Xerox Golden Lions keep EP Kings at bay
The Golden Lions got their Currie Cup rugby title bid back on track when they scored a bonus-point win in overcoming a courageous Eastern Province Kings outfit 41-22 at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Saturday night.
With Ruan Combrinck in outstanding form with the boot, slotting all seven of his kicks at goal with five conversions and two penalties, the Lions will be satisfied to come away from Port Elizabeth with five points.
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In addition, the Lions crossed for five tries, putting the seal on the match when flank Derick Minnie scored their final try in the last minute.
However, the Kings will take some positives from a match which was in complete contrast to the 60-19 thumping they received in the Johannesburg encounter.
In fact, they forced the Lions to reconsider their tactics in the second half when the visitors decided to kick their goals instead of kicking for touch to force a maul from five-metre lineouts.
In the first half, the Lions ignored several possible attempts at goal, but changed their thinking in the second half when they found themselves trailing 22-21 with 20 minutes remaining.
Combrinck slotted two penalties after high tackles to put them back in front at 27-22 and they finished strongly with lock Franco Mostert powering for a try in the 70th minute to virtually seal the match.
After conceding two early tries to Jaco Kriel and Ruan Dreyer to trail 14-0, the Kings received an injection of confidence when they powered their way over the Lions’ tryline to be awarded a penalty try.
They followed this with excellent tries by Shane Gates and Siviwe Soyizwapi to underline their skills, but the Lions stayed ahead 21-19 at half-time when Schalk van der Merwe burst over after receiving an inside pass at short range.
The Lions showed excellent ball retention on attack and their powerful charges often had the Kings on the back foot, and this paved the way for their five tries and the ultimate winning effort.
The Kings took the lead when flyhalf George Whitehead slotted a drop goal in the 45th minute, and it proved to be an entertaining contest as the sides struggled for supremacy.
Eventually the Lions’ greater experience and urgency came to the fore as they took control in the final 20 minutes for a hard-earned and well-deserved victory.
Scorers:
Xerox Golden Lions (21) 41:
- Tries: Jaco Kriel (1), Ruan Dreyer (1), Schalk van der Merwe (1), Franco Mostert (1), Derick Minnie (1)
- Conversions: Ruan Combrinck (5)
- Penalties: Ruan Combrinck (2)
EP Kings (19) 22:
- Tries: Shane Gates (1), Siviwe Soyizwapi (1), Penalty Try (1)
- Conversions: Scott van Breda (2)
- Drop goal: George Whitehead (1)
DHL Western Province outclass Vodacom Blue Bulls at Loftus
Two tries within five minutes gave Western Province a crucial 23-18 victory over the Blue Bulls at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday to cement their place at the top of the Currie Cup log.
An action-packed first half strangely produced only three points as the two sides played positive rugby from the outset.
Uncharacteristically there was also less kicking from the hosts as they opted to attack the line with the quick ball they received.
The scrums were also a tightly contested affair, with the Bulls showing much improvement in this facet of play.
While the Bulls showed a willingness to keep the ball in hand, Western Province’s typical strong defence held over the first 40 minutes.
Demonstrating that their game has progressed from a defence-minded to a more balanced style, Province made a number of enterprising runs.
The first points of the match came shortly after the half-hour mark when replacement Province flyhalf Kurt Coleman slotted a penalty conversion.
Blue Bulls debutant Joshua Stander had an opportunity to level the scores three minutes from the interval but his shot in front of the poles was off-target.
The match finally produced some exciting tries after the half-time break after Province pivot Demetri Catrakilis had converted a penalty in the 46th minute.
The Bulls finally found the breakthrough two minutes later when blindside flanker Jacques du Plessis finished a move to score, with Stander converting. A Jesse Kriel pass to Sampie Mastriet had seemed forward but was adjudged to be fine.
Stander’s replacement, Tian Schoeman, extended the Bulls’ lead in the 54th minute to four points.
Instead of building on the positive momentum they had created when they had the ball in hand, the Bulls seemed to employ a kicking tactic.
