DHL Western Province U21 fought hard, but fell just short of retaining their SA Rugby U21 Championship title when they went down 38-34 against the Xerox Golden Lions U21 in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
DHL Western Province U21 fought hard, but fell just short of retaining their SA Rugby U21 Championship title when they went down 38-34 against the Xerox Golden Lions U21 in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
Having taken a slender lead into the final stages of the match, DHL Western Province U21 saw the title slip from their grasp with a strong finish from their opponents.
It was just the second defeat of the season for DHL Western Province U21, who topped the log at the end of the league phase of the campaign.
The Gauteng outfit scored first with an early penalty from inside centre Shaun Reynolds and they followed that up with a counter-attack try which was finished off by flyhalf Curtis Jonas to put them 10-0 up.
DHL Western Province got on the scoreboard with a Grant Hermanus penalty which was soon followed by their first try as Sibahle Maxwane stepped his opposite number to score in the corner.
They looked to have taken the lead through Eduard Zandberg, but the try was disallowed due to some foul play off the ball.
However, they did not have to wait long to take the lead for the first time in the match as a Hermanus penalty shortly afterwards put them 11-10 ahead after 30 minutes.
The Xerox Golden Lions U21 hit back with a penalty of their own just before half-time which gave them a slender 13-11 advantage at the break.
The lead changed hands again as DHL Western Province struck first in the second half, with Jacques Vermeulen forcing his way over for a try, but the scores were level at 18-18 shortly afterwards thanks to an unconverted try from the Xerox Golden Lions U21.
The teams then traded penalties before scrumhalf Justin Phillips got over for the third try for DHL Western Province which gave them a 28-21 lead.
Another Hermanus penalty put DHL Western Province beyond striking distance, but the Xerox Golden Lions U21 hit back with a penalty after Phillips had been shown a yellow card for a cynical infringement which reduced the deficit to 31-24 with 10 minutes to play.
The scores were level once again when the Xerox Golden Lions U21 got over for their third try which made it 31-31 with eight minutes left.
The Xerox Golden Lions U21 came up with a fourth try from captain Jarred Sage which was enough to seal a hard-fought victory.
The scorers:
For DHL Western Province U21:
Tries: Maxwane, Vermeulen, Phillips
Cons: Hermanus 2
Pens: Hermanus 4
For Xerox Golden Lions U21:
Tries: Jonas, Engelbrecht, Janse van Vuuren, Sage
Cons: Reynolds 2
Pens: Reynolds 4
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 Eduard Zandberg, 4 Jaco Willemse, 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 Leolin Zas.
