Lions upset front runners WP in Currie Cup

Xerox Golden Lions are building a fortress at Ellis Park, making it difficult for visiting teams to beat them on home soil.

The local team from Johannesburg made it clear what their intentions was in the ABSA Currie Cup, when they beat DHL Western Province in a nailbiting affair on Saturday September 13 at Ellis Park.

Lions beat WP with 35-33 in the sixth round of the Premier league.

It was a weekend of upsets when GWK Griquas also toppled the Steval Pumas and the Toyota Free State Cheetahs held the Cell C Sharks to a draw.

The only predictable result was the Vodacom Blue Bulls’ 28-13 victory against the EP Kings in Port Elizabeth. But even in that match the Port Elizabeth side managed to deny the visitors a valuable bonus point.

Saturday’s matches were particularly thrilling as the Toyota Free State Cheetahs kicked a last minute penalty to secure a 30-30 draw against the Cell C Sharks in Bloemfontein, while GWK Griquas took advantage of the Steval Pumas indiscipline to register a 31-27 victory in Kimberley, and the Xerox Golden Lions defeated DHL Western Province 35-33 at Ellis Park.

Xerox Golden Lions 35 (14) DHL Western Province 33 (13)

Xerox Golden Lions continued their dominance at home against DHL Western Province as they forced their way to a 35-33 bonus-point victory. The victory for the Johannesburg team brought an end to the Cape side’s unbeaten run in the competition, and allowed the Xerox Golden Lions to hop back into second place on the log table.

“I am very satisfied with the players and they showed character,” said Head coach of Xerox Golden Lions Johan Ackermann. “This is a good win and we got our bonus points as well.”

“All credit to the Lions, they played well and took the game away from us, but at the end the team managed to get back and notch up that one bonus point,” said head coach of DHL Western Province, Alastair Coetzee.

The first half was tight as the hosts scored two tries to one by DHL Western Province, while the Cape side’s flyhalf Kurt Coleman kicked two penalties. But a strong second-half showing by the home team allowed them to build up an encouraging 35-19 lead thanks to another three tries, which took their tally to the match to five.

The visitors, however, fought back strongly in the dying minutes as they scored two tries in the last four minutes to sneak within two points of the home team on the scoreboard. But it was a case of too little too late, resulting in them having to settle for their first defeat of the season.

Scorers:

Xerox Golden Lions – Tries: Akker van der Merwe, Franco Mostert, Jaco Kriel, Lionel Mapoe, Schalk van der Merwe. Conversions: Ruan Combrinck (5).

DHL Western Province – Tries: Juan de Jongh, Justin Geduld, Michael Rhodes. Conversions: Cheslin Kolbe, Demetri Catrakilis, Kurt Coleman. Penalties: Kurt Coleman (4).

EP Kings 13 (6) Vodacom Blue Bulls 28 (11)

The first quarter was hard-fought as both teams attacked with intent, but were shut out by the solid defence.

The visitors’ defence, in particular, was put to the test as they were reduced to 14 men in the 12th minute, after hooker Bongi Mbonambi was sent to the sin-bin for diving into a ruck recklessly.

The Pretoria side’s efforts eventually paid off in the 24th minute as flyhalf Jacques Louis-Potgieter kicked a grubber, which William Small-Smith gathered to score for an 8-0 lead.

EP Kings fullback Scott van Breda, however, slotted over back-to-back penalties to reduce the gap to 8-6. But another shot at goal by Potgieter on the stroke of half-time pushed the visitors 11-6 ahead.

Vodacom Blue Bulls picked up where they left off after the break as wing Bjorn Basson and captain Deon Stegmann scored valuable tries. This was supported by Potgieter’s third penalty.

Minutes later EP Kings lock David Bulbring received a yellow card for infringing at a ruck, but the visitors were dealt a blow of their own in the 69th minute as Stegmann received a red card for elbowing a Kings player against the head, which resulted in the team’s fourth try being cancelled.

Instead, the Kings managed to score their only try of the match after the final whistle to reduce the deficit to 28-13.

Scorers:

Vodacom Blue Bulls – Tries: William Small-Smith, Bjorn Basson, Deon Stegmann. Conversion: Jacques-Louis Potgieter (2). Penalties: Jacques-Louis Potgieter (3).

EP Kings – Try: Darron Nell. Conversion: Tobie Botes. Penalties: Scott van Breda (2).

Toyota Free State Cheetahs 30 (17) Cell C Sharks 30 (13)

The battle between Toyota Free State Cheetahs and Cell C Sharks was epic as the teams threw everything at one another for the full 80 minutes. The Bloemfontein side managed to build up a narrow 17-13 half time lead,thanks to two fantastic tries by scrumhalf Sarel Pretorius and a penalty by flyhalf Willie du Plessis.

Cell C Sharks, meanwhile, earned two first-half penalties by flyhalf Lionel Cronje to add to a brilliant try by Sibusiso Sithole, who forced his way through a few defenders to touch down shortly before the break.

The second half was equally thrilling, as Toyota Free State Cheetahs did well to string together impressive passages of play, while the Durban side staged a late comeback,thanks to 2 tries in 12 minutes to take a three-point lead with two minutes left on the clock.

But a late penalty by Du Plessis denied the visitors a victory, and forced the teams to settle for a 30-30 draw.

Scorers:

Toyota Free State Cheetahs – Tries: Sarel Pretorius (2), Tienie Burger. Conversions: Willie du Plessis (3). Penalties: Willie du Plessis (3).

Cell C Sharks – Tries: Andre Esterhuizen, Lubabalo Mtembu, Sibusiso Sithole. Conversions: Lionel Cronje (3). Penalties: Lionel Cronje (3).

GWK Griquas 31 (19) Steval Pumas 27 (11)

The clash between GWK Griquas and Steval Pumas was dominated by penalties, and GWK Griquas fullback Gouws Prinsloo took full advantage of this with his accurate boot as he slotted over eight penalties to guide his team to a 31-27 victory.

The victory marked their second successive win in the competition.

GWK Griquas built up a 19-11 half-time lead thanks to four penalties by Prinsloo to add to a try by wing PJ Vermeulen, while the Steval Pumas scored only two penalties and try by scrumhalf Reynier van Rooyen in the first half.

The Pumas continued to infringe in the second half, which allowed Gouws to kick another four penalties which cancelled out the Steval Pumas second try and three penalties, and sealed the victory for the hosts.

Scorers:

GWK Griquas – Try: PJ Vermeulen. Conversion: Gouws Prinsloo. Penalties: Gouws Prinsloo (8).

Steval Pumas – Tries: JW Jonker, Reynier van Rooyen. Conversion: Justin van Staden. Penalties: Justin van Staden (4), JC Roos.