Vodacom Cup: Eagles shock Sharks

There were tries aplenty as the Vodacom Cup shifted up a gear with the quarterfinals moving into sight for the 16 teams vying for the title.

 

In the South Section, the SWD Eagles probably delivered the biggest upset as they outplayed the Sharks XV in George on Friday, winning comfortably by 36-13 after a superb second half performance where they scored 29 unanswered points.

 

Griquas showed they will not let go of their title without a proper fight, as they completely outclassed the Boland Cavaliers by 62-19 in Velddrif on Saturday.

 

The Free State XV beat the EP Kings by 50-45 in an extraordinary match in Bloemfontein where the scorers with still tied at 42-42 with only five minutes remaining on the clock.

 

Western Province were predictably too strong for the Border Bulldogs as they cemented their position at the top of the South Section log with a 34-6 win on Saturday.

 

In the North Section, last weekend’s log leaders, the Golden Lions, enjoyed a bye and were overtaken at the top of the standings by the Blue Bulls, who beat the Griffons by 40-21 in Pretoria on Friday.

 

The Pumas’ 31-23 victory over the Leopards XV in Potchefstroom on Friday means the race to the top of the North Section log is now effectively between three teams.

 

The Welwitschias recorded their first win of the season when they beat the Limpopo Blue Bulls by 24-17 in Windhoek on Saturday.

 

 

The Blue Bulls ran in five tries to record a comfortable 40-21 win over the Griffons at the Loftus B-field in Pretoria on Friday.

 

The win saw the Blue Bulls move to the top of the Vodacom Cup North Section log, one point ahead of the Golden Lions who enjoyed a bye this weekend.

 

Jamba Ulengo and Kefentse Mahlo both scored a brace of tries for the home team, while Nicky Steyn did the same for the visitors from the Northern Free State.

 

 

Tries: Ulengo 2, Mahlo 2, Van Wyk

Cons: De Beer 2, Marais

Pens: De Beer, Marais 2

 

Tries: Steyn 2, Sithole

Cons: Du Toit 3

 

 

Blue Bulls: 15 Kefentse Mahlo, 14 Jade Stighling, 13 Marquit September, 12 Dan Kriel, 11 Jamba Ulengo, 10 Tinus de Beer, 9 Andre Warner, 8 Clyde Davids, 7 Wiaan Liebenberg, 6 Roelof Smit, 5 Marvin Orie (captain), 4 Nico Janse van Rensburg, 3 Andrew Beerwinkel, 2 Arno van Wyk, 1 Basil Short.

Replacements: 16 Corniel Els, 17 Dayan van der Westhuizen, 18 Nqubeko Zulu, 19 Nardus van der Walt, 20 JP Smith, 21 Kobus Marais, 22 Riaan Britz.

 

Griffons: 15 Wynand Pienaar, 14 Norman Nelson, 13 Vuyo Mbotho, 12 Bren Marais, 11 Tertius Maarman, 10 Franna du Toit, 9 Boela Abrahams, 8 Nicky Steyn (captain), 7 Erik le Roux, 6 Martin Sithole, 5 Chris Ehlers, 4 Johan van der Hoogt, 3 Heinrich Roelfse, 2 Khwezi Mkhafu, 1 Rudi Britz.

Replacements: 16 Jacques Gnäde, 17 PW Botha, 18 Jan Breedt, 19 Daniel van der Merwe, 20 Frans Sisita, 21 Oshwill Nortje, 22 Colin Herbert.

 

Referee: Francois Pretorius

 

 

JC Roos scored 21 points to lead the Pumas to a 31-23 win over the Leopards XV in their Vodacom Cup North Section match at Profert Olen Park in Potchefstroom on Friday.

 

Flyhalf Roos scored a try and kicked two conversions and four penalties as the Pumas clinched their fourth win of the season.

 

The visitors from the Lowveld made a fast start to the match as flank Jaco Bouwer crashed over for an unconverted try in just the second minute. 

 

However, the Leopards took the lead in the 15th minute thanks to the pivot Kobus du Plessis’s second successful penalty attempt of the match.

 

 

Tries: Hayward, Torrens

Cons: Du Plessis 2

Pens: Du Plessis 3

 

Tries: Bouwer, Spies, Roos.

Cons: Roos 2

Pens: Roos 4

 

 

Leopards: 15 Sergio Torrens, 14 Jaco Hayward, 13 Adri Jacobs, 12 Adriaan Engelbrecht, 11 Reohn van Zyl, 10 Kobus du Plessis, 9 Malherbe Swart, 8 Juan Language (captain), 7 PJ Uys, 6 Jaco Jordaan, 5 Francois Robertse, 4 Andries van Blerk, 3 Stephan Bezuidenhout, 2 Dane van der Westhuyzen, 1 Devon Martinus.

