Pumas make it a straight eight

The Pumas built on their fantastic start to the national First Division as they held on for their eighth consecutive win.

The Pumas were made to work hard on Friday to hold on for their 33-32 victory and unbeaten status as the EP Kings delivered a fine performance in Nelspruit, while the SWD Eagles defeated a determined Border Bulldogs outfit 36-31 with a bonus point to leapfrog the Leopards on the log table.

In Saturday’s games the Leopards shut out the Boland Cavaliers for a 22-17 victory in Potchefstroom and the Griffons outplayed the Falcons 50-35 in Welkom.

Pumas 33-32 EP Kings

The clash in Nelspruit proved to be epic as the Pumas met their match in an EP Kings outfit strengthened by a number of returning Super Rugby players.

The Kings made their presence felt early on with wing Michael Killian scoring the first of the team’s five tries in the fourth minute, which was backed up by another compliments of fullback Scott van Breda in the 28th minute.

Van Breda also slotted over a penalty to cancel out one by Pumas’ points machine Carl Bezuidenhout, which put his team 13-3 ahead. But Pumas hooker Jacques Momberg crashed over the tryline on the stroke of halftime to close the gap to 13-8.

The game opened up in the second half with both teams showing more innovation on attack, and they reaped the rewards. The Kings had the first say after the break as Carl Bezuidenhout slotted over the second of his three penalties to add to two tries in three minutes by Steven Sykes and Tiger Mangweni.

But a hat-trick of tries by Pumas captain RW Kember, one of which was in the dying seconds, cancelled out the Kings’ third try of the half by scrumhalf Nicolas Vergallo and sealed the victory. Unfortunately for the Kings three missed conversions and one unsuccessful penalty did not assist their cause.

The scorers:

For the Pumas:

Tries: Momberg, Kember 3

Cons: Bezuidenhout 2

Pens: Bezuidenhout 3

For the EP Kings:

Tries: Killian, Vergallo, Van Breda, Sykes, Mangweni

Cons: Whitehead 2

Pen: Van Breda

Teams:

Pumas: 15 Coenie van Wyk, 14 JW Bell, 13 Wilmaure Louw, 12 Stefan Watermeyer, 11 Rosco Speckman, 10 Carl Bezuidenhout, 9 Francois de Klerk, 8 RW Kember (Captain), 7 Uzair Cassiem, 6 Frank Herne, 5 Eduan Van Der Walt (Captain), 4 Lubabalo Mtyanda, 3 De-Jay Terblanche, 2 Jacques Momberg, 1 Corné Fourie.

Replacements: 16 Vincent Koch, 17 Stephan Kotze, 18 Marius Coetzer, 19 Christo le Roux, 20 Jaco Bouwer, 21 Shaun Harold Venter, 22 Jerome Pretorius.

EP Kings: 15 Scott van Breda, 14 Siyanda Grey, 13 Ronnie Cooke, 12 Tiger Mangweni, 11 Michael Killian, 10 George Whitehead, 9 Nicolas Vergallo, 8 Cornell du Preez, 7 Tim Agaba, 6 Devin Oosthuizen, 5 Steven Sykes, 4 Darron Nell (Captain), 3 Lizo Gqoboka, 2 Hannes Franklin, 1 Brenden Olivier.

Replacements: 16 Albe De Swardt, 17 Abongile Mnyaka, 18 Rynier Bernardo, 19 Stefan Willemse, 20 Boela Abrahams, 21 Ntabeni Dukisa, 22 Wayne Stevens.

Referee: Marius Jonker

Assistant referees: Pro Legoete, Stefan Breytenbach

SWD Eagles 36-31 Border Bulldogs

The first half in George was gripping as the SWD Eagles and Border Bulldogs scored two tries a piece, with the match featuring nine tries in total. Two penalties by Bulldogs fullback Dale Sabbagh, however, forced the visitors into a 16-14 lead at the break.

