The DHL Western Province Under 21 and Under 19 teams and their counterparts from the Vodacom Blue Bulls will contest Saturday’s ABSA Under 21 and ABSA Under 19 Provincial finals at DHL Newlands.
The Blue Bulls teams booked their trip by beating the Cell C Sharks 43-20 (Under 19) and Xerox Golden Lions 23-19 (Under 21) in their semi-finals played at Loftus Versfeld.
The WP Under 21 side had too much class for the Toyota Free State Under 21’s at DHL Newlands, winning 41-17, while the WP Under 19 side won 29-22 against the Free State Under 19’s in Bloemfontein.
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Vodacom Blue Bulls U/19 43 / 20 Cell C Sharks U/19:
A strong performance by the defending Absa Currie Cup Under-19 title defenders saw the Vodacom Blue Bulls Under-19 team score six tries to beat the Sharks 43-20.
The home side’s backline proved too strong and skilful for the visitors and all but one of their tries were scored by the backs. Two of those came from Jurie Linde, who broke through the Sharks defence often.
The Sharks, who managed a win over the Blue Bulls a couple of weeks ago, this time had no answers to the speed and guile of the Blue Bulls.
Scorers:
Vodacom Blue Bulls U/19 (24) 43:
- Tries: Dewald Human (1), Jurie Linde (2), Jinx Molapo (1), Menzi Nhlabathi (1), Wyatt Murphy (1)
- Conversions: Dewald Human (5)
- Penalty: Dewald Human (1)
Cell C Sharks U/19 (13) 20:
- Tries: Johan du Toit (1), Mandla Ngcobo (1)
- Conversions: Innocent Radebe (2)
- Penalties: Innocent Radebe (2)
Toyota Free State U/19 (0) 22 / 29 (13) DHL Western Province U/19:
The visiting WP team clinched a finals spot by beating Free State 29-22, scoring two tries to the three of the home side.
Poor goal-kicking cost the hosts, with kickable points being missed. In contrast, WP flyhalf Ernst Stapelberg kicked seven successful kicks and that, along with a strong start in the first half, helped his side over the line.
Scorers:
Free State U/19 (0) (22):
- Tries: Hendri Storm (1), Jasper Wiese (1), Reinach Venter (1)
- Conversions: Andre Swarts (2)
- Penalty: Andre Swarts
WP U/19 (13) 29:
- Tries: Justin Phillips (1), Leolin Zas (1)
- Conversions: Ernst Stapelberg (2)
- Penalties: Ernst Stapelberg (5)
Vodacom Blue Bulls U/21 (10) 23 / 19 (14) Xerox Golden Lions U/21:
A late rally by the home side secured a place in the ABSA Currie Cup Under 21 Provincial final next weekend. The Golden Lions had most of the play in the first half, leading 14-10 at the break, but could not sustain their effort in the second half.
The Blue Bulls came back strongly, forcing the visitors into numerous errors. Flyhalf Joshua Stander punished the visitors for their errors and kicked three penalties, with the last two getting the Blue Bulls in a winning position.
Stander also scored a try for a personal tally of 18 points.
Scorers:
Vodacom Blue Bulls U/21 (10) 23:
- Tries: Joshua Stander (1), Rohan Janse van Rensburg (1)
- Conversions: Joshua Stander (2)
- Penalties: Joshua Stander (3)
Xerox Golden Lions U/21 (14) 19:
- Tries: Jean-Pierre du Preez (1), Koch Marx (1), Malcolm Marx (1)
- Conversions: Ruan Janse van Rensburg (2)
DHL Western Province U/21 (23) 41 / 17 (3) Toyota Free State U/21:
The home side had too many guns for their Bloemfontein visitors and ran away with the match in the first half. The Free State could never get dominance in the game and WP scored six tries in a pretty impressive performance.
Scorers:
WP U/21 (23) 41:
- Tries: Jan-Frederik Uys (1), Johnny Kotze (1), Justin Geduld (1), Kyle Lombard (1), Michael Willemse (1), Willem Strydom (1)
- Conversions: Robert du Preez (4)
- Penalty: Robert du Preez (1)
Free State U/21 (3) 17:
- Tries: Francois Bester (1), Hendrik Theron (1)
- Conversions: Henry Immelman (1), Ruan Potgieter (1)
- Penalties: Marx Bornman