Rugby news from Western Province:
DHL WP go down to Blue Bulls:
DHL Western Province were beaten 45-26 by the Vodacom Blue Bulls in their opening Currie Cup encounter at Loftus Versfeld on Friday.
Despite going scoreless in the first half, the visitors showed great fighting spirit to score four tries in the second half to claim a bonus point for their efforts.
After some tense opening exchanges the Vodacom Blue Bulls were first to strike with an early penalty from flyhalf Tian Schoeman.
DHL Western Province had a chance to level the scores soon afterwards, but Robert du Preez put his attempt on goal wide and the hosts would take their lead out to 10-0 after 20 minutes when scrumhalf Piet van Zyl finished off a counter attack.
DHL Western Province were dominant in the scrums, and managed to force their way into opposition territory where they tested the Vodacom Blue Bulls’ defence, but the hosts would be next to score when another counter attack saw lock Jason Jenkins burst through for their second try.
They followed that up soon afterwards with another try from lock Marvin Orie which gave the home side a 24-0 advantage at the half-time break.
The Vodacom Blue Bulls struck early in the second half as first right wing Jade Stighling and then left wing Jamba Ulengo crossed for tries.
DHL Western Province then launched an extended attack in Blue Bulls territory, and the pressure eventually told as replacement Johnny Kotze got over for a try to get them on the scoreboard.
To their credit DHL Western Province never let their heads drop, and they were rewarded with a second try when Leolin Zas raced through to collect a grubber and dot down, with Brandon Thomson’s touchline conversion making it 38-14.
They did not have to wait long for their third try either as Huw Jones broke through in midfield and easily rounded the last defender to score under the poles.
That left DHL Western Province chasing a bonus point in the final stages, and it came from fullback Scott van Breda who was put over the tryline by flank Jurie van Vuuren.
The Vodacom Blue Bulls had the final say though as fullback Bjorn Basson crossed for the last try of the match.
The scorers:
For DHL WP:
Tries: Kotze, Zas, Jones, Van Breda
Cons: Thomson 3
For Vodacom Blue Bulls:
Tries: Van Zyl, Jenkins, Orie, Stighling, Ulengo, Basson
Cons: Schoeman 6
Pen: Schoeman
DHL Western Province: 15 Scott van Breda, 14 Khanyo Ngcukana, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Daniel du Plessis, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 Jacques Vermeulen, 7 Jurie van Vuuren, 6 Rynhardt Elstadt, 5 Chris van Zyl (captain), 4 JD Schickerling, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Alistair Vermaak.
Replacements: 16 Chad Solomon, 17 Oli Kebble, 18 JP Smith, 19 Kobus van Dyk, 20 Godlen Masimla, 21 Brandon Thomson, 22 Johnny Kotze.
Vodacom Blue Bulls: 15 Bjorn Basson, 14 Jade Stighling, 13 Dries Swanepoel, 12 Burger Odendaal, 11 Jamba Ulengo, 10 Tian Schoeman, 9 Piet van Zyl, 8 Arno Botha (captain), 7 Jannes Kirsten, 6 Ruan Steenkamp, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Entienne Swanepoel, 2 Jaco Visagie, 1 Pierre Schoeman.
Replacements: 16 Bandise Maku, 17 Nqoba Mxoli, 18 Eli Snyman, 19 Hanro Liebenberg, 20 Andre Warner, 21 Tony Jantjies, 22 Dan Kriel.
DHL WP U21 in Loftus stalemate:
DHL Western Province U21 started their season with a 29-29 draw against Vodacom Blue Bulls U21 at Loftus Versfeld on Friday.
The visitors scored two tries in each half, and looked to have the game wrapped up heading into the final stages, but two late tries from the home side saw the teams share the spoils.
The match got off to a breathless start with both teams crossing for tries in the opening stages. The home side scored first, but DHL Western Province U21 hit back as some slick hands and quick stepping out wide saw fullback Grant Hermanus score in the corner to level the scores at 5-5.
The Vodacom Blue Bulls went back in front through a penalty on the 20 minute mark, but the visitors responded with a second try as No.8 Jaco Coetzee barged over after centre Ryan Oosthuizen had been stopped just short of the tryline.
The seesaw nature of the match continued as the home side hit back with a try on the counter attack to put them 15-12 ahead at the half-time break.
DHL Western Province U21 started the second half in fine style as the ball was sent wide to wing Sibahle Maxwane who collected his own chip to score and give his side a 19-15 advantage.
They followed that up soon afterwards with a penalty from Hermanus to take their lead out to seven points, and they would not have to wait long for their fourth try as tighthead prop Frans van Wyk forced his way over the whitewash to make it 29-15 with 20 minutes to play.
The Vodacom Blue Bulls hit back with two quick tries which levelled the scores at 29-29 with just under 10 minutes to play, and although both teams had chances to snatch the win they would both send their penalty attempts wide to end in a deadlock.
