 points were scored, an average of 68 points a match. In this match, there were just 18 points scored and what a thriller it was!
Playing with the Berg wind, Western Province dominated possession in the first half and so dominated territory and did most of the attacking. They ended up winning the half 6-5 because the Golden Lions’ defence was magnificent in organisation and execution.
The Western Province domination was not small. It was 74% in the first half. 74% plus wind and all they had for it were two penalty goals by Kade Wolhuter, often a fullback but playing flyhalf today.
Wolhuter’s first kick at goal was from 52 metres from the Golden Lions goal line, and seven metres from touch. It hit the crossbar and bounced out. But he goaled an easier one and Western Province led 3-0 after 6 minutes.
The lead did not last long. Golden Lions got their hands on the ball from a scrum on the Western Province 10-metre line and went left. Suddenly there was tall, scrum-capped centre Henco van Wyk striding through.
Veering right he raced over 40 metres to score in the right corner without a finger laid on him. The Golden Lions led 5-3 after 9 minutes.
This was one of just only two searing breaks in the match.
Western Province flung themselves into the attack, bashing at the Golden Lions line again and again but finding no cracks in the adamantine defence.
They settled for a second Wolhuter penalty to lead 6-5 after 16 minutes. That is how the score would stay for the next 32 minutes of breathless rugby.
Western Province were close again when they grabbed a grubber but they lost the ball and Golden Lions had a scrum five metres from their line.
Then came the second telling break as the Golden Lions inside centre Bookie Tstatsan forced his way ahead and then raced downfield. Van Wyk kicked ahead and Western Province were desperately defending their line, which they did successfully.
Half-time came at 6-5.
On 47 minutes, two blows struck the Golden Lions. In the first half, the penalty count was 6-1 against the Golden Lions, and the referee warned them. On 47 minutes, their excellent hooker was yellow-carded for a “cynical” offence.
On 48 minutes, Western Province scored the only score of the second half. The penalty gave them a five-metre line-out. Eight against seven, they mauled and their captain, Adrian Alberts was credited with the try, outstanding player that he is. Wolhuter converted and the score became 13-5, as it remained for the next 22 minutes.
The Golden Lions had their chance to attack at length with penalty, tap kick, five-metre line-out and five-metre scrum feeding lots of bashing, but this time it was the Western Province defence that stood firm and said: They will not score.
A break by strong No.8 Evan Roos gave Western Province the attack and Darren Hendricks was close.
There was none of the “running down the clock” in this match. When Western Province had a penalty close to the Golden Lions line they kicked out for a five-metre line-out in search of another try. But they overthrew the line-out
It was a match to gladden the heart, both teams earning accolades galore.
Scorers:
For Western Province:
Try: Adrian Alberts
Con: Kade Wolhuter
Pens: Kade Wolhuter 2
For the Golden Lions:
Try: Henco van Wyk
Teams:
Western Province: 1 Robert Rodgers, 2 Jason Alexander, 3 Hanro Jacobs, 4 Juan Beukes, 5 Adrian Alberts, 6 Justin Miller, 7 Mihlali Mgolodela, 8 Evan Roos, 9 Bobby Alexander, 10 Juan Mostert, 11 Stravino Jacobs, 12 Brendan Venter, 13 Dawid Kellerman, 14 Thoubaan Gabriels, 15 Kade Wolhuter, 16 Jean-Jacques Kotze, 17 Luthando Woji, 18 Robert Bester, 19 Dylan de Leeuw, 20 Romeo Mtumba, 21 William Rose, 22 Tiaan Pretorius, 23 Darren Hendricks.
Golden Lions: 1 Sibusiso Shuze, 2 Morne Brandon, 3 Ruben Westraad, 4 Edward White, 5 Evan Roode, 6 Tristan Dullisear, 7 Franco Schutte, 8 Lindokuhle Ncusane, 9 Zihan Coetzee, 10 Declan Raubenheimer, 11 Tokollo Molotsi, 12 Boitumelo Tsatsane, 13 Muzilikazi Manyike, 14 Hugo Monteiro, 15 Santino Swanepoel, 16 Karel Zowitsky, 17 Jason Cloete, 18 Sibusiso Shongwe, 19 Emmanuel Tshituka, 20 Izak Esterhuizen, 21 Kabelo Mokhethi, 22 Henco Abraham, 23 Sipho Vayise.
