DHL Western Province finished in fourth place at the 2014 World Club 7s in London, having lost their final two matches in dramatic circumstances at Twickenham on Sunday.
A much-improved and exciting DHL WP Sevens side seemed destined for a place in the final, as they led Auckland 14-0 in their Cup Semifinal, but the team from New Zealand rallied strongly to score two late tries and force the game into a ‘golden score’ (sudden death) finish.www.pass4suresale.com
The Aucklanders then scored the winning try from the kick-off in extra-time, sending Province into the third/fourth-place play-off where they conceded a try in the last minute to Russian side, Kuban Krasnodar to finish in fourth place.
Province – Day One victors over Harlequins, New York and RC Enisei at Twickenham – also finished fourth in the Limerick World Club Sevens last weekend and they certainly made their presence felt this past weekend, having finished second-last with just one victory in 2013.
Coach Ricky Petersen and captain Ruan Mostert – who missed Sunday’s Cup knockouts due to injury – deserve plenty of credit for DHL WP’s excellent showings over the past two weeks, whilst Iewan Bartels, Danie Roux, Armien Bailey (who took over the captaincy from Mostert), Freddie Muller and Earl Johnson all stood out at Twickenham.
* Earlier, Cardiff Blues ruffled top seeds Buenos Aires – the eventual winners in the final over Auckland – in Sunday’s first Cup Quarterfinal as captain Jevon Groves rumbled over, but the Argentinians finally found a way through early in the second half courtesy of Marcos Bollini.
Importantly, Buenos Aires’ try was converted and despite the best efforts of the Blues, they could not find a way past before losing 7-5.
In the battle of the Russians, Kuban Krasnodar skipper Vladimir Ostroushko broke the deadlock, but as the hooter sounded RC Enisei’s deadly Denis Simplikevich hit back.
Yuri Gostyuzhev muscled Kuban back into the lead after the break before a wonderful breakaway try was finished off by Vladislav Lazarenko for a 19-12 victory – there was time at the end for Simplikevich to grab his seventh try of the competition.
Auckland came storming out of the blocks against New York, Tom Wiley dashing over within the first 30 seconds and that score was added to by Melani Nanai and Rocky Khan.
In the second half Nanai bundled over before Stacey Ili and Kali Hala got their own rewards as the New Zealanders eased to a 22-5 win, though Carlin Isles had time to scream away for a consolation try.
Next up was an all-South African quarterfinal between DHL Western Province and the Vodacom Blue Bulls, a chip-and-chase by Frederick Muller (pictured, above) got the determined Men from Cape Town going.
And the Bulls could not withstand a second-half onslaught – despite Leroy Bitterhout’s double – as DHL Western Province grabbed another three tries to seal a place in the semifinals by 22-12.
In the first semifinal, Gostyuzhev’s early score for Kuban Krasnodar meant Buenos Aires would have to fight back once more – but it didn’t take long as Paz and Segundo Tuculet pounced.
Skipper Ostroushko led by example to drag Kuban back in it only for Bollini, Rodrigo Etchart and Franco Sabato to kick on and hand Buenos Aires a 21-12 victory.
Auckland and Western Province were next on the Twickenham turf and a fast and furious first half was underlined by Iewan Bartels, who tore away to two tries for the South African side.
But in the space of a second-half minute, Tutu Tairea and Khan levelled the scores to take the game to a golden-point decider – and Karpik stole away from the restart to clinch it for Auckland 19-14.
The two standout teams of the competition, Buenos Aires and Auckland, were to meet in the final – and Sabato edged the Argentinians ahead to kick things off.
Then Karpik found himself with time and space on the right to run over and restore parity, before the conversion sent Auckland into the lead.
It got even better for Karpik as this time the Kiwi cantered home in the left-hand corner, and Auckland marched on after the break thanks to Kali Hala.
But Etchart zipped away from outstrestched arms to reduce the arrears and the comeback was complete as Paz notched twice in the final three minutes to ensure Buenos Aires took the cup by 26-22, as Karpik’s third came too late.
And in a dramatic third/fourth-place play-off, Ostroushko gave Kuban Krasnodar the perfect ending to their Twickenham run-out as he snatched a 22-19 triumph from under the noses of DHL Western Province with a last-minute try.
Day Two results (Sunday, August 17):
Quarterfinals:
Buenos Aires 7 Cardiff Blues 5
RC Enisei 12 Kuban Krasnodar 19
Auckland 36 New York 5
DHL Western Province 22 Blue Bulls 12
Semifinals:
Buenos Aires 35 Kuban Krasnodar 12
Auckland 19 DHL Western Province 14
Final:
Buenos Aires 26 Auckland 22
Third/fourth-place play-off:
Kuban Krasnodar 20 DHL Western Province 19
DHL WP’s Day One results (Saturday, August 16):
Pool A:
Harlequins 19 DHL Western Province 38
DHL Western Province 26 New York 26
RC Enisei 24 DHL Western Province 35
The 2014 DHL Western Province Sevens team: 1. Ruan Mostert (Durb-Bell – captain), 2. Earl Johnson (Kuilsriver), 3. Danie Roux (False Bay), 4. Jason Kriel (Durb-Bell), 5. Josh Bassingthwaighte (Maties), 6. Armien Bailey (Helderberg), 7. Anthony Taylor (Young Stars), 8. Ashwill Peters (Sir Lowrians), 9. Frederick Muller (UWC), 10. Errol Jaggers (Helderberg), 11. Iewan Bartels (Hamilton’s), 12. Earl Rose (Sir Lowrians).
Management: Ricky Petersen (Coach), Bobby Joubert (Manager), Riefaat Jappie (Trainer), Peter Jooste (Executive member).1z0-042