WP dig deep; Bulls get first win
Western Province had to dig deep to stay unbeaten in the South Section of the Vodacom Cup, while the Blue Bulls got their first win of the season in the North, where the Pumas still lead the way.
A converted try by JP du Plessis in injury time saw WP sneak past a gallant EP Kings side by 30-25 in Cape Town on Saturday afternoon. With 20 minutes left on the clock, the Eastern Cape visitors were still in the lead by 25-14, but they let slip what would've been their first victory against the Capetonians since 2006.
In Pretoria, the Blue Bulls finally got their season underway with an emphatic 49-10 victory over the Golden Lions, the home side scoring six tries to the one by their southern neighbours. This win saw the Blue Bulls jump to third on the log of the Northern Section from fifth.
The Falcons got their first victory of the 2012 season thanks to a try at the death by replacement scrumhalf Anrich Richter against the Leopards in Kempton Park on Friday afternoon. The home side won this tight encounter by 31-28.
Adriaan Engelbrecht scored a hat-trick of tries for the Leopards, but it was not enough against a resilient Falcons side at the Barnard Stadium.
The Sharks XV got back on the winning track after an exciting 51-38 victory over the Free State XV - who needed a change of jerseys after 15 minutes of the game as both sides started the match in predominantly white - in Bloemfontein on Friday evening. It was a topsy-turvy affair - both sides scored five tries, but the boot of Sharks XV fullback Gouws Prinsloo was the difference in the end.
After leading at the break, the Sharks XV saw the home side fight back to go ahead 38-35 on the score board with 15 minutes to go. But the visitors from KZN kept their composure to score 16 unanswered points in the final stages of the match to clinch the win.
In East London, the Pampas XV beat the Border Bulldogs following a second half blitz by the Argentineans - they were behind by 15-20 at the break and eventually won comfortably by 46-20.
The Pumas still top the log in the North and is one of only three unbeaten teams left in the Vodacom Cup. They were way too strong for the Griffons in Welkom and won 43-12.
In Mossel Bay, the Boland Cavaliers were way too strong for the SWD Eagles and won comfortably by 46-26.
All the scores and scorers:
Border Bulldogs 20-46 Pampas XV:
The scorers:
Border Bulldogs:
Tries: Gareth Krause, Logan Basson
Cons: Louis Kruger 2
Pens: Kruger 2
Pampas XV:
Tries: Javier Rojas 3, Mariano Galarza, Bruno Postiglioni, Rodrigo Bruno
Cons: Benjamin Madero 5
Pens: Madero 2
Griffons 12-43 Pumas:
The scorers:
Griffons:
Tries: Nicky Steyn 2
Con: Reinhardt Erwee
Pumas:
Tries: Coenie van Wyk, Deon Scholtz, Jaco Bouwer 2, JW Jonker, Wilhelm Loock
Cons: JC Roos 5
Pen: Roos
Falcons 31-28 Leopards:
The scorers:
Falcons:
Tries: Marco Kotze, Bradley Fortuin, Kyle Hendricks, Sinovuyo Ganto, Anrich Richter
Cons: Juan Kotze 3
Leopards:
Tries: Adriaan Engelbrecht 3, Berty Visser
Cons: Andre Pretorius 4
Free State XV 38-51 Sharks XV:
The scorers:
Free State XV:
Tries: Francois Uys, Kholo Ramashala, Leroy Bitterhout 2, Marcel van der Merwe
Cons: Riaan Smit 5
Pen: Smit
Sharks XV:
Tries: Chris Cloete, Gouws Prinsloo, Jean Deysel, Sibusiso Sithole, Wandile Mjekevu
Cons: Prinsloo 4
Pens: Prinsloo 6
Blue Bulls 49-10 Golden Lions:
The scorers:
Blue Bulls:
Tries: Basil Short, Jurgen Visser, Vincent Koch, Ruan Snyman, Ulrich Beyers, Tony Jantjies
Cons: Jantjies 5
Pens: Jantjies 3
Golden Lions:
Try: Anthony Volmink
Con: Marais Schmidt
Pen: Schmidt
Western Province 30-25 EP Kings:
The scorers:
Western Province:
Tries: Ederies Arendse, JP du Plessis
Con: Demetri Catrakilis
Pens: Catrakilis 6
EP Kings:
Tries: Andile Witbooi, Scott van Breda
Pens: Justin van Staden 2, Van Breda 2
DG: Van Staden
SWD Eagles 26-46 Boland Cavaliers:
The scorers:
SWD Eagles:
Tries: Elric van Vuuren, Lyndon Hartnick, Michael Vermaak 2
Pens: Van Vuuren 2
Boland Cavaliers:
Tries: Zandre Jordaan, PJ van Zyl, Nolan Clark, Jonathan Francke, Franzel September, Brendon April, Penalty try
Cons: Elgar Watts 4
Pen: Watts
Latest standings (under headings games played, won and points):
North Section: Pumas 3 2 12; Griquas 2 2 10; Blue Bulls 3 1 7; Leopards 2 1 6; Golden Lions 3 1 6; Falcons 3 1 5; Griffons 2 0 0
South Section: Western Province 3 3 13; Sharks XV 3 2 11; Eastern Province Kings 3 2 11; Pampas XV 3 2 10; Boland Cavaliers 3 2 10; Free State XV 3 1 8; SWD Eagles 3 0 4; Border Bulldogs 3 0 0