Blue Bulls and Bulldogs off the mark
The Sharks underlined their dominance of the South Section of the Vodacom Cup as the Blue Bulls and Border Bulldogs finally got their first wins of the season.
The Durbanites beat the Free State XV by 23-22 in Bloemfontein on Friday to remain unbeaten – one of only three teams with this status after round three – but it could’ve been different had Neil Marais, flyhalf of the home team, managed to slot a late attempted penalty.
Marais didn’t succeed though and the Sharks XV returned to Durban with the win, despite being outscored by three tries to two.
On Saturday afternoon, the Blue Bulls won their first match of the season after two very narrow defeats when they ended the winning streak of Golden Lions, dating back to April 2013 and eight matches.
The Pretorians overturned a 13-point deficit before clinching a 22-20 win over the defending Vodacom Cup champions at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.
The Border Bulldogs got their first win of 2014 when they showed great character to beat the Simba XV from Kenya by 18-17 at the Buffalo City Municipality Stadium in East London. Jeff Taljard got 13 of the home team’s points through a try, conversion and two penalty goals.
The two other unbeaten teams, the Pumas and Griquas, were both in action on Friday as well.
The Pumas handed the Griffons a big drubbing in Welkom when they won by 69-5, scoring 10 tries in the process. Three players of the side from Mpumalanga, Uzair Cassiem, Jerome Pretorius and Ruwellyn Isbell, each scored a brace of tries.
The third match on Friday took place in Kimberley where Griquas also scored 10 tries en route to a 68-17 victory over the Limpopo Blue Bulls. Hilford Clarke scored a hat-trick while Jaco Nepgen carded a brace of tries for the home side.
The Leopards XV had to withstand a strong fightback from the Valke in Kempton Park on Saturday afternoon, but their 21-point lead at the break was ultimately enough to win this encounter by 40-29. George Tossel was the North Westerners’ hero with a hat-trick of tries.
The biggest win in the South Section belonged to Western Province as they trounced the EP Kings by 56-22 at City Park in Athlone on Saturday afternoon. Rayn Smid was the home team’s hat-trick hero as they scored eight tries to EP’s three.
The SWD Eagles soared to second spot on the South Section log with a brilliant 46-17 win over the Boland Cavaliers in picturesque Swellendam on Saturday afternoon, scoring six tries in the process.
All the scores and scorers:
Griffons 5-69 Pumas
Griffons:
Try: Maarman
Pumas:
Tries: Cassiem 2, Steenkamp, Pretorius 2, Pretorius, Isbell 2, Botha, Shabangu
Cons: Roos 7, Van Staden
Pen: Roos
Free State XV 22-23 Sharks XV
Free State XV:
Tries: Botha, Mlondobozi, Lee
Cons: Marais 2
Pen: Marais
Sharks XV:
Tries: Venter, Downey
Cons: Zeilinga 2
Pens: Zeilinga 3
Griquas 68-13 Limpopo Blue Bulls
Griquas:
Tries: Clarke 3, Molefe, Kebe, Prinsloo, Westraadt, Nepgen 2, Greeff
Cons: Jinka 7, Prinsloo.
Limpopo Blue Bulls:
Try: Johnson
Con: Huysamen
Pens: Huysamen 2
Border Bulldogs 18-17 Simba XV
Border Bulldogs:
Tries: Taljard, Mapimpi
Con: Taljard
Pens: Taljard 2
Simba XV:
Tries: Olando, Mugaisi
Cons: Andula 2
Pen: Andula
Falcons 29-40 Leopards XV
Falcons:
Tries: Janke, Ngcobo, Richter, Van Wyk
Pens: Cleophas 3
Leopards XV:
Tries: Tossel 3, Jacobs
Cons: Nortier 4
Pens: Nortier 4
Western Province 56-22 EP Kings
Western Province:
Tries: Smid 3, Williams, Lewis, Lombard, Kitshoff, Notshe
Cons: Van Aswegen 5
Pens: Van Aswegen 2
EP Kings:
Tries: Sonkosi, Killian, Davids
Cons: Dukisa 2
Pen: Dukisa
SWD Eagles 46-17 Boland Cavaliers
SWD Eagles:
Tries: Smart 2, Raubenheimer, Petzer, Pedro, Le Roux
Cons: Aspeling 4, Rhoode
Pens: Aspeling 2
Boland Cavaliers:
Tries: Rust, Radyn
Cons: Zana 2
Pen: Zana
Blue Bulls 22-20 Golden Lions
Blue Bulls:
Tries: Davids, Blommetjies, Kriel
Cons: Fouche, Jantjies
Pen: Jantjies
Golden Lions:
Tries: Brink, Willis
Cons: Jantjies 2
Pens: Jantjies 2
Vodacom Cup logs
(Under played, won, points)
North section
Pumas (3, 3, 13)
Griquas (3, 3, 13)
Leopards XV (3, 2, 11)
Golden Lions (3, 2, 9)
Blue Bulls (3, 1, 6)
Griffons (3, 1, 5)
Falcons (3, 0, 2)
Limpopo Blue Bulls (3, 0, 0)
South section
Sharks XV (3, 3, 13)
SWD (3, 2, 12)
Free State XV (3, 2, 11)
Western Province (3, 2, 9)
EP Kings (3, 1, 6)
Simba XV (3, 1, 5)
Border (3, 1, 4)
Boland (3, 0, 0)