Border 52-12 Griffons
A first-half blitz by Border erased any hope the Griffons had of winning the game as the Eastern Cape side secured a comfortable 52-12 victory at the 2018 Craven Week.
Hooker Jacques Goosen bagged four of Border’s eight tries as they picked up their second victory. The Griffons were far less energetic than their Day One selves. their first defeat from their opening two matches.
Border came flying out of the blocks and took a 14-0 lead in the opening five minutes when Jacques Goosen and Jarrod Taylor crossed the try line. Thomas Bursey converted both scores before Goosen bagged two further tries to complete his hat-trick after 19 minutes.
Bursey added his third conversion to stretch the lead to 26-0 before things went from bad to worse for the Griffons as Georgen Kiewiet was shown a yellow card in the 23rd minute. Kwezi Dlamini made it five tries in the first half as he stretched his way over from close range. Bursey’s conversion ensured a 33-0 lead
JP de Kock got the Griffons on the board on the stroke of half-time when he forced his way over to trail 5-33 at the break.
Goosen had four tries at the start of the second half when he muscled over from close range to stretch the lead to 38-5 after 38 minutes. The match went into a bit of a lull from that point until the 56th minute when Rian Olivier grabbed the Griffons’ second try, with Marchall Andrews adding the conversion to make it 12-38.
Border hit back with seven points of their own two minutes later when Sibabalwe Xamlashe got himself on the scoresheet. Bursey’s conversion making it 45-12. Andre Nel’s try after the final hooter took Border’s tally beyond the 50-point mark to close out the game.
Scorers:
For Border:
Tries: Jacques Goosen 4, Jarrod Taylor, Kwezi Dlamini, Sibabalwe Xamlashe, Andre Nel
Cons: Bursey 6
For the Griffons:
Tries: JP de Kock, Rian Olivier
Con: Marchall Andrews
Yellow card: Georgen Kiewiet (Griffons, 23); Akalinikeli Dlakavu (Border, 53)
Teams:
Border: 1 Nolan Kemp, 2 Jacques Goosen, 3 Masivuye Mafenyana, 4 Uzile Tele, 5 Ridge Snelling, 6 Troy Mynhardt, 7 Jarrod Taylor, 8 Kwezi Dlamini, 9 Thomas Bursey, 10 Avuyile Mabece, 11 Sakhekile Dingile, 12 Mnombo Zwelindaba, 13 Mntungwa Mapantsela, 14 Jarrod Ramsay, 15 Sibabalwe Xamlashe, 16 Akalinikeli Dlakavu, 17 Andre Nel, 18 Kesivan Naidoo, 19 Raiden Maters, 20 Tomson Akioyame, 21 Jordan van Rensburg, 22 Likhaya Tengimfene, 23 Sibulele Mali.
Griffons: 1 Johan Pretorius, 2 Edward Wiggins, 3 Jan Crous, 4 Tyron Combrinck, 5 Hussayn Banzi, 6 Ricardo Matsabu, 7 Christiaan Steyn, 8 Keketso Morabe, 9 Georgen Kiewiet, 10 Ruben Liebenberg, 11 Leonard Jacobs, 12 Johannes Scholtz, 13 Mike van der Nest, 14 JP de Kock, 15 Frederick du Plessis, 16 Martley Baymen, 17 Marius van der Schyff, 18 Franco-Lee Ceaser, 19 Rian Olivier, 20 Quan Meyer, 21 Marchall Andrews, 22 Keith van Aswegen, 23 Morne Maastriet.
Pumas 45-29 EP
Pumas flyhalf Coenraad Visser contributed 20 points as the Pumas trounced Eastern Province 45-29 on Day Three of the 2018 Craven Week.
