Province win thriller to go top

Western Province overtook the Golden Lions at the top of the Currie Cup standings, after a 27-14 win in a thrilling encounter at Newlands on Saturday.

It wasn't the try-fest most had come to expect, but even so it was as entertaining as any match we have seen this season.

And WP, who outscored their rivals by three tries to one, were good value for the win.

The Lions were probably their own worst enemies, with poor options in the halfback positions contributing to most of the wasted opportunities. Some poor kicking out of hand further added to their inability to get a foothold in the game.

As was to be expected, the visitors' scrum had the upperhand, but they did not always make use of this advantage.

In contrast, WP used their opportunities far better and showed their ability to turn even the most marginal of chances into points.

The home team's amazing work at the breakdown further contributed to the Lions' inability to get their running game going.

And that, the contesting at the breakdown, along with sound defence is what made WP deserved winners.

The underfoot conditions were not favourable for the style of rugby the two teams attempted to play, with the early exchanged market by a lot of slipping-and-sliding.

It did not stop either side from trying and it was WP wing Kobus van Wyk who opened the scoring – the result of some great passing down the backline, after the forwards had a few bashes from close range. Dimitri Catrakilis added the extras – 7-0 after 11 minutes.

The next score, also to Van Wyk, had fortuitous written all over it – an attempted clearance by Catrakilis going horribly wrong, so badly it caught even the Lions unawares and Van Wyk collecting the bouncing ball to beat an opponent and sprint 80 metres for the score. The conversion made it 14-0 after just 15 minutes.

Ruan Combrinck opened the scoring for the Lions with a penalty on the half-hour mark, then – after much bashing – Andries Coetzee went over in the left corner. This time Combrinck was wide of the mark with his and – 8-14, which is how it stayed to the break.

A powerful scrum early in the second half allowed Combrinck to narrow the gap to 11-14, before an offside penalty against the Lions saw Catrakilis restore his team's six-point lead – 17-11.

It was a high tackle that gave Combrinck his next short at goal, 14-17 just past the 50-minute mark, and then a breakdown offence allowed Catrakilis to restore the six-point advantage (20-14) just short of the hour mark.

The Lions continued to bash, carry, bash, carry and recycle, till – out of nowhere – Kurt Coleman spotted a gap and from a fortuitous bounce, in the wake of a Lions slap-back, Jaco Taute sauntered over. Coleman added the conversion – 27-14, with seven minutes remaining.

While the Lions would have held out hope of a losing bonus point, their naivety again cost them against an well-organised WP defence and the home team took away four valuable points.

Man of the match: Lionel Mapoe showed the important role he plays in organising the Lions' backline, while Willie Britz and Warwick Tecklenburg provided the majority of the Lions' ball carries. However, it was Derick Minnie's workrate that proved to be most valuable to the Lions when they needed to get back into the game – in particular a couple of turnovers near his own line. Kobus van Wyk showed his brilliance as a finisher, while Seabelo Senatla showed he too can take his Sevens form into the 15-a-side game.  As we have come to expect, Western Province loose forwards Nizaam Carr and Siya Kolisi stamped their marks on the game in a big way and they win our award – jointly.

The scorers:

For  Western Province:

Tries: Van Wyk 2, Taute

Cons: Catrakilis 2, Coleman

Pens: Catrakilis 2

For the Golden Lions:

Try: Coetzee

Pens: Combrinck 3

Teams:

Western Province: 15 Cheslin Kolbe, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Juan de Jongh (captain), 12 Michael van der Spuy, 11 Seabelo Senatla, 10 Demetri Catrakilis, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Michael Rhodes, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Manuel Carizza, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Pat Cilliers, 2 Stephan Coetzee, 1 Alistair Vermaak.

Replacements: 16 Neil Rautenbach, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Ruan Botha, 19 Rynhardt Elstadt, 20 Louis Schreuder, 21 Kurt Coleman, 22 Jaco Taute.

Golden Lions: 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Courtnall Skosan, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Ruan Combrinck, 10 Nicolaas Hanekom, 9 Ross Cronjé, 8 Willie Britz, 7 Warwick Tecklenburg, 6 Derick Minnie (captain), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Luvuyiso Lusaseni, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Robbie Coetzee, 1 Schalk van der Merwe.

Replacements: 16 Armand van der Merwe, 17 Jacques van Rooyen, 18 Martin Muller, 19 Jaco Kriel, 20 Guy Cronjé, 21 Albertus Smith, 22 Howard Mnisi.

Referee: Craig Joubert

Assistant referees: Christie du Preez, Marc van Zyl

TMO: Deon van Blommestein