DHL Western Province scored four tries at DHL Newlands on Saturday, but it was not enough to avoid a narrow 30-28 defeat against Xerox Golden Lions.
The visitors came from behind to claim the win despite being outscored by four tries to three in what was a tense Currie Cup encounter. DHL Western Province ended the match with two bonus points to show for their efforts as they head into a bye week.
The home side scored three tries in the first half, with all three coming from their dominant maul, as the forwards stamped their authority on the visitors up front.
The first try saw Scarra Ntubeni peel off the back to dive over in the corner and the second was nearly a carbon copy, except that the hooker passed to scrumhalf Paul de Wet to score.
Ntubeni added a second just before half-time, with Josh Stander landing all three conversions from the touchline.
The Xerox Golden Lions scored a try and a penalty in the first half, but the home side was in control at the break with a 21-10 advantage.
The visitors opened the scoring in the second half with a penalty from flyhalf Shaun Reynolds and they followed that up with a maul try of their own to make it a one-point game at 21-20 with 30 minutes left.
DHL Western Province responded with their fourth try as some good handling from Ruhan Nel saw fullback Dillyn Leyds go over for the try which secured the bonus point.
The home side were down to 14 when replacement Jaco Coetzee was shown a yellow card and Reynolds kicked the resulting penalty to narrow the gap to 28-23, with fullback Tyrone Green delivering the killer blow with a late try that saw his side claim a narrow win.
The scorers:
For DHL WP:
Tries: Ntubeni 2, De Wet, Leyds
Cons: Stander 4
For Xerox Golden Lions:
Tries: Schoeman, Jansen, Green
Cons: Reynolds 3
Pens: Reynolds 3
DHL Western Province: 15 Dillyn Leyds, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Dan Kriel, 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Josh Stander, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 7 JD Schickerling, 6 Ernst van Rhyn, 5 Chris van Zyl (captain), 4 Salmaan Moerat, 3 Carlu Sadie, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Corne Fourie.
Replacements: 16 Chad Solomon, 17 Kwenzo Blose, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 David Meihuizen, 20 Jaco Coetzee, 21 Godlen Masimla, 22 Marno Redelinghuys, 23 Sergeal Petersen.
Xerox Golden Lions: 15 Tyrone Green, 14 Madosh Tambwe, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Jan-Louis la Grange, 11 Stean Pienaar, 10 Shaun Reynolds, 9 Ross Cronje (captain), 8 Hacjivah Dayimani, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Marnus Schoeman, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 Johannes Jonker, 2 Pieter Jansen, 1 Sti Sithole.
Replacements:: 16 PJ Botha, 17 Leo Kruger, 18 Jacobie Adriaanse, 19 Wilhelm van der Sluys, 20 James Venter, 21 Len Massyn, 22 Dillon Smit, 23 Manuel Rass.