Replacements: 16 Wilmar Arnoldi, 17 Cayle Denner, 18 Molotsi Bouwer, 19 Jaco Buys, 20 Percy Williams, 21 Warren Gilbert, 22 Alvino Montjies.

 

Pumas: 15 JW Bell, 14 Bernardo Botha, 13 Wilmaure Louw, 12 Stefan Watermeyer (captain), 11 Ruwellyn Isbell, 10 JC Roos, 9 Johan Herbst, 8 Jason-Collin Fraser, 7 Uzair Cassiem, 6 Jaco Bouwer, 5 Frikkie Spies, 4 Rudi Mathee, 3 Drew van Coller, 2 Simon Westraadt, 1 Khwezi Mona.

Replacements: 16 Marnus Schoeman, 17 Sabelo Nhlapo, 18 Marius Coetzer, 19 Brian Shabangu, 20 Reynier van Rooyen, 21 Justin van Staden, 22 Jerome Pretorius.

 

Referee: Jaco Kotze

 

 

The SWD Eagles turned in a storming second half performance to down the Sharks XV by 36-13 in their Vodacom Cup South Section match at Outeniqua Park in George on Friday.

 

The Eagles ran in three second half tries on their way to scoring 29 unanswered points with the Sharks XV unable to score any second half points.

 

No.8 Zandre Jordaan and right wing Alshaun Bock both scored a brace of tries for the home team, who completed their second win of the season while the Sharks XV were consigned to their third loss in four games.

 

 

Tries: Jordaan 2, Haupt, Bock 2

Cons: Van Vuuren 4

Pen: Van Vuuren.

 

Try: Chavanga

Con: Radebe

Pens: Radebe 2

 

 

Eagles: 15 Elric van Vuuren, 14 Hentzwill Pedro, 13 Kirsten Heyns, 12 Luzuko Vulindlu, 11 Alshaun Bock, 10 Gerrit Smith, 9 Dwayne Kelly, 8 Zandre Jordaan, 7 Davon Raubenheimer (captain), 6 Janneman Stander, 5 Mzwanele Zito, 4 Schalk Oelofse, 3 Ashley Buys, 2 Kurt Haupt, 1 Marius Fourie.

Replacements: 16 Wayne Khan, 17 Raoul Larson, 18 Grant le Roux, 19 Andisa Ntsila, 20 Buran Parks, 21 Leighton Eksteen, 22 Ashwin Scott.

 

Sharks XV: 15 Alcino Izaacs, 14 Tonderai Chavhanga, 13 Neil Maritz, 12 Heimar Williams, 11 Charles Mayeza, 10 Innocent Radebe, 9 Stefan Ungerer (captain), 8 Johan Meyer, 7 Johan du Toit, 6 Khaya Majola, 5 Hyron Andrews, 4 Stephan Lewies, 3 Marne Coetzee, 2 Kyle Cooper, 1 Dale Chadwick.

Replacements: 16 Chris De Beer, 17 Mthunzi Moloi, 18 Daniel du Preez, 19 Jean-Luc du Preez, 20 Cameron Wright, 21 Marius Louw, 22 Tyler Fisher.

 

Referee: Lesego Legoete

 

 

It took some time for Western Province to find their rhythm but, having been held to 8-6 at halftime, they ran in four more tries to beat Border Bulldogs 34-6 in their Vodacom Cup match at the City Park Stadium in Cape Town on Saturday.

 

It was a game dominated by the Western Province forwards, who scored three of the five tries as they cemented their place at the top of the log with four out of four, with a bonus point.

 

The match also saw dream start for debutant WP fullback Garth April from the newly-crowned Community Cup champions Durbanville-Bellville, who opened the hosts’ try-scoring spree in the 25th minute.

 

 

Tries: April, Chowles, Smit, Van Zyl, Du Preez.

Cons: Du Plessis 2, Du Preez

Pen: Du Plessis

 

Pens: Banda 2

 

 

Western Province: 15 Garth April, 14 Tshotsho Mbovane, 13 Kyle Lombard, 12 Robert du Preez, 11 JP Lewis, 10 Jean-Luc Du Plessis, 9 SP Ferreira, 8 Rayn Smid

7 Jurie van Vuuren, 6 Luke van der Smit, 5 Chris van Zyl (captain), 4 Jan de Klerk, 3 Entienne Swanepoel, 2 Neil Rautenbach, 1 Sithembiso Sithole.

