Currie Cup semifinals confirmed after WP destroy Sharks
CURRIE CUP REPORT: Western Province ended their Currie Cup campaign on a high note after they smashed the Sharks 44-5 at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.
The Capetonians outscored their opponents by six tries to one in a match which they dominated from start to finish.
Province were hoping they could have played for a semifinal spot, but that opportunity was taken away from them when the Bulls got two losing bonus points in their 27-31 defeat to the Cheetahs earlier in the day.
The Sharks already secured a home semifinal before the round started, but their defeat in Cape Town means they finished in second spot and they will now host the Pumas at Kings Park in Durban.
The Cheetahs ended the league phase on top of the standings and they will host the Bulls in next weekend’s other semifinal at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein.
WP took control early on their clash with the Sharks with two penalties from flyhalf Jurie Matthee.
The first try came from a kick over the top from Clayton Blommetjies, which was chased down by Leolin Zas to force a loose pass in the 22. Ben-Jason Dixon pounced on the loose ball, showing good awareness to toe it over the line before scoring.
The second try came from some quick-thinking from flank Marcel Theunissen, who took a quick tap in the 22 to dive over.
Western Province had their tails up and capitalised further with Hacjivah Dayimani scoring in the corner just before half-time to give them a commanding 25-0 advantage at the break.
Dayimani had his second soon after half-time, this time taking a pass from Andre-Hugo Venter to score from close range.
The visitors looked to have scored their first points, but the try from centre Marnus Potgieter was disallowed for an earlier knock-on.
Instead, it was Western Province to score next as lock Ruben van Heerden finished off a flowing move down the left which featured a number of impressive offloads.
There was time for one more as Blommetjies ghosted his way through the defence before spinning a pass out to replacement flank Jarrod Taylor, who sprinted in to score.
The visitors scored after the hooter, but it was little more than a consolation.
Man of the match: Jurie Matthee had a solid game in the flyhalf channel. He directed play well and his kicking was good as well. However, the award goes to Clayton Blommetjies, who was a constant threat on attack. He broke the line on a number of occasions and was solid in defence as well.
The scorers:
For Western Province:
Tries: Dixon, Theunissen, Dayimani 2, Van Heerden, Taylor
Cons: Matthee 4
Pens: Matthee 2
For Sharks:
Try: Potgieter
Yellow card: Jarrod Taylor (WP, 81′ – foul play, late and high tackle)
Teams:
Western Province: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Mnombo Zwelendaba, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Cornel Smit, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Jurie Matthee, 9 Godlen Masimla, 8 Hacjivah Dayimani, 7 Marcel Theunissen, 6 Willie Engelbrecht, 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 Ben-Jason Dixon, 3 Neethling Fouche (captain), 2 Andre-Hugo Venter, 1 Alistair Vermaak.
Replacements: 16 Siyabonga Ntubeni, 17 Leon Lyons, 18 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 19 Connor Evans, 20 Jarrod Taylor, 21 Paul de Wet, 22 Louw Nel, 23 Luke Burger.
Sharks: 15 Thaakir Abrahams, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 12 Marnus Potgieter, 11 Phikolomzi Sobahle, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Cameron Wright, 8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 7 Phendulani Buthelezi (captain), 6 Thembelani Bholi, 5 Gerbrandt Grobler, 4 Hyron Andrews, 3 Carlu Sadie, 2 Kerron van Vuuren, 1 Khwezi Mona.
Replacements: 16 Dameon Venter, 17 Dian Bleuler, 18 Hanro Jacobs, 19 Corne Rahl, 20 Nick Hatton, 21 Celimpilo Gumede, 22 Tiaan Fourie, 23 Nevaldo Fleurs.
Referee: Paul Mente
Assistant referees: Griffin Colby, Stephan Geldenhuys
TMO: Egon Seconds
Additional reporting: @WP_Rugby
