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DHL WP U21 in fifth straight final

PUBLISHED: October 14, 2016


DHL Western Province U21 will have a chance to defend their SA Rugby U21 Championship title after beating Toyota Free State Cheetahs U21 26-23 in their semifinal at City Park on Friday.

The defending champions will play in their fifth consecutive final next week, with their opposition and venue to be determined on Saturday.

Coach Jerome Paarwater’s team lost just one match on their way to securing a home semifinal, finishing the league phase of the competition on top of the standings.

The match got off to a tense start, with the teams trading early penalties as they looked to assert their authority.

The visitors would score the first try of the match, as a counter-attack launched deep in their own half saw right wing Carl-Jan Coetzee score under the poles.

DHL Western Province U21 hit back immediately as the ball was worked wide to Sibahle Maxwane who scored in the corner, with the touchline conversion from Grant Hermanus levelling the scores at 13-13.

The visitors were struck a further blow when flank Daniel Maartens was shown a yellow card for repeated infringements at the breakdown, which allowed DHL Western Province U21 to take advantage immediately.

After some strong runs from the likes of Justin Phillips and Jacques Vermeulen, the ball was worked wide to hooker Percy Mngadi who dived over to put them 18-13 ahead.

The visitors responded with a try from Maartens who was back on the field, and another penalty from the boot of Bitzi saw them take a 23-18 lead into half-time.

DHL Western Province U21 were first to strike in the second half with a Hermanus penalty, and their opponents were reduced to 14 men once again when left wing Jean-Pierre Coetzee was shown a yellow card for a late tackle.

That saw DHL Western Province U21 No.8 Jaco Coetzee cross from a driving maul, to put his side 26-23 up with 20 minutes left to play.

They held on for dear life, showing great character in the final stages to pull off the win and make it through to their fifth consecutive final.

The scorers:

For DHL WP U21:
Tries: Maxwane, Mngadi, Coetzee
Con: Hermanus
Pens: Hermanus 3

For Free State U21:
Tries: Coetzee, Maartens
Cons: Bitzi 2
Pens: Bitzi 3

DHL Western Province U21: 15 Grant Hermanus, 14 Sibahle Maxwane, 13 Eduan Keyter, 12 Ryan Oosthuizen, 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Brandon Thomson, 9 Justin Phillips, 8 Jaco Coetzee, 7 Jacques Vermaulen, 6 Luke Stringer (captain), 5 David Ribbans, 4 Eduard Zandberg, 3 Frans van Wyk, 2 Percy Mngadi, 1 Kyle Whyte.
Replacements: 16 Hanno Snyman, 17 Michael Kumbirai, 18 Nyasha Tarusenga, 19 Christo van der Merwe, 20 Herschel Jantjies, 21 Dennis Cox, 22 Heinrich Buhr.

Toyota Free State Cheetahs U21: 15 Sechaba Matsoele, 14 Carl-Jan Coetzee, 13 Niell Stannard, 12 Ali Mgijima, 11 Jean-Pierre Coetzee, 10 Heinrich Bitzi, 9 Dian Badenhorst, 8 Jasper Wiese (captain), 7 Nardus Erasmus, 6 Daniel Maartens, 5 Ruben Schoeman, 4 Johann Grundlingh, 3 Gunther Janse van Vuuren, 2 Reinach Venter, 1 Johannes Kotzé.
Replacements: 16 Robin Stevens, 17 Erich de Jager, 18 Ntokozo Vidima, 19 Refuoe Rampeta, 20 Rewan Kruger, 21 Julian Jordaan, 22 Lorenzo Gordon.