Rugby news from Western Province:
DHL WP face Blue Bulls in final Craven Week match:
Two of the three undefeated sides at the 2022 Craven Week, tournament hosts DHL Western Province and the Blue Bulls, will contest the final match of this year’s showpiece on Saturday after the team from Pretoria recorded a good win over SWD on Thursday.
DHL Western Province XV will kick things off on the Tinkie Heyns Field at Rondebosch Boys High on Saturday as they face Free State in the opening game of the day.
The Final game between the two traditional rivals will kick-off at 13h30.
DHL Western Province U18 claimed a hard-fought 29-24 win against the Sharks in the final game of Day Three.
The final game of the day on Wednesday, featuring the unbeaten Sharks and DHL Western Province, had everything a pundit can expect at this level of rugby. Some outrageous skills, huge physicality, good game management and individual brilliance on both sides delivered a stunning game and showed the depth of talent on display before the hosts snuck through by 29-24.
DHL Western Province scored some wonderful tries through their dangerous backs and were leading 19-14 at the break, with the Sharks nudging away through their pack of forwards that were slowly getting the better of their counterparts. A late Sharks try cut the Province lead to 29-24 with five minutes to play, ensuring a pulsating end to the match.
Final day fixtures for Saturday:
Meadows Two
09h00: Leopards v Boland
10h30: Limpopo Blue Bulls v Eastern Province
Meadows One
09h00: Pumas v Griquas
10h30: Valke v Thepa Trading Motswako Griffons
Tinkie Heyns Field
09h00: DHL Western Province XV v Free State
10h30: Golden Lions v Border
12h00: Sharks High Schools v SWD
13h30: DHL Western Province v Blue Bulls
Mngomezulu stars for Junior Boks:
DHL Western Province flyhalf and Junior Springbok captain Sacha Mngomezulu played a starring role for the national U20 side as they handed France a 42-27 defeat in Verona to finish top in Pool A and stay unbeaten at the U20 Six Nations Summer Series.
Mngomezulu had an outstanding game with his ball distribution and kicking boot. He delivered a flawless kicking display by succeeding with four conversions and three penalty goals for a personal contribution of 17 points.
There were also tries for DHL Western Province players Suleiman Hartzenberg, Imad Khan and Lukhanyo Vokozela in the resounding win.
The scorching heat did not prevent the two sides to turn on the style in the second half, during which time the South Africans increased their dominance by adding three more tries to cap a richly deserved victory over a very good Under 20 French side.
As a result of their well-deserving triumph, the Junior Boks top Pool A win 15 points from three bonus point wins.
That means that Bafana Nhleko’s unbeaten team now awaits the outcome of the Pool B decider between hosts Italy and Wales to see who they will play in next week’s playoff spot for the overall Summer Series winner.
The only blemish in a very good South African display was the yellow card for front-ranker Juann Else, while influential No 8 Cameron Hanekom had to leave the field early because of an injury, with Louw Nel taking over his duties at the back of the scrum.
The French played some enterprising rugby , but they were made to work hard to keep the South Africans at bay, who used their set piece and kicking game to good effect.
Coach Nhleko afterwards he was especially pleased with his side’s second half display.
“I felt we made it hard for ourselves in the first half because we didn’t take our opportunities and didn’t manage the game on our terms – that took energy away from us,” said the Junior Bok’s coach.
“Once we stuck to our processes I though the boys did well, and there were character and composure in the second half,” he said.
