DHL Western Province on Saturday took top honours in the
Under-18 Coca-Cola Craven Week in style as they overpowered Eastern Province
95-0 in the main match at the Markötter Sports Complex at Paul Roos Gymnasium to
set a new record for the highest score in the final match of the tournament.
The Cape side were in fine form from their opening match as
they defeated the Blue Bulls 20-13 and registered an emphatic 65–5 victory
against the Griffons on Wednesday, which earned them a place in the final match
against Eastern Province, who finished last year’s tournament as the top team.
A huge battle was expected on the final day as Eastern
Province beat SWD 41-31 and KwaZulu-Natal 23-22 respectively, but the hosts
came out with a bang and completely overpowered the Port Elizabeth side.
Eastern Province tried hard to make their presence felt on
attack but their efforts were countered by the water-tight Western Province
defence.
In the other big game on Saturday, SWD defeated
KwaZulu-Natal 24-19 in a nail-biting clash.
The other matches were also high-scoring affairs with the
Free State defeating the Pumas 63-35, while Griquas beat Eastern Province CD
51-10, and the Golden Lions defeated the Griffons 47-29.
The Leopards, meanwhile, beat the Limpopo Blue Bulls 42-17
and Griquas CD outplayed Border CD 54-39, while Boland went down 40-12 against
the Blue Bulls.
In their traditional test match played at the Craven Week
annually, Namibia defeat Zimbabwe 29-7.
DHL Western Province came out firing on all cylinders from
the opening minutes of the final match against Eastern Province thanks to the
fantastic interplay between their forward and backs, their raw pace out wide
and their fine decision-making. So psyched up were the hosts they retained
possession and used their speedy backs to sneak through the gaps in Eastern
Province’s defence, while they defended like demons. This forced Eastern
Province to feed off the scraps for the entire half. This remarkable form
earned them five tries for a significant 43-0 halftime lead.
They continued to stamp their authority in the second half
and crossed the tryline twice early on to stretch their lead to 57-0, which
marked a new record for the highest score in the final match of the Under-18
Coca-Cola Craven Week. Ironically the highest score up until this match was
Western Province’s 52-3 defeat against the Free State in the 2007 tournament
also at Paul Roos Gymnasium. This did not stop them from running circles around
Eastern Province on attack, as everything the Cape side touched turned to gold,
while the Port Elizabeth side had no reply. With momentum and form favouring
the Cape side they added another seven tries to their tally to seal an
unforgettable 95-0 victory. The match was also particularly memorable for
centre Manuel Rass, who earned his hat-trick.
Scorers:
Western Province – Tries: Jondre Williams, Ryan Muller,
Damian Willemse, Leo-Roubert Kruger, Khanya Ncusane, Tyreeq February (2), Ruben
de Villiers (2), Nico Leonard (2), Manuel Rass (3). Conversions: Jondre
Williams (7), George Lourens (4). Penalty: Jondre Williams.
KwaZulu-Natal tried hard to stamp their authority early on
against SWD and looked threatening from the outset, but they were shut out by
the effective SWD defence.
The George side found space out wide and capitalised on the
opportunity to take a 7-0 lead. But the deficit was reduced to 7-5 as
KwaZulu-Natal used their powerful forwards to power their way to the tryline to
score.
The rest of the half proved to be a hard battle as both
teams tried to get close to the tryline, but were shut out by the defence.
The second half was equally hard-fought as the teams threw
everything at one another on attack and supported this with a solid defensive
effort.
SWD, in particular, tried to stretch the KwaZulu-Natal
defence in an effort to cross the line and after being denied on a few
occasions, they finally broke through the defence in the 48th minute
and made the most of this momentum by scoring three tries within eight minutes.
KwaZulu-Natal, however, forced their way back into the match
in the last two minutes with two tries by Bader Pretorius to take their total
for the match to three. But with time running out fast they had to settle for a
24-19 defeat.
Scorers:
KwaZulu-Natal - Tries: James Tedder, Bader Pretorius (2).
Conversions: James Tedder, Bader Pretorius.
SWD - Tries: Manie Libbok, Bertie De Bod, JP Duvenhage,
Darryle Kameel. Conversions: Manie Libbok (2).
The Golden Lions were in fine form against the Griffons as
they showed innovation on attack and used their try-scoring chances well to
secure a 47-29 victory.
The Lions opened up the scoring in the third minute with a
try by Ruan Vermaak, but the Griffons hit back minutes later with a try of
their own by Fanie Vermaak. The Johannesburg side, however, dominated the rest
of the half as they scored two more tries, while limiting the Griffons to a
penalty for an encouraging 26-10 lead at the break.