But two tries in quick succession by the home team’s Clinton Wagman and Roy Godfrey provided the mental boost they needed to remain on the front-foot and keep alive their hopes of hopping into second place on the log.

The Bulldogs hit back after a few tight exchanges with Rynardt van Wyk crossing the tryline, which Stephan Gerber built on with another on the stroke of fulltime. But the Eagles fifth try by Alshaun Bock and a penalty by Justin van Staden was enough to secure their fifth victory.

The scorers:

For the SWD Eagles:

Tries: Bock, Wagman, Meslane, Zito, Godfrey

Cons: Van Staden 4

Pen: Van Staden

For the Border Bulldogs:

Tries: Booi, Van Wyk 2, Gerber

Con: Aspeling

Pens: Sabbagh 2

DG: Aspeling

Teams:

SWD Eagles: 15 Justin van Staden, 14 Clinton Wagman, 13 Gerrit Smith, 12 Jeff Taljard, 11 Alshaun Bock, 10 Martin du Toit, 9 Jandré Blom, 8 Kabamba Floors (Captain), 7 Buran Parks, 6 Dumisane Meslane, 5 Mzwanele Zito, 4 Grant le Roux, 3 Grant Kemp, 2 Martin Ferreira, 1 Roy Godfrey.

Replacements: 16 Layle Delo, 17 Dean Hopp, 18 Lyndon Hartnick, 19 Christo Du Plessis, 20 Mzo Dyantyi, 21 Daniel Roberts, 22 Mbembe Payi.

Border Bulldogs: 15 Dale Sabbagh, 14 Chumani Booi, 13 Quinton Crocker, 12 Dwayne Jenner, 11 Chrislyn van Schalkwyk, 10 Karlo Aspeling, 9 Sinovuyo Nyoka, 8 Rynardt van Wyk, 7 Gareth Krause (Captain), 6 Siyabulela Mdaka, 5 Stephan Gerber, 4 Sthembiso Mhlongo, 3 Wesley Cloete, 2 Dean Muir, 1 Blake Kyd.

Replacements: 16 Khwezi Mkhafu, 17 Renier Schoeman, 18 Matthew Taljaard, 19 Juan Pretorius, 20 Shannon Rick, 21 Niell Jacobs, 22 Ruan Jacobs.

Referee: Rasta Rasivhenge

Assistant referees: Archie Sehlako, Rodney Bonaparte

Leopards 22-17 Boland Cavaliers

The Boland Cavaliers started strongly in their clash against the Leopards with Cheswin Williams scoring a try in the fourth minute. But the Leopards took control of the half soon after thanks to their effectiveness at using their point-scoring chances.

SA Under-20 wing Luther Obi proved his worth at senior level at the end of the first quarter as he dotted down the team’s first of three tries, which Adriaan Engelbrecht converted for a 7-5 lead. Engelbrecht’s accurate goal-kicking kept the scoreboard ticking as he slotted over a penalty and converted another try by Danie Dames to push his team into a convincing 17-5 lead.

Boland, however, fought back with intent despite being reduced to 13 men as Jacquin Jansen and Brendon April were both sin-binned. With the team forced to retain possession to prevent the Leopards from capitalising on the two-man advantage, their efforts paid off with Jonathan Francke crossing the tryline, while April made up for his yellow card in the 73rd minute by crossing the chalk for their third try.

Flyhalf Eric Zana’s unsuccessful conversion, however, left the scores level with six minutes to go. But Obi saved the day as he touched down for his second try in the dying minutes, which allowed the Leopards to remain in the top three on the log.

The scorers:

For the Leopards:

Tries: Dames, Obi 2

Cons: Engelbrecht 2

Pen: Engelbrecht.

For the Boland Cavaliers:

Tries: April, Williams, Francke

Con: Zana

Leopards: 15 Danie Dames, 14 Luther Obi, 13 Charl Weideman, 12 George Tossel, 11 Edmar Marais, 10 Adriaan Engelbrecht, 9 Johann Laker, 8 Morne Hanekom, 7 Henro Swart, 6 Bernie van Rooyen, 5 Brendon Snyman (Captain), 4 Luvuyiso Lusaseni, 3 Elardus Venter, 2 Akker van der Merwe, 1 BG Uys.

