DHL Western Province U19 claimed their sixth consecutive win when they beat Vodacom Blue Bulls U19 18-17 at Loftus Versfeld on Friday.
DHL Western Province U19 claimed their sixth consecutive win when they beat Vodacom Blue Bulls U19 18-17 at Loftus Versfeld on Friday.
It was a tightly contested match which saw the lead change hands several times throughout, but in the end DHL Western Province U19 did just enough to maintain their unbeaten status this seson.
The visitors opened the scoring with a penalty from scrumhalf Jondre Williams, but the Blue Bulls U19 got the first try of the game when they were awarded a penalty try which also saw DHL Western Province U19 flyhalf Jordan Chait shown a yellow card for a professional foul.
However, the hosts were not in the lead for long, as DHL Western Province U19 were rewarded for a sustained period of pressure in opposition territory when fullback Tristan Leyds took a well-timed inside ball to burst through and score under the poles.
Although both teams had opportunities to add to their try tally in the first half, neither side was able to find the finishing touch, and a penalty on the stroke of half-time from Blue Bulls U19 wing Lourens Steenkamp saw the teams go into the break deadlocked at 10-10.
The home side struck first in the second half, with a counter-attack resulting in outside centre Heino Bezuidenhout scoring in the corner, and the touchline conversion from Steenkamp gave them a 17-10 lead.
DHL Western Province hit back immediately as the ball was worked wide to left wing Tumi Mogoje who flew over for the second try, but Williams could not convert from out wide.
The visitors showed great resolve on defence as they absorbed everything the hosts could throw at them, and they would take the lead again when Williams slotted a penalty which put them 18-17 ahead with just 10 minutes left to play.
The final stages were very tense, but DHL Western Province U19 were able to hold out for a hard-fought victory and continue their unbeaten run.
The scorers:
For DHL WP U19:
Tries: Leyds, Mogoje
Con: Williams
Pens: Williams 2
For Vodacom Blue Bulls U19:
Tries: Penalty try, Bezuidenhout
Cons: Steenkamp 2
Pen: Steenkamp
DHL Western Province U19: 15 Tristan Leyds, 14 Nico Leonard, 13 David Brits, 12 Troy Payne, 11 Tumi Mogoje, 10 Jordan Chait, 9 Jondre Williams, 8 Zain Davids, 7 Ernst van Rhyn (captain), 6 Nama Xaba, 5 Jordan Sesink-Clee, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Carlu Sadie, 2 Matt Wiseman, 1 Ricky Nwagbara.
Replacements: 16 Shane Farmer, 17 Roux Swart, 18 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 19 Imraan Andrews, 20 Juarno Augustus, 21 Brandon Salomo, 22 Adriaan van der Bank, 23 Ryan Muller.
Vodacom Blue Bulls U19: 15 Manie Libbok, 14 Lourens Steenkamp, 13 Heino Bezuidenhout (captain), 12 Jordan Holgate, 11 Irvin Ali, 10 Christo Hamman, 9 Josh Allderman, 8 Dylan Van der Walt, 7 Rickert Korff, 6 Eduan Lubbe, 5 Hendre Stassen, 4 Marius Verwey, 3 Ignatius Prinsloo, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Gerhard Steenekamp.
Replacements: 16 Nico Peyper, 17 Simphiwe Matanzima, 18 Erik Groenewald, 19 MJ Hayes, 20 Jason Olivier, 21 Erich Cronje, 22 Ciaran Dayaram, 23 Mashao Mukhari.