DHL Western Province ran in six unanswered tries to pick up a 36-6 victory against the Eastern Province Kings at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday.
DHL Western Province ran in six unanswered tries to pick up a 36-6 victory against the Eastern Province Kings at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday.
It was the first victory of the Currie Cup Premier Division campaign for coach John Dobson’s team, who scored three tries in each half to secure what was a comfortable bonus-point victory in the end.
The home side struck first with an early penalty from flyhalf Kobus Marais, but DHL Western Province showed good patience and were rewarded with the opening try when some quick hands in the backline saw left wing Leolin Zas race away to score.
It did not take long for them to cross the tryline again, with Huw Jones picking up a loose ball to go over, but the TMO ruled that Zas had put a foot in touch in the build-up and the try was disallowed.
However, they did not have to wait long for their second try, and it was a pass from Zas which put Jones over for the try he had been denied just minutes before.
The EP Kings were struck a further blow when No.8 Christiaan de Bruin was shown a yellow card for a dangerous tackle, and DHL Western Province managed to cross the tryline soon afterwards, but the try was disallowed for a forward pass.
Instead the Eastern Province Kings would be next to score as Marais kicked another penalty, but they were down to 14 men once again when Etienne Oosthuizen was shown a yellow card for a cynical infringement.
DHL Western Province opted for a scrum and took advantage with a powerful shove which saw Sikhumbuzo Notshe score from the base to give them a 17-6 advantage at the half-time break.
The second half got off to a tense start, with neither team asserting themselves, but DHL Western Province secured the bonus point just short of the hour mark when scrumhalf Jano Vermaak wriggled his way over the tryline from close range.
The next two tries came from Jones who showed great pace to dot down twice in quick succession and secure his hat-trick which sealed the win.
The scorers:
For DHL WP:
Tries: Zas, Jones 3, Notshe, Vermaak
Cons: Thomson 3
For EP Kings:
Pens: Marais 2
DHL Western Province: 15 Cheslin Kolbe, 14 Werner Kok, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Brandon Thomson, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 7 Jurie van Vuuren, 6 Kobus van Dyk, 5 Chris van Zyl (captain), 4 JD Schickerling, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg.
Replacements: 16 Neil Rautenbach, 17 Alistair Vermaak, 18 Oli Kebble, 19 Jan de Klerk, 20 Stefan Willemse, 21 Godlen Masimla, 22 Robert du Preez.
Eastern Province Kings: 15 Johann Tromp, 14 Siviwe Soyizwapi, 13 JC Greyling, 12 Burton Klaasen, 11 Sampie Mastriet, 10 Kobus Marais, 9 Ricky Schroeder (captain), 8 Christiaan de Bruin, 7 Etienne Oosthuizen, 6 Vince Jobo, 5 Sebastian Ferreira, 4 Tazz Fuzani, 3 Vukile Sofisa, 2 Mike Willemse, 1 Justin Forwood.
Replacements: 16 Martin Bezuidenhout, 17 Barend Potgieter, 18 Dylon Pieterse, 19 Luke vd Smit, 20 Brandon Brown, 21 Lungelo Goza, 22 Ganfried May.