DHL Western Province edged the EP Kings 21 / 18 in their  friendly clash at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday night.

In an exciting finish, the Kings, who trailed 14 / 13 at halftime, stormed on to the attack in the closing minutes but the WP defence held firm for the victory as the sides completed their match preparations for the Currie Cup starting on 8 August.

After a try by WP centre and captain Juan de Jongh gave the visitors a 21 / 13 lead in the 55th minute, the Kings gave themselves a chance at victory when left wing Luther Obi shot through a gap to narrow the margin to 3 points with 6 minutes remaining.

In the 1st half the Kings took a 7 / 0 lead after a try by prop Maks van Dyk, converted by fullback Scott van Breda, who also added 2 penalties.

WP hit back with tries by wings Kobus van Wyk and Seabelo Senatla, both converted by flyhalf Demetri Catrakilis.

Scorers:

EP Kings:

• Tries: Maks van Dyk (1), Luther Obi (1)
• Conversions: Scott van Breda (1)
• Penalties: Scott van Breda (2)

DHL WP:

• Tries: Kobus van Wyk (1), Seabelo Senatla (1), Juan de Jongh (1)
• Conversions: Demetri Catrakilis (2), Kurt Coleman (1)

Teams:

EP Kings: 15 Scott van Breda, 14 Sylvian Mahuza, 13 JP du Plessis, 12 Marlou van Niekerk, 11 Luther Obi, 10 George Whitehead, 9 Enrico Acker, 8 Tim Agaba, 7 Stefan Willemse, 6 Paul Schoeman, 5 Cornell Hess, 4 Steven Sykes (Captain), 3 Maks van Dyk, 2 Martin Ferreira, 1 Lizo Gqoboka
Replacements: 16 Albe de Swardt, 17 Schalk Ferreira, 18 Simon Kerrod, 19 Tazz Fuzani, 20 Jacques Engelbrecht, 21 Luke Watson, 22 Cameron Lindsay, 23 Kevin Luiters, 24 Karlo Aspeling, 25 Siviwe Soyizwapi, 26 Ronnie Cooke, 27 Tim Whitehead.

DHL WP: 15 Cheslin Kolbe, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Juan de Jongh (Captain), 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Seabelo Senatla, 10 Demetri Catrakilis, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 6 Rynhardt Elstadt, 5 Ruan Botha, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Entienne Swanepoel, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ali Vermaak
Replacements: 16 Chad Solomon, 17 Sti Sithole, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Chris van Zyl, 20 Justin Benn, 21 Rayn Smid, 22 Jano Vermaak, 23 Kurt Coleman, 24 Jaco Taute, 25 Huw Jones, 26 Godlen Masimla, 27 EW Viljoen, 28 Jan de Klerk.

John Dobson

They held on to win the game in the end, but Western Province coach John Dobson was far from happy with what he saw as his side beat the EP Kings 21 / 18 at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday night.

It may have only been a pre-season friendly, but Dobson had fielded a strong side as preparations for this year’s Currie Cup continued.

Province boasted a star-studded backline and the players in their starting lineup that had been a part of the Stormers’ Super Rugby season included Cheslin Kolbe, Kobus van Wyk, Juan de Jongh, Seabelo Senatla, Demetri Catrakilis, Nic Groom, Nizaam Carr, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Bongi Mbonambi and Ali Vermaak.

But Dobson was far from happy with what he saw from his “bigger names”.

“Disappointed in our performance,” Dobson said after the match.

“We must be careful about being complacent and thinking because you’re Super Rugby Conference champions it will just happen naturally.

“I think some of our bigger name players lacked work ethic out there today.”

Dobson bemoaned his side’s defensive work, but would not take anything away from what was a spirited Kings performance.

“The Kings were very impressive,” he said.

“I think our biggest issue was defence, I think we let too many line breaks through. Our big thing was to try and keep the ball, but our ball security was also poor.

“But the Kings never stopped. They seem to be more organised and they put a lot more pressure on than they did last year. I know they’re kicking a bit more than they did last year under Carlos (Spencer), but I think they won the kicking battle against us today.

“I think they have a bit of work to do on their lineout area, but they have real spirit If those guys turn up and play with that pride then I think there’s something brewing here.”

WP begin their Currie Cup campaign with a trip to Griquas on 7 August while the EP Kings host the Golden Lions on 8 August.

Sport24