Cape
sides register back-to-back wins at Coca-Cola Craven Week
DHL Western Province and Cape neighbours Boland on Wednesday
stamped their authority on day three of the Under-18 Coca-Cola Craven Week at
the Markötter Sports Complex at Paul Roos Gymnasium in Stellenbosch to keep
alive their hopes of playing in the final match of the tournament on Saturday.
Hosts Western Province were in top form against the Griffons
and registered an emphatic 65-5 victory, which marked the highest score so far
in the tournament, while Boland staged a strong second-half comeback against
Border for a 20-15 victory.
The Blue Bulls, Free State and the Limpopo Blue Bulls,
meanwhile, registered their first wins of the tournament in style as they each
scored over 30 points in their respective matches against the Pumas, Namibia
and Border CD.
In the main matches on Thursday the Valke will go up against
Griquas, and Eastern Province, who finished as the top team last season, will
line up against KwaZulu-Natal.
Please click on links for run of play of each match
DHL Western Province were dominant from the outset against
the Griffons as they stretched the opposition’s defence and took advantage of
the gaps out wide to run in an impressive six tries before the break. The hosts
showed great skill on attack and capitalised on their speed out wide and fine
support play, while they slipped through tackles with ease. The Griffons,
meanwhile, battled to make their presence felt with their limited possession
and porous defence letting them down, and managed to score only one try in the
first half, which left them trailing 43-5 at the break.
The Griffons tried hard to retain possession on attack and
tightened up their defence in the second half, but despite this Western
Province added four tries to their tally to take their total for the match to
10. The Griffons’ efforts on attack, however, were shut down by the solid
defence, which resulted in the Welkom side being unable to add to their score
and having to settle for a 65-5 defeat.
Scorers:
DHL Western Province – Tries: Joshua Vermeulen, Cornel Smit,
Ernst van Rhyn, Tyreeq February, Ruben de Villiers, George Lourens, Ryan
Muller, Damian Willemse, Nico Leonard (2). Conversions: Joshua Vermeulen (4),
Cornel Smit (2). Penalty: Cornel Smit.
Griffons - Try: Duke Jantjies.
Boland and Border were involved in an epic clash as the
teams put their bodies on the line on attack and defence for the duration of
the clash. Both teams tried to hold onto the ball and put together phases on
attack, and with the defence holding well, they battled to break through. Such
was the closeness of the clash Border opted for two penalties in the first 15
minutes to get on the scoreboard, but both attempts proved unsuccessful. The
East London side eventually scored the first points of the match two minutes
before half time and backed it up with their second try a minute later to take
a 12-0 lead at the break.
Boland bounced back strongly after the break with an early
try, which in-form flyhalf Adriaan van der Bank converted to close the gap on
the scoreboard to 12-7. The Western Cap side struck again in the 47th
minute with a try by Steyn Olivier. Border, meanwhile, added a penalty by
flyhalf Courtney Winnaar. The closing minutes were tense as the teams fought
until the end for the victory, but a penalty and drop goal by Van der Bank
ensured that Boland stayed ahead on the scoreboard and allowed them to secure
back-to-back victories in the tournament.
Scorers:
Boland – Tries: Gilroy Philander, Steyn Olivier.
Conversions: Adriaan van der Bank (2). Penalty: Adriaan van der Bank. Drop
Goal: Adriaan van der Bank.
Border - Tries: Michael Botha, Tristian Coetzer. Conversion:
Courtney Winnaar. Penalty: Courtney Winnaar.
The Blue Bulls delivered a solid all-round performance
against the Pumas to register their first victory in the tournament with their
forwards and backs combining well to push the team onto the front foot. Flyhalf
and captain Eddie Fouche and scrumhalf Embrose Papier played in a vital role in
sparking their attack while Fouche kept the team ahead on the scoreboard thanks
to his solid goal-kicking, which earned him a personal total of 13 points in the
match.
The Pumas scored the first try in the third minute and they
added another in the 27th minute, but two penalties and two
converted tries by the Blue Bulls forced the Pretoria side into a 20-12
halftime lead. The Pumas tried hard to retain possession and apply pressure on
the Bulls after the break, but they battled to breach the solid defence and
were limited to only one try in the second half. The Blue Bulls, meanwhile,
managed to cross the tryline two more times in what proved to be a tight half,
while Fouche added his third penalty to secure a convincing 35-17 win.
Scorers:
Blue Bulls – Tries: Runan Venter, Ruben van Heerden, Wayne
Van der Bank (2). Conversions: Eddie Fouche (2), Runan Venter. Penalties: Eddie
Fouche (3).
Pumas - Tries: Ruben Roodt, Marnus Van der Merwe, Dewald
Maritz. Conversion: Wessel Muller.
The first half between the Free State and Namibia was tight
as the teams both tried to put together phases on attack and force their way
over the advantage line. Namibia struck first with a try in the 10th
minute, but the Free State hit back four minutes later while Namibia were reduced
to 14 men due to a yellow card. The Bloemfontein side found their rhythm on
attack soon after and did well to snuff out the gaps in the defence, which
earned them four tries in 15 minutes to take a commanding lead.
Namibia, however, fought back with intent and scored three
tries to reduce the deficit thanks to their ability to retain possession and
apply pressure on attack. This pushed their score into double figures. The Free
State, however, struck again with a try on the stroke of fulltime to secure a
43-19 victory.
Scorers:
Free State – Tries: Niel Durow, Daniel William Rust, Dian
Schoonees, Kian Skippers (2), Jurie Burger (2). Conversions: Christiaan Schutte
(4).
Namibia – Tries: Cliven Loubser, Christiaan Ras, Armondo Van
Wyk. Conversions: Cliven Loubser (2).
The Limpopo Blue Bulls started their clash against Border CD
with a bang as they dominated territory and possession to take control of the
first half. They wasted no time making their presence felt and scored the first
try of the match in the fourth minute compliments of Stefan Engelbrecht, and
added two more before the break to take an encouraging 24-0 lead at the break.
They built on this fine form in the second half and added
three more tries to take their total for the match to six. Border CD, however,
showed their fighting spirit and completely dominated the last 10 minutes
thanks to their speedy backs, which earned them three tries to add to a penalty
early in the second half for a 34-20 defeat.
Scorers:
Limpopo Blue Bulls – Tries: Franco Van der Watt, Stefan
Engelbrecht, Salie Vermaak, Jan Coertze, Chris Jenkinson (2). Conversions:
Wernich Kachelhoffer (2).
Border CD – Tries: Josh Armstrong, Aviwe Mancotywa, Soyama
Ngceke. Conversion: Alrich Plaatjies. Penalty: Alrich Plaatjies.
Under-18 Coca-Cola Craven Week day-three results:
DHL Western Province 65 - 5 Griffons
Boland 20 - 15 Border
Blue Bulls 35 - 17 Pumas
Free State 43 - 19 Namibia
Limpopo Blue Bulls 34 - 20 Border CD
Under-18 Coca-Cola Craven Week day-four results:
09h00 – Griquas CD vs Leopards
10h30 – Zimbabwe vs Eastern Province CD
12h00 – SWD vs Lions
13h30 – Valke vs Griquas
15h00 – Eastern Province vs KwaZulu-Natal
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