Following their 47-20 win against Cell C Sharks XV in Durban on Friday, DHL Western Province are one of five unbeaten teams left after three rounds of the SuperSport Rugby Challenge.
They ran in seven tries to make it three consecutive away wins to start the season and a full haul of 15 log points ahead of their first home game, which will see them take on Zimbabwe Academy in a curtain-raiser which kicks off at 14h30 at DHL Newlands on Saturday.
The first Rugby Festival took place at D’Almeida Stadium in Mossel Bay on Sunday and saw South Section competitors SWD Eagles beat Zimbabwe Academy 31-30, while the Toyota Free State Cheetahs XV outplayed Multisure EP Elephants by 49-12.
The hordes of people who attended the Rugby Festival in the Southern Cape were entertained to the tune of 18 tries in the two matches, with the result in the main match in the balance until the last minutes.
However, the two undefeated sides in the South Section nailed their colours to the mast earlier in the weekend.
First up, DHL Western Province travelled to Durban on Friday to deliver an ominous warning to their competitors by beating Cell C Sharks XV 47-20 to remain top of the standings with a full house of 15 points, while Boland Cavaliers also scored a good win away from home, beating Border Bulldogs 52-0 in East London to move into second position on the log.
The North Section had some nail biters with a number of tight results.
The Xerox Golden Lions XV (43-40) almost had their undefeated status removed by the Valke, who came back strongly in the second half on Saturday.
Tafel Lager Griquas (61-24 over the Windhoek Draught Welwitschias on Saturday) and the iSG Pumas (40-30 over the Leopards on Friday) remained unbeaten with hard-fought wins.
The Vodacom Blue Bulls scored a good victory at Loftus Versfeld on Friday, beating the Down Touch Griffons 35-20 in a tight match.
With tries galore across all the match, another hat-trick was no surprise, with Boland flanker Tapiwa Tsomondo getting three against Border.
One of the hat-trick scorers from last week, Jo-Hanco de Villiers (Xerox Golden Lions XV), is joint-top try-scorer with Springbok wing Jamba Ulengo (Toyota Free State Cheetahs XV), with five apiece.
JT Jackson (Vodacom Blue Bulls) and Abner van Reenen (DHL Western Province) are the leading points’ scorers with 44 each. Both have kicked 15 conversions and three penalties.
North Section:
Windhoek Draught Welwitschias 24 (10), Tafel Lager Griquas 61 (19)
Windhoek Draught Welwitschias:
Tries: Daryl de la Harpe, Thomasau Forbes, Chrysander Botha
Cons: Cliven Loubser (3)
Pen: Loubser
Tafel Lager Griquas:
Tries: Cody Basson, Godfrey Ramaboea, Wilmar Arnoldi, Anthony Volmink, George Whitehead, Michal Haznar, Sias Koen, Gideon van der Merwe, Penalty Try
Cons: Tinus de Beer (3), Whitehead (4)
Xerox Golden Lions XV 43 (31), Valke 40 (14)
Xerox Golden Lions XV:
Tries: Jo-Hanko de Villiers (2), Stean Pienaar (2), Ruben Schoeman, James Venter, Madosh Tambwe
Cons: Jeanluc Cilliers (4)
Valke:
Tries: Anrich Richter (2), Marco Klopper, Friedle Olivier, Errol Jaggers, Hardus Pretorius
Cons: Richter (5)
iSG Pumas 40 (26), Leopards 30 (10)
iSG Pumas:
Tries: JP Lewis (2), Stefan Willemse, Devon Williams, Francois Kleinhans, HP van Schoor
Cons: Chris Smith (5)
Leopards:
Tries: Jimmy Mpailane, Edmund Rheeder, Keagan Tait, Shane van Rooyen
Cons: Schalk Hugo (2)
Pen: Hugo
Drop Goal: Hugo
Vodacom Blue Bulls 35 (14), Down Touch Griffons 20 (13)
Vodacom Blue Bulls:
Tries: Duncan Matthews, Fiela Boshoff, Ruan Steenkamp (2), Diego Appollis
Cons: JT Jackson (5)
Down Touch Griffons
Tries: Jean Pretorius, Arthur Williams
Cons: Jaywinn Juries (2). Penalties: Juries (2)
South Section:
Border Bulldogs 0 (0), Boland Cavaliers 52 (14)
Boland Cavaliers:
Tries: Valentino Norman (2), Tapiwa Tsomondo (3), Patrick O’Brien, Shilton van Wyk (2)
Cons: Garrick Mattheus (3), Joshua Vermeulen, Monty Dumond (2)
Border Bulldogs: None
Cell C Sharks XV 20 (13), DHL Western Province 47 (21)
Cell C Sharks XV:
Tries: Kwanda Dimaza, Wian Vosloo
Cons: Rhyno Smith (2)
Pens: Smith (2)
DHL Western Province
Tries: Edwill van der Merwe (2), Paul de Wet, Marno Redelinghuys, Craig Barry, Penalty Tries (2)
Cons: Abner van Reenen (4)
Multisure EP Elephants 12 (12), Toyota Free State Cheetahs XV 49 (19)
Multisure EP Elephants:
Tries: Mikey Botha, Michael Makase
Conversion: Oliver Zono
Toyota Free State Cheetahs XV:
Tries: Jamba Ulengo, Ernst Stapelberg (2), Tapiwa Mafura, Jasper Wiese, Marlou van Niekerk, Marnus van der Merwe
Cons: Stapelberg (7)
SWD Eagles 31 (19), Zimbabwe Academy 30 (7)
SWD:
Tries: Dillin Snel, Shario Rosenkrantz, Marquit September (2), Lwando Mabenge
Cons: Gerhard Nortier (2), Leighton Eksteen
Zimbabwe Academy:
Tries: Kuzai Mashawi, Aiden Burnett, George Saungweme, Cleopas Kundiona
Cons: Jeremiah Jaravaza, Kadakwashe Mudariki
Pens: Jaravaza (2)