The Lions scored first and the Griffons bounced back minutes
later with two tries in three minutes. The Golden Lions retaliated with their
fifth try and another shortly before fulltime to inflate their score to 47. The
Griffons, however, fought until the end and managed to score one more try
before the end of the match, but these efforts were not enough to undo the
Lions’ strong start.
Scorers:
Golden Lions – Tries: Xander Kruger, Ivan Smit, Ruan
Vermaak, Franco Tiedt, Michael Tambwe (2). Conversions: Xander Kruger (4), Ivan
Smit.
Griffons - Tries: Fanie Vermaak, Stephanus Malherbe, Marco
Labuschagne (2). Conversions: Luan James (2), Jason Olivier. Penalty: Luan
James.
The Leopards came out strongly in their clash against the
Limpopo Blue Bulls with their first try being scored in the third minute, while
they added another in the 12th minute to take a 14-0 lead.
The Limpopo Blue Bulls tightened up their defence soon after
and stepped up their attack, which allowed them to score their first try in the
16th minute. With both teams determined to win, the second quarter
was tight, with neither team giving an inch, which resulted in the Leopards
entering the break 14-5 ahead.
The opening 15 minutes of the second half was equally tight
as the teams continued to run hard at one another, but the flood gates opened
in the 45th minute as both teams made their way through the defence.
The Leopards struck first as they scored three back-to-back
tries within 10 minutes, and the Limpopo Blue Bulls followed with two tries
within five minutes. The Leopards, however, ran in their sixth try on the
stroke of fulltime to finish the tournament on a high note with a 42-17
victory.
Scorers:
Leopards – Tries: Marthinus Vermeulen, Edmund Rheeder,
Katleho Thabanchu, Lionel George, Ryno Visagie, Christopher Coetzee.
Conversions: Johannes Pelser (5), Andre Kock.
Limpopo Blue Bulls - Tries: Wernich Kachelhoffer, Jan
Coertze, Chris Jenkinson. Conversion: Wernich Kachelhoffer.
The Blue Bulls forced their way to a 16-7 halftime lead
against Boland as they slotted over two penalties compliments of Eddie Fouche
and two tries by Abner van Reenen and Embrose Papier respectively, while they
limited Boland to a converted try by Keanan Boonzaaier.
The Bulls, however, took control of the second half and ran
riot on attack, which earned them four tries in what was a fantastic display of
attacking rugby. They supported this with a solid defensive effort, which left
Boland scrambling to make their presence felt. Despite falling far behind on
the scoreboard Boland showed their fighting spirit and managed to cross the tryline
shortly before the final whistle to reduce the deficit 40-12.
Scorers:
Blue Bulls – Tries: Abner van Reenen, Embrose Papier,
Louritz van der Schyff (2), PJ Steenkamp, Wayne van der Bank. Conversions:
Eddie Fouche (2). Penalties: Eddie Fouche (2)
Boland - Tries: Keanan Boonzaaier, Rick Jordaan. Conversion:
Adriaan van der Bank.
The first half between the Pumas and Free State proved to be
a ding-dong battle as the teams both delivered well-balanced performances using
their forwards and backs. Free State struck first in the third minute with a
try by Godfrey Simelane, but the Pumas’ Mfundu Ndhlovu cancelled out the try in
the sixth minute as he crossed the line.
The Bloemfontein side added two more tries before the break,
which they failed to convert, while the Pumas touched down once more, and with
both their conversions successful they entered the break trailing only 15-14.
The Free State continued to score tries at will early in the
second half and scored back-to-back tries within four minutes to kick-start the
half and then added another to stretch their lead immensely.
The Pumas, however, showed their fighting spirit to score
their third try of the match in the 46th minute to reduce the
deficit slightly. But the Bloemfontein struck back soon after with another
three tries to take their total for the match to nine.
The Pumas, however, refused to lie down and touched down
twice more, but the Free State were not done and scored another two late tries
for a 63-35 victory.
Scorers:
Pumas – Tries: Ruben Roodt, Cyprian Nkomo, Stephan de Jager,
Mfundu Ndhlovu (2). Conversions: Wessel Muller (5).
Free State - Tries: Niel Durow, Daniel William Rust, Hardus
Nel, Francois Agenbag, Kanya Gela, Dian Schoonees (2), Luciano Jones (2),
Godfrey Simelane (2). Conversions: Niel Durow (5).
