FEATURED

Currie Cup kicks off with a bang

PUBLISHED: July 15, 2019


The Currie Cup Premier Division – sponsored by DirectAxis Financial Services – delivered a big dose of drama on its opening weekend, with an upset in Durban, a come-from-behind humdinger in Johannesburg and a typically tough North/South derby in Cape Town all part of the action.

DHL Western Province kicked off their Currie Cup campaign with an impressive 20-5 victory against the Vodacom Blue Bulls in front of the DHL Newlands Faithful.

That puts them third on the standings, behind log-leaders Tafel Lager Griquas and the Xerox Golden Lions who both got bonus-point wins.

DHL Western Province pack delivered a massive scrumming performance that crushed the Vodacom Blue Bulls’ chances in a hard-fought encounter, won 20-5 by the Capetonians at DHL Newlands.

The visitors’ forwards were under immense pressure at scrum-time and were subsequently heavily penalised, which ensured valuable momentum for the men in blue and white hoops, especially in the second half after the teams went into the break with the scores tied at 5-5.

DHL Western Province captain Chris van Zyl said that while it was not a complete performance, there were some encouraging signs against a good Vodacom Blue Bulls side.

“Technically I don’t think we are there yet but we saw some nice things on defence and the interplay was quite encouraging, especially in the slippery conditions,” he said.

DHL Western Province will travel to Durban this weekend to face the defending champion Cell C Sharks in a match that kicks off at 14h00 on Saturday.

On Friday evening at Jonsson Kings Park, Tafel Lager Griquas started their Currie Cup campaign in impressive fashion by dismantling the defending champions, the Cell C Sharks, by 37-13, pulling away in the second half after leading by 10-6 at the break.

Wilmar Arnoldi (replacement hooker) scored two tries for the visitors from the Northern Cape, who top the log after the first round. For a full match report and all the scorers, click here.

On Saturday afternoon, the Xerox Golden Lions showed a lot of character and had to rely on four tries by their speedy winger Madosh Tambwe for a come-from-behind victory over an impressive Phakisa Pumas side at Emirates Airline Park.

The visitors from the Lowveld took a 37-21 lead with 20 minutes to go, but the men from Johannesburg never gave up and won by 38-37 after Shaun Reynolds scored and converted the winning try with a minute of time left on the clock.

Currie Cup Round Two fixtures:

Friday, July 19

Tafel Lager Griquas v Phakisa Pumas
(Tafel Lager Park, Kimberley – Kick-off: 17h00)

Vodacom Blue Bulls v Toyota Free State Cheetahs
(Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria – Kick-off: 19h15

Saturday, July 20

Cell C Sharks v DHL Western Province
(Jonsson Kings Park, Durban – Kick-off: 14h00)