Intune Communications and Entertainment: SARU Media Release - Boland, WP to contest main game at U13 Coca-Cola Craven Week

'Note to Editors: The U13 Coca-Cola Craven Week fixtures for Friday’s final round have been included at the foot of the press release.

Boland and DHL Western Province will contest the main game at the Under-13 Coca-Cola Craven Week on Friday after securing vital victories in the penultimate round on Thursday at Hoërskool Rob Ferreira in White River.

Boland defeated the TW Profile Services Valke 18-15 in Thursday’s closing match, while DHL Western Province beat SWD 17-3 to extend their winning run to three matches in the tournament.

Interestingly this final match will mark a repeat of the LSEN Week’s main game at HTS Drostdy in Worcester on Thursday.

In the other big match-ups, the Itec Blue Bulls ended Border CD’s winning run with a convincing 29-0 victory, while KwaZulu-Natal thumped the Bidvest Golden Lions 33-0 and the Leopards beat Border 27-15.

Hosts the Pumas, meanwhile, secured their first victory of the tournament as they beat Free State 31-14, while Namibia secured a last-gasp 14-13 victory against Zimbabwe in the tournament’s Test match.

The last round of matches will be played on Friday.

Boland 18 (15) TW Profile Services Valke 15 (8)

Boland were in solid form in their clash against the Valke as they used their forwards and backs wisely to get onto the front-foot. They were particularly strong at applying pressure on attack by spreading the ball out wide and they earned the rewards with a 15-8 lead at the break after scoring two tries to only one by the Valke shortly before halftime.

Both teams showed their determination to come out on top in the second half and this resulted in a tightly-contested half. The Valke, however, managed to tighten up their defence, and with Boland battling to power their way through the defence they opted for a penalty kick in the second half to extend their score to 18-8. The Valke threated to score a try minutes later, but Boland threw everything at them on defence and managed to secure a turnover. The Kempton Park team’s determined efforts on attack, however, allowed them to reduce the deficit to 18-15 with eight minutes remaining as they scored their second try of the match under the posts. The Valke continued to show their fighting spirit until the final whistle, but they turned down a shot at goal and opted to go for a try in the dying seconds, but Boland denied them to hold on for the win.

Scorers:

Boland – Tries: Michail Gavin Williams, Jan Jeremias De Villiers Fourie. Conversion: Curwin Gertse. Penalties: Curwin Gertse, Nazero Cleophas.

TW Profile Services Valke – Tries: Keagan Balfour, Thabiso Motaung. Conversion: Kyle Benadie. Penalty: Kyle Benadie.

DHL Western Province 17 (12) SWD 3 (3)

The clash between DHL Western Province and SWD was tight as the teams ran hard at each other and gave everything to gain ascendancy in the clash. With both teams displaying a solid effort on attack and defence most of the match was played close to the halfway line. DHL Western Province, however, gained an edge in the first half as they managed to score two tries, while SWD were limited to a penalty, which left them 12-3 behind.

The second half was equally hard-fought. Western Province’s forwards, however, managed to work their way close to the tryline twice in the fourth quarter, and the tenacious SWD defence managed to win a turnover to deny them from scoring the first try. But they were unable to stop the team’s second effort, which resulted in them going down 17-3.

Scorers:

DHL Western Province – Tries: Luke Burger, Nizaar Nazier, Armand Maritz. Conversion: Jack Cloete.

SWD - Penalty: Cameron Sharp.

Itec Blue Bulls 29 (17) Border CD 0 (0)

The Itec Blue Bulls used their power and pace to outplay Border CD in the first half of their clash, with their forwards, in particular, building a solid foundation up front. Such was the Pretoria side’s dominance they scored three tries as their bigger players dominated the East London team physically to take a 17-0 lead at the break.

The Blue Bulls picked up where they left off after the break and camped in Border CD’s half, and this paid off as it allowed them to increase their lead to 29-0 with a further two tries for a total of five for the match. The team, however, were made to work hard for their second try, as Border CD put their bodies on the line on defence and held them out for the several minutes. A yellow card for Border CD with eight minutes left on the clock also assisted the Blue Bulls’ cause.

Scorers:

Itec Blue Bulls – Tries: Chris Schoombee, Stephan Spies, Kyle Meadows, Zandre Du Toit (2). Conversions: Jooste Nel (2).

Bidvest Golden Lions 0 (0) KwaZulu-Natal 33 (21)

KwaZulu-Natal powered their way onto the front foot from the outset against the Bidvest Golden Lions as they delivered a fine all-round performance to force their way to a convincing 21-0 halftime lead. The Durban side’s forwards showed their class up-front, while their backs did well to spread the ball out wide, which set them up for three first-half tries.

They added another two tries after the break as they continued to take advantage of the gaps in the Lions’ defence. The Johannesburg team, however, tried hard to work their way back into the game after making a few line breaks, but unfortunately the effective KwaZulu-Natal defence shut them out, which left them scoreless in the match.