This backfired on them as Province’s dangerous outside backs sliced through the Bulls’ defences to swing the momentum in their favour.
In the 56th minute, Western Province wing Kobus van Wyk finished off a set move as his fellow flyer and man of the match Seabelo Senatla stepped past the Bulls’ defence to send the former away, with Catrakilis converting (13-10).
Three minutes later, the blue-and-white hoops again crossed the whitewash with Senatla leaving a few Bulls’ defenders in his wake en route to a fantastic individual try.
With 12 minutes left Schoeman close the gap with a penalty conversion, only to see Coleman returning their lead to 10 points.
The Bulls made a last-gasp attempt to claim the victory when they opted for a lineout penalty, which paid off as Mastriet powered his way over the line on the other side of the field.
With the clock winding down, the Bulls made an encouraging attack on the line, but a knock-on by William-Small Smith in the danger zone brought the match to an end.
Scorers:
Vodacom Blue Bulls (0) 18:
- Tries: Jacques du Plessis (1), Sampie Mastriet (1)
- Conversions: Joshua Stander (1)
- Penalties: Tian Schoeman (2)
DHL Western Province (3) 23:
- Tries: Kobus van Wyk (1), Seabelo Senatla (1)
- Conversions: Demetri Catrakilis (2)
- Penalties: Kurt Coleman (2), Demetri Catrakilis (1)
Toyota Free State Cheetahs beat 14-man GWK Griquas
The Free State Cheetahs gained useful momentum in their Currie Cup campaign by beating Griquas 36-25 at GWK Park in Kimberley on Saturday afternoon.
The visitors scored five tries and bagged a bonus point in the process by making use of their chances and capitalising after Griquas lost a player to a red card for repeated infringements in the breakdown area.
Both the Cheetahs and Griquas started at pace, showing every intention of playing running rugby.
It was the Cheetahs who coped better with the pressure and they put the first points on the scoreboard, with flyhalf Willie du Plessis goaling a penalty in the eighth minute.
It was not long before the Cheetahs struck again with lock Francois Uys scoring from the back of a ruck after the visitors had put Griquas under immense pressure. And to add insult to injury, Griquas’ eighthman Carel Greeff was yellow-carded for a professional foul.
The Cheetahs controlled most of the possession in the first half and managed to convert some of it into points. Winger Rayno Benjamin rounded off several good phases by the visitors to score, with Du Plessis converting to give the Cheetahs a 15-0 lead.
This, however, was not the end of Griquas’ woes. Copping his second yellow card of the game for a professional foul, Greeff was red-carded, leaving the hosts with 14 men on the park.
Griquas did their best with the deficit, and flyhalf Dean Grant succeeded with a penalty shortly before half-time. The Cheetahs led 15-3 at the interval.
The Griquas’ players must have endured a real tongue-lashing from coach Hawies Fourie at the break because they showed more eagerness from the kick-off.
This produced much-needed points as scrumhalf Tian Meyer scored for the home side after charging down a clearance kick. Grant missed with the conversion, but he succeeded with a penalty shortly afterwards to leave the hosts trailing by just four points (15-11).
Sparked by Meyer’s try, Griquas finally took the lead with another good try by hooker Martin Bezuidenhout, but the Cheetahs regained the advantage soon afterwards via a try by fullback Clayton Blommetjies.
They sealed the result when flanker Tienie Burger scored his first try in Currie Cup rugby to give the visitors the bonus point.
A late try by Cheetahs’ eighthman Jean Cook just rubbed salt into the home side’s wounds.
Scorers:
Toyota Free State Cheetahs (15) 36:
- Tries: Francois Uys (1), Rayno Benjamin (1), Clayton Blommetjies (1), Tienie Burger (1), Jean Cook (1)
- Conversions: Willie du Plessis (1), Pieter-Steyn de Wet (3)
- Penalty: Willie du Plessis (1)
GWK Griquas (3) 25:
- Tries: Tian Meyer (1), Martin Bezuidenhout (1), Ederies Arendse (1)
- Conversions: Dean Grant (2)
- Penalty: Dean Grant (1)