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Young DHL WP fall short in quarters

PUBLISHED: May 2, 2014


DHL Western Province have fallen at the quarterfinal hurdle of the 2014 Vodacom Cup, going down 8-13 to the Pumas in a hard-fought clash against their more experienced opponents at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit on Friday night.

The DHL WP players knew they were in for a tough challenge against the unbeaten home team and 2013 Vodacom Cup finalists, but they will leave Nelspruit with their heads held high – knowing they could easily have come away with the win.

Both teams scored a try each in a hard-fought fixture, with neither of the sides able to get into their stride in slippery conditions at the Mbombela Stadium – a venue where the Pumas have not lost since last year’s Vodacom Cup Final.

The Pumas, of course, were playing as a virtual Absa Currie Cup team – ahead of their return to the Premier Division in 2014 – whilst the DHL Western Province team is a young selection made up of players from the cup-winning Under-21 team of 2013.

The Pumas started this quarterfinal clash strongly and were awarded a penalty as early as the third minute with DHL Western Province being penalised for lifting a player off his feet dangerously. JC Roos missed the easiest shot at goal to let the visitors off the hook.

But Province looked full of running as the Vodacom Cup’s leading try-scorer, Devon Williams, picked up a loose ball inside his own half and broke free, side-stepping a few players but then running out of support.

Despite looking full of running, Province were unable to make enough ground early on. The 2012 champions were a bit lucky not to be further behind at half-time as Roos seemed to have left his kicking boots at home, with the Pumas pivot missing three kicks at goal.

WP were penalised in the 19th minute when Johnny Kotze was blown up for a late tackle on his centre counterpart, Hennie Skorbinski, with Roos missing the penalty.

Roos was called on again to try and open the scoring when the visiting scrum was penalised for scrumming in on the angle but the flyhalf sent the ball wide of the post, although it was a difficult attempt, eight metres inside the DHL WP half and seven metres in from touch.

But on the half-hour mark, the Pumas finally opened the scoring when Roos finally found his radar and slotted his fourth attempt at goal after WP were pinned for scrumming in on the angle for the third time inside seven minutes.

The moment of the first half came just four minutes from the break when the Pumas fullback, JW Bell, picked up a poor pass from Roos and broke through the Province defence to go over for the first try. Roos converted to hand the home side a 10-point advantage.

Province missed a golden opportunity to get back into the match on the stroke of half-time after captain Rohan Kitshoff broke free from a line-out. DHL WP recycled the ball and went to the left of the field but the ball was lost ahead.

The second half was littered with whistle blasts from the referee as the sides conceded a staggering 26 handling errors which effected the flow of the game.

DJ: Western Province finally made their mark on the scoreboard in the 63rd minute when Gary van Aswegen slotted a penalty goal after the Pumas had been penalised for illegal scrumming.

Just three minutes later, Giant Mtyanda was pinned for holding the ball on the ground and Van Aswegen sent the ball into touch just five metres from the try line. WP won the line-out and their inspirational captain, Kitshoff, broke away from the back of the resulting maul to go over the line, with the flyhalf missing the conversion.

The final 20 minutes continued in the same fashion as the first period began with a litany of errors from both sides, but a penalty from the Pumas replacement flyhalf, Coenie van Wyk, two minutes from time, secured the home side’s place in the semifinal.

The scorers:

For the Pumas:
Try: Bell
Con: Roos
Pens: Roos, Van Wyk

For DHL Western Province:
Try: Kitshoff
Pen: Van Aswegen

The teams:

Pumas: 15 JW Bell, 14 Trompie Pretorius, 13 Wilmaure Louw, 12 Hennie Skorbinski, 11 Ruwellyn Isbell, 10 JC Roos, 9 Snake Nyoka, 8 Renaldo Bothma, 7 Uzair Cassiem, 6 Corne Steenkamp (captain), 5 Marius Coetzer, 4 Giant Mtyanda, 3 De-Jay Terblanche, 2 Jacques Momberg, 1 Vincent Koch.
Replacements: 16 Frankie Hearne, 17 Sabelo Nhlapo, 18 RW Kember, 19 Jaco Bouwer, 20 Reynier Van Rooyen, 21 Coenie Van Wyk, 22 Marcello Sampson.

DHL Western Province: 15 Devon Williams, 14 JP Lewis, 13 Johnny Kotze, 12 Michael van der Spuy, 11 Lihleli Xoli, 10 Gary van Aswegen, 9 Dylon Frylinck, 8 Rayn Smid, 7 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 6 Rohan Kitshoff (captain), 5 Jan de Klerk, 4 Tazz Fuzani, 3 Entienne Swanepoel, 2 Neil Rautenbach, 1 Alistair Vermaak.
Replacements: 16 Michael Willemse, 17 Sti Sithole, 18 Deacon Chowles, 19 Jan Uys, 20 Eital Bredenkamp, 21 Jean Nel, 22 Robert du Preez.

Referee: Stephan Geldenhuys