Scorers:

KwaZulu-Natal - Tries: Khwezi Mbongwa, Kwanele Khumalo, Ethan Matkovich, Kaleb Thomas (2). Conversions: Mathew Halstead (4).

Border 15 (10) Leopards 27 (17)

The Leopards used their powerful forwards to force their way onto the front foot against Border and supported this with a solid effort from their backs. But Border held on and fought back throughout the clash, which allowed them to score two tries to the Leopards’ three, which left them trailing 17-10 at the break.

The Leopards continued to make their presence felt in the second half and increased their score to 24, but this appeared to motivate Border who applied heavy pressure on the Leopards on attack. Their efforts paid off with a try to reduce the gap to 24-15, but a penalty by the Leopards allowed them to extend their lead once again to seal a 27-15 win.

Scorers:

Border – Tries: Latica Nela (2), Lwanga Bongco.

Leopards - Tries: Tiro Tsoana, Jandre Wilken, De-Andre Du Preez. Conversions: Theuns Steyn (3). Penalties: Theuns Steyn (2).

Pumas 31 (12) Free State 14 (7)

The Pumas ran hard at the Free State on attack from the outset of their clash and managed to apply constant pressure on the opposition. These efforts allowed them to break through for two first-half tries, while the Pumas scored once, leaving only a five-point gap between the teams on the scoreboard at the break.

The Pumas continued to retain possession in the second half, forcing the Free State to defend for several minutes at a time, and they used their pace to make good yards on attack. This earned them another three tries after the break to stretch their lead to 31 points. The Free State, meanwhile, managed to cross the tryline only once in the second half, and had to settle for a 31-14 defeat.

Scorers:

Pumas – Tries: Jacques Marais, Christiaan Van Der Merwe, Nico Liversage, Hardus Rothman (2). Conversions: Alec Vermaak (3).

Free State - Tries: Niocolaas Cohen, Oratile Botlhoko. Conversions: Du Toit Fourie (2).

Namibia 14 (7) Zimbabwe 13 (0)

Namibia had the upper hand in the first half in the Test match of the tournament, as they ran hard at Zimbabwe, and earned a try for their efforts. This pushed them into a 7-0 lead on the scoreboard. However, Zimbabwe showed their intent on attack in the last 10 minutes of the half as they strung together phases on attack and put pressure on Namibia’s defence.

Zimbabwe came out firing in the second half and scored two tries in the opening few minutes, which they backed up with a penalty to take a 13-7 lead. Namibia refused to lie down and powered their way close to the tryline again, but Zimbabwe held their nerve on defence and shut them out. Nambia followed this up with a try under the posts in the last minute, with the successful conversion earning them a 13-12 victory.

Scorers:

Namibia – Tries: Arnu Gouws, Diaan Vermeulen. Conversions: Kian Fransman (2).

Zimbabwe - Tries: Munashe Maisera, Kudza Maringa. Penalty: Milton Manyangadze.

Eastern Province 31 (19) Limpopo Blue Bulls 12 (7)

Eastern Province did well to capitalise on their try-scoring chances against the Limpopo Blue Bulls despite both teams showing their attacking prowess in a hard-running first half. Eastern Province, however, backed up their exciting attack with a solid defensive structure, which, combined with mistakes at crucial times by the Limpopo side, only allowed them to cross the tryline once in the first half. Eastern Province’s three tries, however, allowed them to take a 19-7 lead at the break.

They picked up where they left off in the second half and scored a further two tries thanks to their impressive support play and hard running, which allowed them to continue finding the gaps in the defence. The Limpopo Blue Bulls, however, bounced back strongly in the dying minutes and scored a converted try to take their score to 12.

Scorers:

Eastern Province – Tries: Ethan Liberty, Kuhle Desha, Aliswa Mapuma, Larquin Goliath, Siviwe Zondani. Conversions: Daniel Smith (2), Lathita Nqebe.

Limpopo Blue Bulls - Tries: Renzo Du Plessis, Pieter Vorster. Conversion: Juan Smith

GWK Griquas 0 (0) Griffons 18 (7)

The clash between the Griffons and GWK Griquas was tense as the teams threw everything at one another. The Griffons, however, managed to power their way through to the tryline once, while they successfully countered all the attempts by the Kimberley side to cross the chalk. This earned them a 7-0 lead at the break.

They added another try in the second half and two penalties – one on the stroke of fulltime – to secure a rewarding 18-0 victory.

Scorers:

Griffons - Tries: Calla Pienaar, Karabo Moahlodi. Conversions: Du Toit Van Huyssteen. Penalties: Du Toit Van Huyssteen (2).

U13 Coca-Cola Craven Week day-three results:

Boland 18 - 15 TW Profile Services Valke

DHL Western Province 17 - 3 SWD

Itec Blue Bulls 29 - 0 Border CD

Bidvest Golden Lions 0 - 33 KwaZulu-Natal

Border 15 - 27 Leopards

Pumas 31 - 14 Free State

Namibia 14 - 13 Zimbabwe

Eastern Province 31 - 12 Limpopo Blue Bulls