DHL Western Province suffered their first defeat of the season when they went down 24-16 against the Cell C Sharks XV in Durban on Saturday.
DHL Western Province suffered their first defeat of the season when they went down 24-16 against the Cell C Sharks XV in Durban on Saturday.
After starting their campaign with three consecutive wins, DHL Western Province were unable to resist a strong second-half showing from the Cell C Sharks XV, having taken a 11-10 advantage into the half-time break at Growthpoint Kings Park.
DHL Western Province got on the scoreboard early as two penalties from fullback Grant Hermanus inside the first 10 minutes put them 6-0 up.
Scrumhalf Godlen Masimla, back in the side after sitting out last week with concussion, got over for the first try of the game on the 20-miinute mark to take the visitors’ lead out to 11-0.
The home side fought back with a penalty from flyhalf Tristan Tedder, and they followed that up with a try from centre Marius Louw, which Tedder duly converted.
That saw DHL Western Province take a slender 11-10 lead into the half-time break, with the game truly in the balance after the opening 40 minutes.
The home side took the lead for the first time in the game early in the second half, when Tedder converted his own try to put them 17-11 ahead.
DHL Western Province fought hard and eventually found a response as Khanyo Ngcukana got over for their second try with 15 minutes left, but the conversion attempt from Hermanus went wide as the Cell C Sharks XV held onto a 17-16 lead.
However, the home side would have the final say, as a late try from fullback Alrin Eksteen was enough to secure a 24-16 victory and hand DHL Western Province their first defeat of the season.
The scorers:
For DHL Western Province:
Tries: Masimla, Ngcukana
Pens: Hermanus 2
For Cell C Sharks XV:
Tries: Louw, Tedder, Eksteen
Cons: Tedder 3
Pen: Tedder
Teams:
DHL Western Province: 15 Grant Hermanus, 14 Khanyo Ngcukana, 13 Tim Whitehead, 12 Daniel du Plessis, 11 Sibahle Maxwane, 10 Scott van Breda, 9 Godlen Masimla, 8 Kobus van Dyk, 7 Meyer Swanepoel, 6 Luke Stringer, 5 Chris van Zyl (captain), 4 Jurie van Vuuren, 3 JP Smith, 2 Mike Willemse, 1 Alistair Vermaak.
Replacements: 16 Chad Solomon, 17 Kyle Whyte, 18 Christo van der Merwe, 19 Eital Bredenkamp, 20 Justin Phillips, 21 JP Lewis, 22 Berton Klaassen.
Cell C Sharks XV: 15 Alrin Eksteen, 14 Sibusiso Nkosi, 13 Nkululeko Marwana, 12 Marius Louw, 11 S’bura Sithole, 10 Tristan Tedder, 9 Dylan Marcus, 8 Retief Marais, 7 Johan du Toit, 6 Khaya Majola (captain), 5 Tijiuee Uanivi, 4 David McDuling, 3 Cornelius Kramer, 2 Stephan Coetzee, 1 Mzamo Majola.
Replacements: 16 Kerron van Vuuren, 17 Juan Schoeman, 18 Wian Vosloo, 19 Ayron Schramm, 20 Hanco Venter, 21 Sandile Kubeka, 22 Heimar Williams.