The scorers:
For DHL WP U21:
Tries: Hermanus, Coetzee, Maxwane, Van Wyk
Cons: Hermanus 2
Pen: Hermanus
DHL Western Province U21: 15 Grant Hermanus, 14 Duncan Saal, 13 EW Viljoen, 12 Ryan Oosthuizen, 11 Sibahle Maxwane, 10 Dennis Cox, 9 Justin Phillips, 8 Jaco Coetzee, 7 Luke Stringer (captain), 6 Rikus Bothma, 5 David Ribbans, 4 Eduard Zandberg, 3 Frans van Wyk, 2 Percy Mngadi, 1 Kyle Whyte.
Replacements: 16 Hanno Snyman, 17 Michael Kumbirai, 18 Gary Porter, 19 Saud Abrahams, 20 Herschel Jantjies, 21 Justin Heunis, 22 Tiaan Swanepoel.
Vodacom Blue Bulls U21: 15 Divan Rossouw, 14 Keanan van Wyk, 13 Franco Naude, 12 JT Jackson, 11 Dewald Naude, 10 Tinus de Beer, 9 Ivan van Zyl, 8 Juanre Swanepoel, 7 Abongile Nonkontwana (captain), 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Aston Fortuin, 4 Ruben van Heerden, 3 Matthys Basson, 2 Alandre van Rooyen, 1 Njabula Gumede.
Replacements: 16 Jan-Henning Campher, 17 Stefaan Grundlingh, 18 Samuel Mitchell, 19 Dean van der Westhuizen, 20 Theo Maree, 21 Kurt Webster, 22 Adrian Maebane.
Six of the best for DHL WP U19:
DHL Western Province U19 claimed their sixth consecutive win when they beat Vodacom Blue Bulls U19 18-17 at Loftus Versfeld on Friday.
It was a tightly contested match which saw the lead change hands several times throughout, but in the end DHL Western Province U19 did just enough to maintain their unbeaten status this seson.
The visitors opened the scoring with a penalty from scrumhalf Jondre Williams, but the Blue Bulls U19 got the first try of the game when they were awarded a penalty try which also saw DHL Western Province U19 flyhalf Jordan Chait shown a yellow card for a professional foul.
However, the hosts were not in the lead for long, as DHL Western Province U19 were rewarded for a sustained period of pressure in opposition territory when fullback Tristan Leyds took a well-timed inside ball to burst through and score under the poles.
Although both teams had opportunities to add to their try tally in the first half, neither side was able to find the finishing touch, and a penalty on the stroke of half-time from Blue Bulls U19 wing Lourens Steenkamp saw the teams go into the break deadlocked at 10-10.
The home side struck first in the second half, with a counter-attack resulting in outside centre Heino Bezuidenhout scoring in the corner, and the touchline conversion from Steenkamp gave them a 17-10 lead.
DHL Western Province hit back immediately as the ball was worked wide to left wing Tumi Mogoje who flew over for the second try, but Williams could not convert from out wide.
The visitors showed great resolve on defence as they absorbed everything the hosts could throw at them, and they would take the lead again when Williams slotted a penalty which put them 18-17 ahead with just 10 minutes left to play.
The final stages were very tense, but DHL Western Province U19 were able to hold out for a hard-fought victory and continue their unbeaten run.
The scorers:
For DHL WP U19:
Tries: Leyds, Mogoje
Con: Williams
Pens: Williams 2
For Vodacom Blue Bulls U19:
Tries: Penalty try, Bezuidenhout
Cons: Steenkamp 2
Pen: Steenkamp
DHL Western Province U19: 15 Tristan Leyds, 14 Nico Leonard, 13 David Brits, 12 Troy Payne, 11 Tumi Mogoje, 10 Jordan Chait, 9 Jondre Williams, 8 Zain Davids, 7 Ernst van Rhyn (captain), 6 Nama Xaba, 5 Jordan Sesink-Clee, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Carlu Sadie, 2 Matt Wiseman, 1 Ricky Nwagbara.
Replacements: 16 Shane Farmer, 17 Roux Swart, 18 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 19 Imraan Andrews, 20 Juarno Augustus, 21 Brandon Salomo, 22 Adriaan van der Bank, 23 Ryan Muller.
Vodacom Blue Bulls U19: 15 Manie Libbok, 14 Lourens Steenkamp, 13 Heino Bezuidenhout (captain), 12 Jordan Holgate, 11 Irvin Ali, 10 Christo Hamman, 9 Josh Allderman, 8 Dylan Van der Walt, 7 Rickert Korff, 6 Eduan Lubbe, 5 Hendre Stassen, 4 Marius Verwey, 3 Ignatius Prinsloo, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp.
Replacements: 16 Nico Peyper, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Erik Groenewald, 19 MJ Hayes, 20 Jason Olivier, 21 Erich Cronje, 22 Ciaran Dayaram, 23 Mashao Mukhari.
Springbok training squad First-time call-up for Malcolm Marx
