Craven Week: Half ton for Boland

Boland ran in eight tries to demolish the Limpopo Blue Bulls 52-7 on the opening day of the Under-18 Craven Week in Stellenbosch on Monday.

Flyhalf Adriaan van der Bank contributed 22 points and was instrumental in the build-up to a few other tries as he controlled maters brilliantly to get Boland's campaign off to a winning start.

Limpopo took the game to their opponents in the opening exchanges and managed to pin Boland inside their half of the field but dominating possession and territory meant nothing as the score remained deadlocked after 10 minutes.

Boland continued to struggle to get their hands on the ball to launch a threatening attack but showed guts on defence to keep Limpopo at bay. The match remained a cagey affair, being played between the 22s, for the majority of the half before the moment of the half brought the crowd to life.

Boland found themselves in an attacking position on Limpopo's 22 when they launched a set-piece which saw flyhalf Adriaan van der Bank wrap around Bezuidenhout, split the defence and charge for the corner. He was brought down just one metre from the try line but still had the presence of mind to offload the ball in the tackle to Earll Douwrie – who grabbed the try – and handed Boland the first points of the match in the 27th minute.

The lead was doubled two minutes later when captain Jacobus Abel bulldozed his way through the Limpopo defence before the ball was recycled and sent through the hands. Provider turned scorer when Van der Bank showed a clean pair of heels to grab the five-pointer.

There was no stopping Boland from that point as they grabbed a third on the stroke of half-time through flank Barend van der Westhuizen, who benefited from a well-executed rolling maul. Van der Bank managed to land his first conversion of the match to hand Boland a 17-0 lead at the interval.

Boland picked up where they left off and found reward in the 41st minute when Erik Groenewald rounded off a brilliant attack. Van der Bank was once again in the thick of things when he handed a Sonny Bill-pass to Douwrie who ran a brilliant inside line on Limpopo's 22. He took the contact from the final defender before making the final pass.

Scrumhalf Rick Jordaan was not going to be left out as he grabbed the fifth try in the 46th minute with a cheeky pick-and-go from a ruck to score next to the upright. Van der Bank's third conversion extended the lead to 31 points.

Groenewald bagged a brace in the 53rd minute when he supported Jordaan's break and latched onto the pass to score under the posts. The score was stretched to 38-0 when Van der Bank easily added the extra points.

Limpopo broke their duck in the 62nd minute when they held their composure and took the play through many phases to create an overlap on the outside. The ball found the clutches of Sibusiso Mlangeni, who claimed the try. Wernich Kachelhoffer easily slotted the extra points.

Van der Bank was once again in the thick of things when he put Abel through a half-gap which sent the captain on a 30-metre sprint to the line before grabbing his second try of the match with a brilliant individual effort on the stroke of full-time. He slotted both conversions to bring up the magical 50 point mark.

Man of the match: Adriaan van der Bank

The scorers:

For Boland:

Tries: Douwrie, van der Bank 2, van der Westhuizen, Groenewald 2, Jordaan, Abel

Cons: van der Bank 6

For Limpopo Blue Bulls:

Try: Mlangeni

Con: Kachelhoffer

Teams:

Boland: 15 Earll Douwrie, 14 George Davids, 13 Keanan Boonzaaier, 12 Shane Bezuidenhout, 11 Byron Qupa, 10 Adriaan van der Bank, 9 Rick Jordaan, 8 Evan Booysen, 7 Barend van der Westhuizen, 6 Steyn Olivier, 5 Jacobus Abel (captain), 4 Erik Groenewald, 3 Stephan Fourie, 2 Etienne van Dyk, 1 Pieter Koegelenberg.

Replacements: 16 Ruan Terblanche, 17 Pieter Stassen, 18 Denver Prins, 19 Marco Koen, 20 Frans Hugo, 21 Gustav September, 22 Gilroy Philander.

Limpopo Blue Bulls:15 Danny Mokhoabane, 14 Sibusiso Mlangeni, 13 Stefan Nel, 12 Jan Coertze, 11 Bjanyane Molokomme, 10 Wernich Kachelhoffer, 9 Eduan Smit, 8 Stefan Engelbrecht, 7 Salomon Vermaak, 6 Thapelo Molapo, 5 Kobus Botha, 4 Tony Siima, 3 Dieter Meyer, 2 Hanco Taljaard, 1 Luandro Cangueiro.

Replacements: 16 Matimu Manganyi, 17 Darren Steyn, 18 Chris Jenkinson, 19 Melvin Matlala, 20 Franco Van der Watt, 21 Albertus Van Deventer, 22 Chrizaan Strauss.

Referee: Sindile Ngcese

Assistant referees: Ricus van der Hoven, Vusimuzi Msibi

TMO: AJ Jacobs

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