Replacements: 16 Charlton van Jaarsveld, 17 Wilco Louw, 18 Deacon Chowles, 19 Wilhelm van der Sluys, 20 Justin Benn, 21 Godlen Masimla, 22 William Ndayara.

 

Border Bulldogs: 15 Masixole Banda, 14 Sipho Nofemele, 13 Makazole Mapimpi, 12 Lukhanyo Am, 11 Michael Makase, 10 Oliver Zono, 9 Ntando Kebe (Captain), 8 Nkosi Nofuma, 7 Siya Mdaka, 6 Lukhanyo Nomzanga, 5 Wandile Putuma, 4 Lindokuhle Welemu, 3 Johannes Jonker, 2 Ludwe Booi, 1 Yanga Xakalashe.

Replacements: 16 Mihlali Mpafi, 17 Buhle Mxunyelwa, 18 Siyamthanda Ngande, 19 Billy Dutton, 20 Bangi Kobese, 21 Lundi Ralarala, 22 Lester Mgwadleka.

 

Referee: Oregopotse Rametsi

 

 

The  Welwitschias’ greater desire earned them a well-deserved first victory in the 2015 Vodacom Cup when they beat the Limpopo Blue Bulls by 24-17 in Windhoek on Saturday.

 

The Namibian side led 17-3 at half time thanks to two great individual tries by outside centre Johann Tromp, who added his hat-trick try nine minutes into the second half.

 

He was duly named man of the match.

 

The victory was only the second by any Namibian side in the Vodacom Cup, following the 2010 home win against the Falcons (66-33 in Windhoek).

 

 

Tries: Tromp 3

Cons: Kaizemi 3

Pen: Kaizemi

 

Tries: Els, Erasmus

Cons: Beswick 2

Pen: Beswick

 

 

Welwitschias: 15 Justin Nel, 14 Russell van Wyk, 13 Johann Tromp, 12 Darryl de la Harpe (captain), 11 Silvano Beukes, 10 Shaun Kaizemi, 9 Eneill Buitendag, 8 Rezando Botes, 7 Thomasau Forbes, 6 Morton van Kradenburg, 5 Nico Esterhuyse, 4 Stef Botha, 3 Shaun Du Preez 2 Rathony Becker, 1 Quintin Esterhuizen.

Replacements: 16 Daniel Van Vuuren, 17 Jaco Engels, 18 Muharua Katjiteko, 19 Leneve Damens, 20 JC Winkler, 21 Jacques Nell, 22 Danny Arries.

 

Limpopo Blue Bulls: 15 Kobus Kotze, 14 Jurgen Lochner, 13 Andries Truter, 12 JP du Plessis, 11 Dean van Heteren, 10 Anton Beswick, 9 Kyran Odendaal, 8 Willem Engelbrecht, 7 Pieter Matthews, 6 Dwayne Pienaar, 5 Isak Deetlefs, 4 Tinus van Wyk (captain), 3 Anton Krynauw, 2 Banie Boonzaaier, 1 Heinrich Els.

Replacements: 16 Frederik Botha, 17 Cornelius Greeff, 18 Damiel Hart, 19 Marnus Erasmus, 20 Sheldon van den Berg, 21 Theunis Kruger, 22 Dean Gordon.

 

Referee: Stephan Geldenhuys

 

 

A hat-trick by wing Natabeni Dukisa saw Griquas bash the Boland Cavaliers 62-19 in their Vodacom Cup encounter at the Smuts Ground in Velddrif on Saturday.

 

Rocco Jansen scored twice in the first half as the teams went into the break with the visitors leading by 20-7 and although the home team closed the gap to 20-14 early in the second half, Griquas then cut loose as they dotted down six times in the second 40 minutes to record the biggest victory of the round.

 

 

Tries: Engelbrecht, Ramat, Conradie

Cons: Zana 2

 

Tries: Jansen 2, Wehr 2, Dukisa 3, Bezuidenhout, Swart

Cons: Prinsloo 7

Pen: Prinsloo

 

 

Boland Cavaliers: 15 Ryno Conradie, 14 Harlon Klaasen, 13 Wilneth Engelbrecht, 12 Edwin Sass, 11 Arno Fortuin, 10 Eric Zana, 9 Tiaan Ramat, 8 Wayne Wilschut, 7 Andre Coetzee, 6 Gareth Cilliers, 5 Gavin Annandale (captain), 4 Yves Bashiya, 3 Martin Dreyer, 2 Clemen Lewis, 1 Schalk Jooste.

