It was business as usual at the top of the North and South Section logs with 4 of the top 5 in the divisions recording victories, to remain on course for home play-off’s.
The ‘best’ result of the day was secured by North Section leaders, the Xerox Golden Lions, who recorded a hard-fought 24 / 16 victory over the Steval Pumas, the only team among the top 5 not to win, having started Round 5 in 2nd place.
The Lions’ 5th successive win allowed the Vodacom Blue Bulls to leapfrog the Steval Pumas into 2nd position on the North Section Log, courtesy of a 44 / 0 victory in Windhoek.
In the South, DHL Western Province and GWK Griquas both maintained their 100% records with their 3rd successive victories, the former edging the EP Kings by 6 points in Port Elizabeth while GWK Griquas had an easier time of it, beating the Border Bulldogs by 12 in Hartswater.
The Toyota Free State Cheetahs XV stayed in contention in the South Section with a 35 / 18 win over the Cell C Sharks XV in Kokstad, while in the North the Hino Valke recorded their 1st victory at the 4th attempt, with a 38 / 17 victory over the Down Touch Griffons.
FNB Welwitschias 0 / 44 Vodacom Blue Bulls:
The Vodacom Blue Bulls recorded a comfortable 44 / 0 win in Windhoek on Friday night, to leave their hosts remaining in search of their 1st victory of the season.
The FNB Welwitschias made their visitors work hard for their win on a rainy night in Windhoek and they led only 8 / 0 at halftime, in a match which was also disrupted by a 10-minute power outage.
However the Blue Bulls made their forward power count in the long run, scoring their 1st 4 tries through the rolling maul.
Scorers:
Vodacom Blue Bulls:
- Tries: Corniel Els (2), Kefentse Mahlo (1), Kobus Marais (1), Marquit September (1), Roelof Smit (2)
- Conversions: Kobus Marais (2), Tinus de Beer (1)
- Penalties: Kobus Marais (1)
FNB Welwitschias:
- None
Boland 34 / 26 SWD Eagles:
The Boland Cavaliers outplayed the visiting SWD Eagles 34 / 26 (halftime 22 / 12) at Boland Park in Worcester on Friday afternoon.
Both sides collected a bonus point for scoring 4 or more tries but the Eagles were unable to breach the Cavaliers’ line in the closing moments to claim a 2nd point for losing by 7 points or fewer.
Veteran former Boland winger Alshaun Bock scored 2 of the Eagles’ tries, to take his Vodacom Cup career total to 33.
Scorers:
Boland Cavaliers:
- Tries: Edwin Sass (2), Wilneth Engelbrecht (2), Harlon Klaasen (1)
- Conversions: Eric Zana (3)
- Penalties: Eric Zana (1)
SWD Eagles:
- Tries: Alshaun Bock (2), Hentzwill Pedro (1), Nemo Roelofse (1)
- Conversions: Elric van Vuuren (2), Gerrit Smith (1)
Down Touch Griffons 17 / 38 Hino Valke:
The Hino Valke recorded their 1st victory of the campaign, beating the Down Touch Griffons 38 / 17 at the HT Pelatona Stadium in Welkom on Friday afternoon.
The visitors led 19 / 7 at the break and that set the tone for a well-deserved bonus-point victory.
Scorers:
Down Touch Griffons:
- Tries: Martin Sithole (1), Oshwill Nortje (1)
- Conversions: Louis Strydom (2)
- Penalties: Louis Strydom (1)
Hino Valke:
- Tries: Andrew van Wyk (1), Arno Poley (2), Dean Muir (1), Ernst Ladendorf (1), Jaun Kotze (1)
- Conversions: Jaun Kotze (4)
EP Kings 13 / 19 DHL Western Province:
Western Province maintained their narrow lead at the top of the South Section table with a 19 / 13 victory (halftime 12 / 5) over the Eastern Province Kings, in a South Section clash at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.
Scorers:
EP Kings:
- Tries: George Whitehead (1), Sylvian Mahuza (1)
- Penalties: Scott van Breda (1)
DHL Western Province:
- Tries: Godlen Masimla (1)
- Conversions: Jean-Luc du Plessis (1)
- Penalties: Jean-Luc du Plessis (4)
Cell C Sharks XV 18 / 35 Toyota Free State XV:
Vincent Jobo scored 2 tries in 6 minutes as the Toyota Free State XV stunned the Cell C Sharks XV with a 35 / 18 (halftime 13 / 11) at the Kokstad Rugby Club on Saturday afternoon.
The big No 8 crossed either side of the hour, adding to a 1st-half score from outstanding fullback Coenie van Wyk and a late effort by Shaun Venter to secure the bonus-point win.
Van Wyk scored an impressive 20 points in total, 2 more than the Sharks XV managed between them, as the men from Bloemfontein leapfrogged their hosts to climb to 3rd on the South Section log.
Scorers:
Cell C Sharks XV:
- Tries: Daniel du Preez (1), Khaya Majola (1)
- Conversions: Innocent Radebe (1)
- Penalties: Innocent Radebe (2)
Toyota Free State XV:
- Tries: Vincent Jobo (2), Coenie van Wyk (1), Shaun Venter (1)
- Conversions: Coenie van Wyk (3)
- Penalties: Coenie van Wyk (3)
GWK Griquas 37 / 25 Border Bulldogs:
GWK Griquas maintained their unbeaten record in this year’s Vodacom Cup competition after beating Border Bulldogs 37 / 25 in Hartswater on Saturday afternoon.
The hosts scored 5 tries to cement the bonus point against the Bulldogs, in a tough game that delivered some good running rugby to the very end.
Scorers:
GWK Griquas:
- Tries: Rocco Jansen (1), JW Jonker (2), Hugo Kloppers (1), Martin Bezuidenhout (1)
- Conversions: Clinton Swart (3)
- Penalties: Clinton Swart (2)
Border Bulldogs:
- Tries: Johannes Jonker (1), Sipho Nofemele (2)
- Conversions: Maxisole Banda (2)
- Penalties: Maxisole Banda (2)
Steval Pumas 16 / 24 Xerox Golden Lions:
The Xerox Golden Lions grabbed a 24 / 16 win in a North Section clash against one of the heavyweights of Vodacom Cup rugby, the Steval Pumas, at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit on Saturday afternoon.
A brace by the Lions outside centre Jacques Nel proved to be the difference between the well-matched sides.
Thanks to their hard-earned victory, the Lions have retained their position at the summit of the Vodacom Cup North Section Log with 23 points after 5 matches. It includes 3 bonus-point wins.
The Steval Pumas could not add to their halftime-tally and would have rued their wasted opportunities in the final 40 minutes.
Scorers:
Steval Pumas:
- Tries: Jerome Pretorius (1)
- Conversions: JC Roos (1)
- Penalties: JC Roos (3)
Xerox Golden Lions:
- Tries: Jacques Nel (2), Ashlon Davids (1)
- Conversions: Ashlon Davids (3)
- Penalties: Kobus de Kock (1)