Free State shine through - eventually
They were made to work very hard at times by KwaZulu-Natal, but eventually Free State did more than enough to pick up a deserved 30-20 Craven Week win at Welkom's North West Stadium on Thursday.
The Free Staters, impressive winners over Border earlier this week, began Day Four's final match like a house on fire and it was no surprise when winger Innes Keyser scorched over for a well-worked try in the fourth minute - after fellow wing Setho Tom made some of the early running.
Flyhalf Johan Goosen added the conversion for a 7-0 lead, before both sides traded penalties to make it 10-3 to the Free Staters after 16 minutes.
The Natalians threatened briefly, but it seemed just that - a threat - until Natal No.12 Patrick Howard straightened and sped through a gap for a superb individual try. Flyhalf Duncan Campbell - as he did with his penalty in the sixth minute - made no mistake with the conversion and levelled things at 10-10.
That 10-10 scoreline soon became 13-10 to Natal, after another Campbell penalty, and suddenly there were some nervous looks amongst the Free State players and coaches. Could the impossible happen to this Grey College-heavy side?
That question was answered quickly, however, and the Free Staters racked up a second try, as their forwards showed their power and overall quality. Eventually, hooker Anrich Bitzi squeezed over in the left-hand corner to put his team ahead by 15-13 at half-time.
A monstrous Goosen penalty soon after half-time stretched his team's lead to 18-13, but Natal were not done yet and could easily have narrowed the gap when a 41st-minute Campbell attempt hit the uprights.
Campbell missed another attempt at goal almost straight away, followed by another failed shot at goal in the 49th minute, and with those misses went Natal's final attempt at stealing the game away from Free State who simply answered back through a try by lock Gerhardus Olivier.
It was possibly the try of the day - and one of the better scores at the 2010 Craven Week thus far - as the Free State forwards and backs handled the ball with aplomb before Olivier took the final pass and crashed over in the corner.
Goosen converted for a 25-13 lead, with just under 20 minutes remaining on the clock, before Bitzi benefitted again from great hands from his fellow forwards to make it 30-13 with less than ten minutes left in the match.
Free State continued to press hard for more points - but, to their credit, KZN did not give up and they grabbed a late intercept try through outside back Keelin Bastew who raced almost the full length of the field - in Bryan Habana fashion - to narrow the scoreline to 20-30.
* Free State are favourites to play Western Province in Saturday's main match (or 'final'), having also beaten Border 35-13 in their first outing in the 2010 Craven Week on Day Two. Natal, meanwhile, also managed a win on Tuesday - a 33-12 victory over the Leopards.
The scorers:
For Free State:
Tries: Marthinus Keyser, Anrich Bitzi 2, Gerhardus Olivier
Cons: Johan Goosen 2
Pens: Johan Goosen 2
For KwaZulu-Natal:
Tries: Pat Howard, Keelin Bastew
Cons: Duncan Campbell 2
Pens: Duncan Campbell 2
The teams:
Free State: Raymond Rhule (Louis Botha), Innes Keyser (Grey), William Small-Smith (Grey, captain), Paul Jordaan (Grey), JJ van der Walt (Grey), Johan Goosen (Grey), Kevin Luiters (Grey), Niel Jordaan (Grey), Heinrich Douglas (Louis Botha), Henko Greyling (Grey), Cobus Nel (Grey), Gerhard Olivier (Grey), Neethling Fouché (Grey), Anrich Bitzi (Grey), Rudi Fuls (Grey), Armand Stoman (Grey), Rudolph Botha (Grey), Tuso Chalatsi (Louis Botha), Leneve Damons (Grey), KK Hlongwane (Louis Botha), Setho Tom (Grey), Dillon Douglas (Louis Botha).
KwaZulu-Natal: 1 Niel Oelofse (Glenwood), 2 Senzo Mtshali (Glenwood), 3 Colin Richmond (Glenwood), 4 Wade Elliott (Glenwood), 5 Alwyn Janse van Vuuren (Glenwood), 6 Meyrick Walker (Glenwood), 7 Jason Klaasen (Maritzburg College), 8 Guy Alexander (Hilton), 9 H Mudariki (Michaelhouse), 10 Duncan Campbell (Westville), 11 Emil Schwartz (Hilton), 12 Patrick Howard (Michaelhouse), 13 Andrew Holland (Kearsney), 14 Mondi Ntshingila (Glenwood), 15 Mbembe Payi (DHS), 16 Zane van Greunen (Glenwood), 17 Michael Tack (Hilton), 18 Lungelo Chonco (Maritzburg College), 19 Khaya Majola (Westville), 20 Matthew Torrance (Glenwood), 21 Edward Mongwabe (DHS), 22 K Bastew (Maritzburg College).