Province rout Cheetahs in Newlands 'monsoon'
CURRIE CUP REPORT: Western Province got their campaign off to an impressive start with a 32-0 whitewash of the Free State Cheetahs at a very wet Newlands on Saturday.
Province fullback Sarel Marais described it as the toughest conditions he ever had to plaid in, as a monsoon-like storm drifted in and brought some much-needed rain to a city still trying to shake off the effects of a recent drought.
The pouring rain and gusting wind made any thoughts of attracting and entertaining play an impossible idea.
Apart from being unable to cope with the power of the Province pack and literally being out of their depth in the testing conditions, the Cheetahs were naive in their tactics and shockingly poor in the execution of their plays.
In contrast, WP looked at home in the conditions and more appreciative of what is required on a surface looking more like a swimming pool that a rugbyfield.
Province coach John Dobson, in his pre-match prediction, suggested his forwards may have the measure of all the packs in the competition.
And based on this performance, the Newlands outfit indeed have the measure of the rest in the forwards exchanges.
The home side were reduced to 14 men early on, when No.8 Juarno Augusts was shown a yellow card for making contact with a player in the air.
Despite that, Western Province were first to score, with fullback Sarel Marais slotting a penalty from just in front of the halfway line as rain started to fall at Newlands.
Western Province were winning the all-important territory battle and were rewarded with a second Marais penalty from right in front of the poles to make it 6-0.
Their patience in the difficult conditions paid off as the pressure told after the half-time hooter, with outside centre Ruhan Nel dummying his way over for a try to give them a 13-0 advantage at the break.
The second try came just after half-time, with Augustus powering his way over with a few defenders on his back to take the lead out to 20-0 as the rain came down harder.
Hooker Siyabonga Ntubeni and lock John Schickerling both got over for tries as the Western Province forward pack started imposing themselves in the wet conditions.
They held out to claim a convincing victory in the end and start their Currie Cup campaign with a bonus point win.
Man of the match: In the atrocious conditions, the forwards were always going to dominate – but flyhalf Joshua Stander and Jano Vermaak deserve honourable mentions. Juarno Augustus, Sikhumbuzo Notshe and Siyabonga Ntubeni all had standout performances, but our award goes to Western Province lock John Schickerling.
The scorers:
For Western Province:
Tries: Nel, Augustus, Ntubeni, Schickerling
Cons: Marais 3
Pens: Marais 2
For the Free State Cheetahs:
None
Yellow card: Juarno Augustus (Western Province, 5 – foul play, tackled player in the air)
* Listen as the @rugby365 team unpacks the weekend’s matches!
Teams:
Western Province: 15 Sarel Marais, 14 Jacobus Engelbrecht, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Dan Kriel, 11 Dillyn Leyds (captain), 10 Joshua Stander, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 Juarno Augustus, 7 Kobus van Dyk, 6 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 5 John Schickerling, 4 Salmaan Moerat, 3 Michael Kumbirai, 2 Siyabonga Ntubeni, 1 Allister Vermaak.
Replacements: 16 Chad Solomon, 17 Caylib Oosthuizen, 18 Neethling Fouche, 19 Ernst van Rhyn, 20 Herschel Jantjies, 21 Dan du Plessis, 22 Sergeal Petersen.
Free State Cheetahs: 15 Malcolm Jaer, 14 Sibahle Maxwane, 13 Dries Swanepoel, 12 Nico Lee, 11 William Small-Smith, 10 Louis Fouche, 9 Tian Meyer, 8 Aidon Davis, 7 Oupa Mohoje (captain), 6 Jasper Wiese, 5 Dennis Visser, 4 Justin Basson, 3 Güther Janse van Vuuren, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Ox Nche.
Replacements: 16 Jacques du Toit, 17 Erich de Jager, 18 Luan de Bruin, 19 Stephan Malan, 20 Junior Pokomela, 21 Shaun Venter, 22 Ernst Stapelberg.
Referee: AJ Jacobs
Assistant referees: Cwengile Jadezweni, Nathan Swartz
TMO: Shaun Veldsman
* CURRIE CUP DOCUMENTARY: What was once South Africa’s premier tournament, has now become a ‘development’ event. rugby365 decided to go back to where it all began over a century ago and see why this tournament was the most revered and where this venerable and celebrated trophy comes from.
