The Steval Pumas qualified for their 2nd Vodacom Cup final in 3 years and will have to travel to Cape Town to face DHL Western Province next weekend.
It will be the 1st time ever that the Vodacom Cup Final is hosted in Cape Town, in what is only the 2nd time that DHL Western Province have advanced to the season decider.
On Saturday afternoon at DHL Newlands in Cape Town, DHL Western Province beat the Vodacom Blue Bulls by 10 / 6 in a scrappy encounter, putting themselves in the inside lane to win the Vodacom Cup for only the 2nd time.
They will face a Steval Pumas side that caused their 2nd upset in as many weeks though, when they dealt the Xerox Golden Lions their 1st defeat of the season at Emirates Airline Park in Johannesburg on Friday evening, deservedly winning by 43 / 20.
This victory means that the Lowvelders had knocked out the Vodacom Cup champions of 2013, the Xerox Golden Lions, and 2014, GWK Griquas, in the last fortnight. Next Saturday in Cape Town they will be looking to add the 2012 winners to this impressive list.
Vodacom Cup Final:
Saturday 30 May
- DHL Western Province vs Steval Pumas – DHL Newlands, Cape Town at 14:10 SA Time (12:10 GMT)
Xerox Golden Lions 20 / 43 Steval Pumas:
The Steval Pumas upset the formbook as they booked their place in the Vodacom Cup final thanks to a fine 43 / 20 (halftime 25 / 6) win over the Xerox Golden Lions in their semi-final at Emirates Airline Park in Johannesburg on Friday.
The Xerox Golden Lions had been unbeaten in the league phase of the competition and beat the Steval Pumas 24 / 16 earlier in the year.
But the Lowvelders ran in 5 tries to 2 to secure their place in the final. The visitors had, by far, the better of the 1st half as they dominated territory and shaded possession for much of the half.
Bernado Botha (wing), Lambert Groenewald (flank) and big Rudi Mathee (lock) scored the Steval Pumas’ 1st-half tries.
Although the Xerox Golden Lions fought back to 25 / 20 early in the 2nd half, courtesy of tries by Damian Engledoe (wing) and Rohan Janse van Rensburg (inside centre), the visitors’ impact players off the bench had the final say with Marnus Schoeman (replacement flank) dotting down twice in the final 20 minutes.
Scorers:
Xerox Golden Lions:
- Tries: Damian Engledoe (1), Rohan Janse van Rensburg (1)
- Conversions: Kobus de Kock (2)
- Penalties: Kobus de Kock (1)
- Drop goals: Lohan Jacobs (1)
Steval Pumas:
- Tries: Bernado Botha (1), Lambert Groenewald (1), Rudi Mathee (1), Marnus Schoeman (2)
- Conversions: JC Roos (3)
- Penalties: JC Roos (4)
DHL Western Province 10 / 6 Vodacom Blue Bulls:
DHL Western Province, the only unbeaten team in 2015, edged the Vodacom Blue Bulls 10 / 6 in a scrappy 2nd Vodacom Cup semi-final at DHL Newlands on Saturday afternoon to book their place in the final against the Steval Pumas next weekend.
The hosts led 10 / 3 at halftime, courtesy of an early penalty by Jean-Luc du Plessis (flyhalf) and a try from a line-out drive by Sikhumbuzo Notshe (flank) in the 32nd minute, which was converted by Du Plessis.
For the Vodacom Blue Bulls, Kobus Marais (flyhalf) kicked 2 penalty goals, but they will rue the 3 that he missed. They also had 2 tries disallowed by the TMO.
The hosts scored all their points in the 1st half and both sides struggled to get any ascendancy because of a slew of mistakes, with the Vodacom Blue Bulls the biggest culprits in a match they could’ve won, but didn’t.
Scorers:
DHL Western Province:
- Tries: Sikhumbuzo Notshe (1)
- Conversions: Jean-Luc du Plessis (1)
- Penalties: Jean-Luc du Plessis (1)
Vodacom Blue Bulls:
- Penalties: Kobus Marais (2)