Replacements: 16 Jacques Vermaak, 17 Stephan Bezuidenhout, 18 Martin Dreyer, 19 Peet van der Walt, 20 Philip de Wet, 21 Tiaan Dorfling, 22 Jarryd Buys.

Boland Cavaliers: 15 Jacquin Jansen, 14 Cheswin Williams, 13 Jonathan Francke, 12 Braam Gerber, 11 Brendon April, 10 Eric Zana, 9 Ntando Kebe, 8 Zandre Jordaan (Captain), 7 PJ van Zyl, 6 Alwyn Bester, 5 John-Charles Astle, 4 Ben Venter, 3 Francois Hanekom, 2 Clemen Lewis, 1 Sabelo Nhlapo.

Replacements: 16 Ulrich Pretorius, 17 Jacques Kotze, 18 Bradley Fortuin, 19 Lodewyk Uys, 20 Ricky Schroeder, 21 Wynand Pienaar, 22 Cheslyn Roberts.

Referee: Jason Jaftha

Assistant referees: Pro Legoete, Sieg van Staden

Griffons 50-35 Falcons

In Welkom, the Griffons produced a fine second-half display to overturn a 25-17 deficit against the Falcons for their second victory of the season. In total they ran in eight tries to only four by the visitors – five of which were scored in the second half – to seal the convincing victory. Interestingly the bonus-point for scoring more than four tries, marked their third of the season.

The scorers:

For the Griffons:

Tries: Van Heerden, Kritzinger, Nel, Jordaan, Briedenhann, Griesel, Groenewald 2

Cons: Kritzinger 4, Maarman.

for the Falcons:

Tries: Cronje, Nokwe 2, Odendaal

Cons: Kotze 2, Roos

Pen: Roos

DGs: Kotze 2

Teams:

Griffons: 15 Aubrey McDonald, 14 Danwel Demas, 13 Werner Griesel (Captain), 12 Japie Nel, 11 Ashwin Scott, 10 Tertius Maarman, 9 Oshwill Nortje, 8 Thato Ngoza, 7 Marnus Briedenhann, 6 Willmar Groenewald, 5 Chris Ehlers, 4 Jeremy Jordaan, 3 Heinrich Roelfse, 2 Derick van Heerden, 1 Sarel Louw.

Replacements: 16 AJ Le Roux, 17 Schalk van der Merwe, 18 Rossouw De Klerk, 19 Mlungisi Bali, 20 Inus Kritzinger, 21 Shaun Prins, 22 Vuyo Mboto.

Falcons: 15 Kyle Hendricks, 14 Sandile Ngcobo, 13 Coert Cronje, 12 Franco Maritz, 11 Jongi Nokwe, 10 Jaun Kotze, 9 Anrich Richter, 8 JP Mostert (Captain), 7 Jacques Verwey, 6 Vince Gwavu, 5 Jacques Alberts, 4 Francois Fourie, 3 Dandre van der Westhuizen, 2 Birtie Powell, 1 Wessel Du Rand.

Replacements: 16 Brendan Thato Rams, 17 Nicolaas Pretorius, 18 Shaun McGeer, 19 Friedle Olivier, 20 Willie Odendaal, 21 JC Roos, 22 Christo Joubert.

Referee: Stuart Berry

Assistant referees: Daniel Fortuin, Henrico van Rooyen

First division log

(Under played, won, points)

1. Pumas (8, 8, 37)

2. SWD Eagles, (8, 5, 27)

3. Leopards (8, 5, 26)

4. EP Kings (8, 4, 23)

5. Boland (8, 5, 22)

6. Griffons (8, 2, 15

7. Border (8, 1, 11)

8. Falcons (8, 1, 10)