Replacements: 16 Kelvin Fikster, 17 Stephanus Wessels, 18 Roderick Dalton, 19 Nicol du Plessis, 20 Granville Adams, 21 Duwayne Smart, 22 Jos Malherbe.

 

Griquas: 15 Gouws Prinsloo, 14 Ntabeni Dukisa, 13 PJ Vermeulen, 12 Jonathan Francke, 11 Rocco Jansen, 10 Francois Brummer (captain), 9 Rudi van Rooyen, 8 Carel Greeff, 7 RJ Liebenberg, 6 Wendal Wehr, 5 Hugo Kloppers, 4 Stephan Greeff, 3 Stephan Kotze, 2 Martin Bezuidenhout, 1 Luxolo Koza.

Replacements: 16 AJ Le Roux, 17 Ewald van der Westhuizen, 18 Stephan Malan, 19 Jono Janse van Rensburg, 20 Jovan Cookson, 21 Clinton Swart, 22 Ederies Arendse.

 

Referee: Cwengile Jadezweni

 

 

The Free State Cheetahs XV were made to work extremely hard for their 50-45 win over a gutsy EP Kings in a Vodacom Cup match in Bloemfontein on Saturday.

 

With only five minutes remaining at the Free State Stadium, the score was still 42-42, but a penalty and try by replacement flyhalf Ludwig Erasmus wrapped up proceedings for the home team’s third win of their campaign in the Southern Section.

 

Former EP Kings flyer Sergeal Petersen scored a brace of tries for the Free Staters while Tim Whitehead, who captained the side from Port Elizabeth, did the same for the visitors as a total of 12 tries were scored in this encounter.

 

 

Tries: Du Plessis, Petersen 2, Venter, Engelbrecht, April, Erasmus

Cons: Marais 6

Pen: Erasmus

 

Tries: Agaba, Obi, Whitehead 2, Soyizwapi

Cons: Van Breda 4

Pens: Van Aswegen, Van Breda 3

 

 

Free State XV: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Gerrie Labuschagne, 13 JP du Plessis, 12 Joubert Engelbrecht, 11 Sergeal Petersen, 10 Niel Marais, 9 Shaun Venter, 8 Johan Wessels, 7 Thato Ngoza, 6 Zingisa April, 5 Devin Oosthuizen, 4 Justin Basson, 3 Louwrens Strydom, 2 Ryno Barnes (captain), 1 Caylib Oosthuizen.

Replacements: 16 Joseph Dweba, 17 van Zyl Botha, 18 Armand du Preez, 19 Vincent Jobo, 20 Renier Botha, 21 Ludwig Erasmus, 22 Enver Brandt.

 

EP Kings:15 Scott van Breda, 14 Siviwe Soyizwapi, 13 Hansie Graaff, 12 Tim Whitehead (captain), 11 Luther Obi, 10 Gary Van Aswegen, 9 Jaco Grobler, 8 Tim Agaba, 7 Thembelani Bholi, 6 Paul Schoeman, 5 David Bulbring, 4 Mthetheleli Fuzani, 3 Simon Kerrod, 2 Edgar Marutlulle, 1 Lizo Gqoboka.

Replacements: 16 Michael van Vuuren, 17 Abongile Mnyaka, 18 Cameron Lindsay, 19 Stefan Willemse, 20 Dylon Frylinck, 21 Tony Jantjies, 22 Ronnie Cooke.

 

Referee: Quinton Immelman

 

 

North Section: Blue Bulls 6 5 24; Golden Lions 5 5 23; Pumas 6 4 20; Leopards XV 4 2 10; Falcons 4 1 8; Welwitschias 5 1 6; Griffons 4 1 5 ; Limpopo Blue Bulls 4 0 1.

 

South Section: Western Province 4 4 19; Griquas 4 4 18; Free State XV 4 3 15; SWD Eagles 4 2 11; EP Kings 4 1 8; Sharks XV 4 1 5; Boland Cavaliers 4 1 5; Border Bulldogs 4 0 0.

 

Top scorers:

 

72 – JC Roos (Pumas – two tries, 16 conversions, 10 penalties)

55 – Kobus Marais (Blue Bulls – one try. 13 conversions, eight penalties)

45 – Ashlon Davids (Golden Lions – one try. 14 conversions, four penalties )

45 – Elric van Vuuren (Eagles – nine conversions, nine penalties)

43 – Gouws Prinsloo (Griquas – 11 conversions, seven penalties)