Captain Andrè Bester scored a hat-trick of tries as the DHL Western Province Under-13s beat Boland 31-5 to make it three from three for Province at the 2014 U13 Coca-Cola Craven Week at Glenwood High School in Durban.
DHL Western Province, Border and the Leopards again dominated their opponents on Day Four of the 2014 Coca-Cola Under-13 Craven Week.
These strong showings on Thursday saw all three remain unbeaten at the event, with Friday’s unofficial final at Kings Park set to be contested between DHL WP and Border.
Border had earlier delivered the best comeback of the day, beating Eastern Province 24-13 after trailing 0-13 at the break.
DHL WP, meanwhile, used their forward power to knock provincial neighbours Boland off the undefeated perch, while SWD also lost their status as an unbeaten team.
Border 24 (0) Eastern Province 13 (13)
A stunning display of attacking rugby in the second half of their derby match against southern neighbours Eastern Province not only kept Border on the winning ways, but left EP taste defeat for the first time this week.
Border scored 24 unanswered points in the second half as they dominated play. The EP side could not live with the pace on the ball displayed by Border, who scored four times.
Scorers:
Border: Tries: Lawuka Bata, Mntungwa Mapantsula, Olilitha Maya, Siposiso Javu. Conversions: Rayden Masters (2).
Eastern Province: Tries: Ayabulela Bulembo, Siyamthanda Hallom. Penalty: Matthew Easton.
Namibia 10 (0) Border Country Districts 0 (0)
Two second half tries by Namibia saw them over the line against a plucky Border side. Things were pretty tight in the first half, with the only scoring opportunity a failed penalty attempt by Namibia.
In the second half they managed to hold onto the ball better and that netted two well worked tries, the last by Sammy Poulton in the last play of the match.
Scorers:
Namibia: Tries: Robin Antonio, Samuel Poulton
Free State 5 (0) Blue Bulls 0 (0)
Two of the traditional powerhouses in local rugby delivered some average performances this week, with the Free State finally getting over the line in this hard-fought affair.
Both teams battled on attack during the week and it was again a problem in this encounter.
The Free State team will be grateful to replacement hooker Melt Meyer, who kept his head to score ten minutes from time. The Blue Bulls could not muster a try, not something they would like to be reminded of.
Scorers:
Free State: Try: Melt Meyer
Pumas 17 (5) Griquas 5 (5)
The Pumas showed more signs of recovery after being mauled by WP on Day One, but Griquas will not be happy with a second defeat in as many matches.
Pumas scored early and whilst Griquas could respond with a try of their own late in the half, they had no answer to the Lowveld team’s second half effort. Two tries to nil was as much a reflection of the Pumas attack as the defensive effort from the Kimberley team.
Scorers:
Pumas: Tries: Chyle van Zyl, Devon Nel, Tiaan Pretorius. Conversion: Ricardo Schonfeldt
Griquas: Try: Kevin Hirst.
Zimbabwe 26 (12) Griffons 22 (10)
Zimbabwe finally got the right result in this exciting match against Griffons, who will feel disappointed with their try conversions.
In the end there was not much to choose between the sides, but where Zimbabwe missed only one of four conversions, the Griffons could only convert one out of four and that cost them a victory.
Scorers:
Zimbabwe: Tries: Nataizya Chininga, Tadiwanashe Kadziyanike, Tanaka Mukanya, Munashe Chaitezwi. Conversions: Rukudzo Munyeza (3).
Griffons: Tries: JC Allen, Marinus Minnaar, Ruan Strydom, Teboho Matsoso. Conversion: Cammi Roux
Leopards 34 (15) KZN 15 (10)
The North West side continue to impress with strong second half displays. This time they despatched of hosts KZN in a strong showing that yielded six tries to the winners. It was a lively match with nine tries in total.
KZN were still in the match at the break, but the Leopards have proved to be a very good second half team at this week.
Scorers:
Leopards: Tries: Estiaan Schonfeldt, Henco van Wyk, Hendrik Hattingh, Iviwe Dywili, Rivaldo Klaaste, Rossouw Karsten. Conversions: Schonfeldt (2).
KZN: Tries: Carlo Miller, Jochemus Foord, Mark Nel
Golden Lions 12 (5) SWD 10 (5)
One successful conversion separated the teams as SWD suffered their first defeat of the week against the Golden Lions, who responded well from Tuesday’s defeat against Eastern Province.
Both teams scored a try in the first half and an early converted try in the second half gave the Golden Lions the edge. SWD fought back strongly and scored in the last minute, but the conversion went wide and so the team’s winning record.
Scorers:
Golden Lions: Tries: Gudani Radzilani, Theo Molaolwa. Conversion: Jo Raldo Olivier.
SWD: Tries: Anton Potgieter, Marno April.
Valke 10 (5) Limpopo Blue Bulls 10 (5)
This was expected to be close, as both teams have impressed this week with solid performances. It was no surprise to see a draw as neither side managed to outclass the other. The Valke struck first with a good try in the first ten minutes, but Limpopo levelled matters five minutes later with a try of their own.
The same pattern followed in the second half. The Valke got the lead, only for Limpopo to draw level five minutes later. Poor placekicking cost both teams dearly.
Scorers:
Valke: Tries: Brink Marx, Ulrich Wiese.
Limpopo: Tries: Masekela Manyama, Nsuku Baloyi
DHL Western Province 31 (10) Boland 5 (0)
The Western Province team used their powerful pack to subdue their Western Cape neighbours in this derby affair.
The boys in Blue & White scored four of their five tries via their forwards, including a hat-trick by lock Andrè Bester – the official Man of the Match.
It was still tight at the break, but the Boland defence finally gave way in the last 10 minutes of the second half when WP scored two more tries.
Scorers:
DHL Western Province: Tries: Andrè Bester (3), Fabrizio Linnert, Meiring Ebersohn. Conversions: Kerwin Stewart (3).
Boland: Try: Jemain Slavers
* The DHL Western Province Under-18s, meanwhile, suffered a second defeat in three matches at the 2014 Under-18 LSEN Week in Potchefstroom.
DHL WP beat the Griffons 49-3 on Tuesday, having lost 13-26 to SWD on Monday. Province went down 17-25 to the Bulls on Thursday.
Under-18 LSEN Week results (Day Three):
DHL Western Province 17 (5) Blue Bulls EE 25 (12)
Blue Bulls 17 (17) Griffons 22 (3)
Eastern Province 26 (14) Free State 18 (8)
Leopards 22 (7) Pumas 8 (0)
Golden Lions 17 (14) KZN 14 (0)
Falcons 35 (27) Golden Lions EE 26 (5)
SWD 45 (17) Boland 3 (3)
