Defending Vodacom Cup champions DHL Western Province picked up their first win of the 2013 season, when they outplayed the EP Kings in Port Elizabeth on Friday night.

Flanker Chris Cloete ran in a hat-trick to help put away the home side 43-18, which saw the Men in Blue & White moved up to third place on the log in the South Section of the Vodacom Cup.

Five tries in the first half all but sealed the win for the visitors and their 31-18 lead at the break was extended by the trusted boot of Gary van Aswegen in the second half, with the replacement flyhalf kicking three penalties and a drop-goal.

DHL WP’s other tries were scored by debutant lock Ruan Botha and fullback Tim Swiel – who also added three conversions – whilst experienced DHL Stormers prop Brok Harris started the match at tighthead and new signing Michael Rhodes made his debut from the bench for Province.

In other Vodacom Cup action this past weekend, it was one-way traffic in Groblersdal where GWK Griquas broke the Vodacom Cup record for the biggest win by beating Assupol Limpopo Blue Bulls 124-5.

This bettered the mark set by the Leopards XV last week against the same opponents, when the North West team romped home 113-3. Griquas scored a record 20 tries and both Rocco Jansen and Marnus Schoeman (five apiece), now share the record for most tries in a match by a player with Stephen Brink and Jannie van der Walt, who did the same in 1998 and 2001, respectively.

GWK Griquas took control of the match in the first half as they scored six tries and led 38-5 at half-time. Limpopo had no answer to the structured play of the visitors as Griquas’ excellent control and their ability to recycle the ball through several phases to stretch the defense, had the hosts in complete disarray.

There were also big scores recorded in Nelspruit, where the Steval Pumas beat the Down Touch Griffons 64-7 and in Robertson where the SWD Eagles scored a very comfortable 44-12 win over the Regent Boland Cavaliers.

It was not only in Groblersdal and Robertson where the home side felt out of place, with the likes of EP Kings and MTN Lions failed to capitalize on their home ground advantage.

The SWD Eagles ran riot in the second half and scored 31 unanswered points to trounce the Regent Boland Cavaliers 44-12 at the Callie de Wet Stadium in Robertson on Saturday. Flyhalf Jeff Taljard scored 19 points with the boot via five conversions and three penalties and former Free State Cheetahs and Springbok flanker, Kabamba Floors, finished off an energetic afternoon by scoring the fifth try for the Eagles in the 64th minute of the match.

The Standard Bank Pampas continued their unbeaten run in the competition, outplaying the Border Bulldogs in a 45-26 win in Stellenbosch on Saturday, claiming a bonus point along with the convincing win. The Bulldogs are yet to win a game this season and remain at the bottom of the South Section log.

Things were much tighter in Durban though, where The Sharks XV scored two late tries to pip the Free State XV 34-33. S’burra Sithole and Franco Marais scored in the last ten minutes for the hosts, and even though the visitors scored a last-minute touchdown, it wasn’t enough to deny the Sharks a full haul of five points. Fred Zeilinga, the young pivot for the Sharks XV, slotted all his kicks in tough conditions and added a try in a personal haul of 19 points. He is the leading points-scorer in the competition with 60 points.

Up north, the rampant Steval Pumas ran in ten tries in comprehensively beating the Down Touch Griffons 64-7 at the Nelspruit rugby club on Saturday. The Pumas dominated every aspect of the game, but the final score might have flattered them a tad as the Griffons could not convert several promising opportunities into tries.

At Ellis Park, Tony Jantjies – the younger brother of DHL Stormers No.10 Elton – scored 27 points as the Vodacom Blue Bulls thumped the MTN Golden Lions 54-26. He kicked five conversions, four penalties (including three in the first seven minutes) and scored a try as the Men from Pretoria ran riot. It was a fantastic display by the flyhalf who directed the backline like a true general does his troops. The hosts had no answer to the sweeping open play of the visitors and the Blue Bulls played some magnificent running rugby.

On Friday, former Springbok flyhalf Andre Pretorius turned back the clock with a polished performance to steer the Leopards to a comfortable 47-16 win over the Valke in Potchefstroom. Pretorius landed six out of seven conversions for a personal haul of 12 points.

The home side scored three tries after only 11 minutes and with more than an hour to play the result was already beyond doubt. Pretorius, who played the last of his 31 Test matches nearly six years ago, calmly dictated matters with great tactical awareness behind a dominant pack. The Valke were a fumbling mess and were strangely subdued a week after they had beaten the Golden Lions in Brakpan.