The DHL Western Province Under-18 team suffered a setback on Day Three of the 2014 Under-18 Coca-Cola Craven Week, when they went down 23-38 to SWD.
Wednesday’s play in Middelburg was exciting with a mix of close encounters and big wins adding spice to SA’s showpiece provincial schoolboy rugby tournament.
In the main matches of the day SWD held their composure against a determined Western Province outfit to create one of the biggest upsets of the tournament, whilst KwaZulu-Natal defeated hosts the Pumas 38-27.
The clash between DHL Western Province and SWD – both unbeaten before today – was tense as the teams put their bodies on the line on attack and defence in the first half, which resulted in the Cape side taking a narrow 6-5 half-time lead.
DHL Western Province spent most of the first half in SWD’s half and did well to apply pressure on attack, but they struggled to convert this pressure into points as SWD stood their ground on defence. As a result Province opted for two penalty kicks to get onto the scoreboard in the first half, while SWD centre John Jackson snuck through the defence to score his team’s first try.
The floodgates, however, opened for the George side in the second half as they spotted the gaps in Western Province’s defence and cruised through them to add an impressive five tries to their total in the second half. The match was particularly memorable for speedy centre Jackson as he earned a hat-trick of tries and slotted over four conversions for an individual tally of 23 points.
With the momentum against them Western Province tried hard to force their way back into the match, and they managed to score two tries, but in the end the difference between the teams was SWD’s ability to convert their half chances into points.
Province will play their final match on Saturday, having been unable to remain unbeaten this week – after the DHL WP Under-13, Under-16 and Under-18 Academy Week teams managed that feat in Durban, Pretoria and Worcester respectively.
* In the other matches played at HTS Middelburg on Wednesday, Griquas CD registered a 26-20 victory against Zimbabwe, whilst Border thrashed the Limpopo Blue Bulls 78-17 and the Griffons beat Griquas CD 33-15.
The scorers:
For DHL Western Province:
Tries: Aidynn Cupido, Mervano da Silva
Cons: Tiaan Swanepoel 2
Pens: Cupido 2, Jondre Williams.
For SWD:
Tries: John Jackson 3, Le Roux Baard, Shadward Fillies 2
Cons: Jackson 4
2014 Coca-Cola Craven Week fixtures (Day Four):
10h10: Namibia v Border CD
11h30: Boland v Griquas
12h50: Valke v Leopards
14h10: Blue Bulls v Golden Lions
15h30: Eastern Province v Free State