DHL Western Province continued their unbeaten run in the Currie Cup with a 50-28 victory against Cell C Sharks that assured them of a home semifinal.
With five bonus-point wins from five this season, defending champions DHL Western Province top the standings as the only unbeaten team in the competition, with just one match left before the play-offs.
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The hosts scored seven tries in total in perfect conditions at DHL Newlands, in what was a replay of last year’s Currie Cup Final in Durban.
The visitors opened the scoring with an early try from centre Marius Louw, but DHL Western Province responded with four tries of their own.
The first came from No.8 Jaco Coetzee who barelled over after continous waves of attack had brought his team within striking distance of the tryline.
The second try came from defence as the home side pressed the Cell C Sharks onto the backfoot, with centre Ruhan Nel eventually grabbing an intercept to race away and score.
Left wing SP Marais then slotted a penalty from just in front of the halfway line before sparking another try. A break on the halfway line resulted in Dillyn Leyds shooting through a gap to score and bring the DHL Newlands Faithful to their feet.
The crowd were back up as right wing Sergeal Petersen burst into space and then showed incredible pace to round the last defender and make it 31-7 to DHL Western Province.
The Cell C Sharks hit back with tries from forwards Tyler Paul and Gideon Koegelenberg to make it 31-21 after a first half that featured seven tries.
The visitors were first to score in the second half as well, with replacement wing Aphelele Fassi scoring in the corner to cut DHL Western Province’s lead to just three points.
The hosts consolidated and a strong maul put them in position for Marais to burst over for a fifth try, which gave them some breathing room at 36-28 with 15 minutes left.
There was time for two more as first JJ Engelbrecht made an interception and exchanged passes with Marais to score in the corner before Chad Solomon scored at the back of a driving maul to seal the 50-28 win.
The scorers:
For DHL Western Province:
Tries: Coetzee, Nel, Leyds, Petersen, Marais, Engelbrecht, Solomon
Cons: Marais 5
Pen: Marais
For Cell C Sharks:
Tries: Louw, Paul, Keogelenberg, Fassi
Cons: Du Preez 4
DHL Western Province: 15 Dillyn Leyds, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Dan Kriel, 11 SP Marais, 10 Josh Stander, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 Juarno Augustus, 7 Ernst van Rhyn, 6 Kobus van Dyk, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Chris van Zyl (captain), 3 Michael Kumbirai, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Ali Vermaak.
Replacements: 16 Chad Solomon, 17 Caylib Oosthuizen, 18 Carlu Sadie, 19 Salmaan Moerat, 20 Chris Massyn, 21 Herschel Jantjies, 22 JJ Engelbrecht.
Cell C Sharks: 15 Curwin Bosch, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Jeremy Ward, 12 Marius Louw, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Dan du Preez, 7 Tyler Paul, 6 Jacques Vermeulen, 5 Hyron Andrews, 4 Gideon Koegelenberg, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Chiliboy Ralepelle (captain), 1 Juan Schoeman.
Replacements: 16 Akker van der Merwe, 17 Coenie Oosthuizen, 18 Ruben van Heerden, 19 Luke Stringer, 20 Cameron Wright, 21 Leolin Zas, 22 Aphelele Fassi.
