A last-gasp Pat Howard try saw the DHL Western Province Under-21 team book a place in the 2012 Absa Under-21 Final, thanks to a dramatic 19-18 win over the Sharks on Saturday.
Howard squeezed over in the left-hand corner just seconds before the full-time hooter at Mr Price Kings Park, as John Dobson”s side showed tremendous heart to qualify for the final.
DHL WP led 9-3 at half-time but were up against a powerful and star-studded Sharks side, with Pieter-Steph du Doit, in particular, making life uncomfortable for the visitors.
A try by Du Toit just four minutes from time gave the home side the lead – at 18-14 – but a clever steal from loose forward Josh Katzen from the re-start and a great long pass by flyhalf Tim Swiel found a hard-running Howard on the left-wing; his strength sealing the dramatic winner.
Howard had earlier – in the 68th minute – given his team the lead at 14-13, before Du Toit”s try, but the Western Province Juniors remained calm at the re-start to seal a famous win and a deserved place in the final.
Considering that they lost lock Wilhelm van der Sluys and Damian de Allande to the senior DHL WP side this week, not to online casino dgfev mention all the other call-ups and injuries they have had to deal with in 2012, this Under-21 side showed tremendous spirit in awful weather conditions in Durban.
The WP U21s will play against the Bulls – who beat the Cheetahs 50-24 in their semifinal – in next week”s final as one of the curtain-raisers to the 2012 Absa Currie Cup Final.
The scorers:
For Sharks Under-21:
Tries: Van Dyk, Du Toit
Con: Zeilinga
Pens: Hauptfleisch 2
For DHL Western Province Under-21:
Tries: Howard 2
Pens: Kolbe 3