Visser scored two tries and kicked five conversions to ensure the Pumas bounced back from a 10-72 defeat on Day One, with Estian Schroeder also grabbing a brace of tries.
Claude Jacobs opened the scoring in the fourth minute when he slotted a 41-metre penalty to hand EP a 3-0 lead. Visser showed scintillating speed to chase down a kick through and beat and EP defender to dot down in the 10th minute. He added the extras to take his side to a 7-3 lead.
Estian Schroeder benefitted from a powerful driving maul to dot down and with Visser’s conversion, the Pumas’ lead extended to 14-3 after 16 minutes. Visser was making the game his own and sniped through to grab his second of the match. His third successful conversion stretched the lead to 21-3 after 23 minutes.
Chyle van Zyl showed that a hooker can possess speed and power as he charged his over for his side’s fourth try of the game to extend the lead to 26-3 after 28 minutes. EP finally hit back in the 32nd minute as a few quickly taken penalties caught the pumas off-guard and allowed Octavian Muller to race over in the corner. Jacobs split the uprights to reduce the deficit to 10-26.
However, the Pumas restored their 23-point lead immediately as Schroeder grabbed his second by muscling his way over the line. Visser’s conversion making it 33-10 at the half-time interval.
EP were reduced to 14-men in the 42nd-minute when LJ du Preez was sent to the sin bin for a dangerous, late hit on the Pumas’ Ricardo Schonefeldt. Despite that, Zukisa Sali got his team back in the game with a powerful try. Jacobs popped over the conversion to reduce the deficit to 17-33 after 49 minutes.
Mfihla Phakathi and Teboho Mosia bagged tries within a minute of each other. Visser’s conversion took the Pumas’ lead to 45-17 after 57 minutes. Enrique Franks forced his way over the line to grab EP’s third try of the game. Jacobs maintained his 100% conversion rate to cut the deficit to 24-45 with eight minutes remaining.
Jacobs then added his name to the try-scoring list when he rounded off a solid attack to trail 29-45 after 65 minutes.
Scorers:
For Eastern Province:
Tries: Octavian Muller, Zukisa Sali, Enrique Franks, Claude Jacobs
Cons: Claude Jacobs 3
Pen: Claude Jacobs
For the Pumas:
Tries: Coenraad Visser 2, Estian Schroeder 2, Chyle van Zyl, Mfihla Phakathi, Teboho Mosia
Cons: Coenraad Visser 5
Yellow card: LJ du Preez (EP, foul play – late tackle, 42)
Teams:
Eastern Province: 1 Basie Malesu, 2 Corne Slabbert, 3 Bame Malesu, 4 Dumisa Ngcivana, 5 Laken Gray, 6 Hendrik du Toit, 7 Christian Roebert, 8 Regardt Ferreira, 9 Juandre Liebenberg, 10 Ryben Dupont, 11 Octavian Muller, 12 Joshua Oosthuysen, 13 Charles Flemming, 14 Lennox Holster, 15 Liyema Matyolweni, 16 Enrique Franks, 17 Christopher Poole, 18 Zukisa Sali, 19 Wiehann Pretorius, 20 Kelvin Kanenungo, 21 Jaco Nell, 22 Monray Potgieter, 23 Claude Jacobs.
Pumas: 1 Banele Mthenjane, 2 Jason Cornelius, 3 Wian Otto, 4 Isak Swanepoel, 5 Euwan Pretorius, 6 Rowane Skosana, 7 Juandre Odendaal, 8 Brandon Potgieter, 9 Riandre van der Merwe, 10 Coenraad Visser, 11 Tsepo Malumane, 12 Ricardo Schonefeldt, 13 Sphe Mthethwa, 14 Nathi Kubaye, 15 Martin Venter, 16 Chyle van Zyl, 17 Nkosinathi Mthetwa, 18 Estian Schroeder, 19 Jackson Madiba, 20 Mfihla Phakathi, 21 Jacques McGuire, 22 Teboho Mosia, 23 Unathi Poyo.
