Province hold off resurgent Lions
Western Province got their first bonus point of the season and secured a home semifinal with a 36-23 victory over the Golden Lions at Newlands.
The match followed a familiar pattern for both sides with Province racing out to a lead and the Lions fighting back, but the home side made the game safe with a late try to lock Michael Rhodes.
The visitors took an early 6-0 lead thanks to the steady boot of Marnitz Boshoff, but Province hit back with the only two tries in the first half to take an 18-9 lead into the break.
Some quick hands from forwards and backs saw centre Damian de Allende surge over in the left corner for the opening try, and they followed that up with another from skipper Deon Fourie just before half-time.
Ten quick points after the break put Province firmly in the driving seat as another penalty from Catrakilis was followed up by a great try from Gerhard van den Heever who was put in space by Gio Aplon.
Schalk Burger made his return to Newlands with 20 minutes left, but as he took to the field the Lions got over for a try from a very effective rolling maul which started outside the 22.
The visitors stampeded towards the line with great momentum and it was captain Derrick Minnie who got over in the corner, with Boshoff's conversion reducing the gap to 28-16.
It was not long before the Lions skipper followed that up with another one as the Lions used the maul to good effect once more to bring themselves right back into the game at 28-23 down with 15 minutes left.
Province hit back with a penalty from Kurt Coleman, but they were strukc a major blow when hooker Scarra Ntubeni was shown a yellow card for repeated infringements.
Despite that setback it was the home side that would have the final say as Rhodes forced his way over to secure the bonus point which puts them on top of the log heading into the final round before the play-offs.
Man of the match: Province skipper Deon Fourie was on great form once again, proving a menace both with and without the ball.
The scorers:
For Western Province:
Tries: De Allende, Fourie, Van den Heever, Rhodes
Cons: Catrakilis 2
Pens: Catrakilis 3, Coleman
For Golden Lions:
Tries: Minnie 2
Cons: Boshoff 2
Pens: Boshoff 3
Yellow card: Scarra Ntubeni (Repeated infringements, 70 mins)
Teams:
Western Province: 15 Gio Aplon, 14 Gerhard van den Heever, 13 Michael van der Spuy, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Cheslin Kolbe, 10 Demetri Catrakilis, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Rynhardt Elstadt, 6 Deon Fourie (captain), 5 De Kock Steenkamp, 4 Michael Rhodes, 3 Pat Cilliers, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Steven Kitshoff.
Replacements: 16 Frans Malherbe, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Schalk Burger, 19 Josh Katzen, 20 Nic Groom, 21 Kurt Coleman, 22 Ryan Nell.
Golden Lions: 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Chrysander Botha, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Lionel Cronje, 11 Anthony Volmink, 10 Marnitz Boshoff, 9 Michael Bondesio, 8 Warren Whiteley, 7 Derick Minnie (captain), 6 Jaco Kriel, 5 Chris van Zyl, 4 Willie Britz, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Robbie Coetzee, 1 CJ van der Linde.
Replacements: 16 Willie Wepener, 17 Jacques van Rooyen, 18 Hugo Kloppers, 19 Warwick Tecklenberg, 20 Ross Cronje, 21 Kobus de Kock, 22 Deon Helberg.
Referee: Stuart Berry
Assistant referees: Craig Joubert, Marc van Zyl
TMO: Shaun Veldsman