Griquas CD came out firing against Border CD as they scored
three tries in the first 14 minutes to make their presence felt early on.
Border CD hit back with their first try in the 20th minute and added
another in the 31st minute as well as a penalty.
These efforts, however, were cancelled out as their defence
continued to let them down, which paved the way for Griquas CD to increase
their try tally to five before the break to take an encouraging 35-15 lead.
The Northern Cape side continued to make their presence felt
in the second half and earned the rewards with three more tries, but Border CD
fought back with intent and managed to score three tries of their own, which made
for a thrilling second half. Unfortunately these efforts were too little too
late, and Border CD were forced to settle for a 54-39 defeat.
Scorers:
Griquas CD – Tries: Adri du Plessis (2), Marcel Van der Westhuizen,
Reinhard Hayes, Cobus Wiese, Adriaan Burger, Stefan Hanekom, Denvill Joseph.
Conversions: Adri du Plessis (7).
Border CD - Tries: Josh Armstrong, Ntando Mfengu, Ayanda
Mvimbi, Migcobo Bovu, Aviwe Mancotywa (2). Conversions: Alrich Plaatjies (3).
Penalty: Alrich Plaatjies.
The first half between Border and the Valke proved to be a
tight tussle as both teams tried to get onto the front foot early on in the
hope of finishing the tournament on a high.
The Valke scored the first try in the fourth minute, and
they added another in the 26th minute, but their conversions were
unsuccessful. Border, meanwhile slotted over a penalty and scored two tries,
which earned them a narrow 15-10 lead at the break.
The Valke, however, battled to keep up with Border in the
second half as their flyhalf left the field injured and they received a yellow
card, which allowed Border to control proceedings. The team did just that and
used their point-scoring chances well to add two penalties and a try to their
tally for a 28-15 victory.
Scorers:
Border – Tries: Cole van Tonder, David Brits, Courtney
Winnaar. Conversions: Joshua Alderman (2). Penalties: Joshua Alderman (3).
Valke - Tries: Dylan van der Walt, Franklin Wagner, Irvin
Ali.
Griquas wasted no time stamping their authority against
Eastern Province CD as they ran in an impressive four tries in the first half
and slotted over a penalty to accumulate 25 points in the half. Their defence was
equally effective as they limited the Eastern Cape side to only a penalty
before the break.
The Kimberley side picked up where they left off when play
resumed as they retained possession and put together phases, which paid off
with another four tries in the half to stretch their lead significantly.
Despite trailing far behind on the scoreboard Eastern
Province CD fought back and managed to score their first and only try of the
match in the 56th minute, which they converted to take their score
to 10. However, they were unable to add to this in the dying minutes and went
down 51-10.
Scorers:
Eastern Province CD – Try: Xolile Mdlokovana. Conversion:
Geoffrey Dakin. Penalty: Geoffrey Dakin.
Griquas - Tries: Abram Venter, Rian Kotze, Lihan Viljoen,
Janco Cloete, Johan Joubert, De-An Ackermann, Jacques Beukes (2). Conversions:
Cameron Huffke (4). Penalty: Abram Venter.
The first half between Namibia and Zimbabwe was tight as the
teams threw everything at one another in the traditional Test. Such was the
closeness of the half Namibia scored the first points in the 20th
minute compliments of a try by Stefan Hattingh, while Zimbabwe crossed the
tryline two minutes before half time to level the scores at 7-7.
Namibia, however, found their rhythm in the second half and
used their point-scoring chances well, which allowed them to break away on the
scoreboard thanks to three more tries and a penalty. They backed this up with a
solid defensive effort, which denied Zimbabwe from adding to their score for a
convincing 29-7 victory.
Scorers:
Zimbabwe – Try: Brian Muntanga. Conversion: Ben Meredith.
Namibia - Tries: Andre van der Berg, Lebeau Du Preez, Stefan
Hattingh, Jay-C Olivier. Conversions: Andre van der Berg (2), Cliven Loubser.
Penalty: Andre van der Berg.
Under-18 Coca-Cola Craven Week day-five results:
Western Province 95 - 0 Eastern Province
KwaZulu-Natal 19 - 24 SWD
Golden Lions 47 - 29 Griffons
Leopards 42 - 17 Limpopo Blue Bulls
Blue Bulls 40 - 12 Boland
Pumas 35 - 63 Free State
Griquas CD 54 - 39 Border CD
Border 28 - 15 Valke
Eastern Province CD 10 - 51 Griquas
Zimbabwe 7 - 29 Namibia
No comments:
Post a Comment