Blue Bulls XV 55-5 Limpopo Blue Bulls
Hat-tricks from Enrique Coutriers and Junior Snyman set the Blue Bulls XV on their way to record a comfortable 55-5 victory over the Limpopo Blue Bulls on Day Three of the 2018 Craven Week.
The Pretoria side bounced back from an opening day 17-51 defeat to the Griffons to hand the Limpopo side their second defeat in as many matches.
Adolph Visser of the Blue Bulls XV benefitted from a well-executed driving maul to grab the opening try of the game and Dieter Crafford’s conversion handed them a 7-0 lead after seven minutes. The Bulls XV’s lead stretched to 12-0 after 11 minutes when hooker Enrique Coutriers crashed his way over.
Limpopo got themselves on the board in the 20th minute, when after persistent pressure, Shaun Mulder muscled his way over the line to reduce the deficit to 5-12. The Blue Bulls XV were reduced to 14-men when Miller Simon was sent to the bin for repeatedly slowing the ball down.
However, it would be the Bulls XV to score next as Junior Snyman got himself over from a well-worked line-out move. Crafford found his range again to slot the conversion and extend their lead to 19-5 after 30 minutes.
Coutriers grabbed his second try early in the second half as he coasted through to dot down under the uprights. Crafford popped over the easy conversion to ensure a 26-5 lead. Coutriers bagged his hat-trick in the 50th minute as the Bulls XV punished Limpopo’s defensive frailties. Crafford’s fourth conversion took the lead to 33-5.
The Bulls XV became unstoppable as Ruan Oosthuizen scored his side’s sixth of the game in the 56th minute to extend their lead to 38-5. Snyman grabbed his side’s seventh – and his second – when he peeled off the back of a powerful scrum. Kenan Wessels took over kicking duties and converted the effort to stretch the lead to 45-5 after 62 minutes.
Wesley Damons and Snyman scored the final tries of the match in the closing minutes to take the Bulls XV’s points tally to the 50-point mark.
Scorers:
For Blue Bulls XV:
Tries: Adolph Visser, Enrique Coutriers 3, Junior Snyman 3, Ruan Oosthuizen, Wesley Damons
Cons: Dieter Crafford 4, Kenan Wessels
For Limpopo Blue Bulls:
Try: Shaun Mulder
Yellow card: Miller Simon (Blue Bulls XV, repeated infringements – slowing down the ball, 26)
Teams:
Blue Bulls XV: 1 Jaco Britz, 2 Enrique Coutriers, 3 Gerhard Viljoen, 4 Miller Simon, 5 Gerhard van der Bijl, 6 Khanya Jada, 7 Adolph Visser, 8 George Oosthuizen, 9 Divan Roelofse, 10 Kenan Wessels, 11 Biopelo Kgatlhanye, 12 Ruan Oosthuizen, 13 Stephin Alberts, 14 Bongani Ndlovu, 15 Dieter Crafford, 16 Eduan Swart, 17 Warren Nkobane, 18 Nolan Pienaar, 19 Mvenya Siseko, 20 Junior Snyman, 21 Geraldo Flusk, 22 Ronaldo Daniels, 23 Wesley Damons.
Limpopo Blue Bulls: 1 Xongani Ngobeni, 2 Erik Snyman, 3 Petrus Potgieter, 4 Dewan Deysel, 5 Harrie Hesling, 6 Jan Cronje, 7 Thapelo Ramoshaba, 8 Phillip Apea-Adu, 9 Baphiwe Fani, 10 Reece Wynne, 11 Shima Mplepo, 12 Lucian Simpson, 13 Christiaan Smit, 14 William Thulare, 15 Jason Mulder, 16 Shaun Mulder, 17 Markus Kotze, 18 Dimpho Mphalele, 19 Anthony Buys, 20 Siphiwe Tjale, 21 Ofense Maubane, 22 Anthony Brand, 23 Tshimiswa Nemavhola.
