Griquas, WP remain unbeaten
Griquas edged the Pumas in a one-point thriller in Witbank to remain the only unbeaten team in the North Section of the Vodacom Cup, while Western Province, also undefeated, still lead the southern pack.
Rudi Vogt kicked a late penalty goal for Griquas - a feat Tiaan Marx of the Pumas could not emulate two minutes later - as the team from Kimberley beat the Mpumalangans by 21-20 on Saturday.
At Newlands in Cape Town, a last-minute try by Martin Landajo of the Pampas XV saw the defending Vodacom Cup champions from Argentina clinch a humdinger by 30-27 over the Boland Cavaliers on Saturday.
This try, the Pampas' third, broke Boland hearts as the Argentineans erased a 27-13 deficit in the final 25 minutes.
Western Province won their fourth consecutive game of the season as Kurt Coleman contributed 16 points in their 31-7 victory over the Border Bulldogs in a cold and wet East London on Saturday. Coleman scored two tries and added three conversions.
Also on Saturday, the Blue Bulls scored their second victory of the season when they beat a gallant Leopards side by 28-15 in cool and windy conditions in Potchefstroom, with the home side scoring a consolation try, by Johann Laker, on the stroke of full time.
On Friday, the Sharks XV overcame a brave performance by the SWD Eagles in the second half in Durban before winning by 38-20 after going into the break comfortably ahead by 33-6. The home side scored six tries to two, but struggled to keep their structure in the second stanza following a number of replacements.
The EP Kings slowly built momentum in their clash with the Free State XV and ended up winning this clash in the South Section quite comfortably, by 36-22, in a cold and wet Port Elizabeth on Friday.
It was the Kings' third win of the season as they cemented their place in the top four of the log en route to the playoffs, but for the men from Bloemfontein, their third defeat of the season saw them finish the weekend in sixth spot.
The biggest victory of the weekend belonged to the Golden Lions, who crushed the winless Griffons by 71-26 in Johannesburg on Saturday. The home team, who got hammered by the Blue Bulls last weekend, scored 11 tries, the most in a single match thus far this season.
All the scores and scorers:
Sharks XV 38-20 SWD Eagles:
Scorers:
Sharks XV:
Tries: S'bura Sithole, Cobus Reinach, Gouws Prinsloo, Rosko Specman, Brynard Stander, Lubabalo Mtembu
Cons: Prinsloo 4
SWD Eagles:
Tries: Jeffrey Taljaard, Lubabalo Mtyanda
Cons: Deroy Roode, Raynor Becker
Pens: Elric van Vuuren 2
EP Kings 36-22 Free State:
Scorers:
EP Kings:
Tries: Boetie Britz, Andile Witbooi 2, Jacques Engelbrecht
Cons: Noel Oelschig 2
Pens: Scott van Breda 2, Oelschig 2
Free State XV:
Tries: Philip Burger, Marcel van der Merwe, Elandre Huggett
Cons: Riaan Smit 2
DG: Smit
Golden Lions 71-25 Griffons:
Scorers:
Golden Lions:
Tries: Robert de Bruyn, Ruan Combrinck, BJ Moolman 2, Paul Willemse, Ruan Dreyer, Etienne Oosthuizen, Anthony Volmink 2, JR Esterhuizen 2
Cons: Marais Schmidt 6, Guy Cronje 2
Griffons:
Tries: Japie Nel, Virgil Russel, Martin van Wyk
Cons: Tiaan van Wyk 2
Pens: Reinard Erwee 2
Border Bulldogs 7-31 Western Province:
Scorers:
Border Bulldogs:
Try: Rynardt van Wyk
Con: Louis Kruger
Western Province:
Tries: Kurt Coleman 2, Nic Fenton-Wells, Nic Groom, Don Armand
Cons: Coleman 3
Leopards 15-28 Blue Bulls:
Scorers:
Leopards:
Tries: Joubert Engelbrecht, Johann Laker
Con: Andre Pretorius
Pen: Pretorius
Blue Bulls:
Tries: Jono Ross, Sampie Mastriet, Jan Serfontein
Cons: Tony Jantjies 2
Pens: Jantjies 3
Pumas 20-21 Griquas:
Scorers:
Pumas:
Try: Deon Scoltz
Pens: JC Roos 5
Griquas:
Tries Jean Stemmet, Marnus Schoeman
Con: Rudi Vogt
Pens: Vogt 3
Pampas XV 30-27 Boland Cavaliers:
Scorers:
Pampas XV:
Tries: Ramiro Moyano, Tomas Cubelli, Martin Landajo
Cons: Santiago Iglesias 3
Pens: Iglesias 3
Boland Cavaliers:
Tries: Franzel September, Shanan van der Merwe, Brandon April
Cons: Elgar Watts 3
Pens: Watts 2