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DHL WP U21 fall short in Bloemfontein

PUBLISHED: September 7, 2019


DHL Western Province U21 went down 33-27 to Vodacom Blue Bulls U21 in the SA Rugby U21 Championship final in Bloemfontein on Saturday.

Both teams scored three tries in an entertaining match, with DHL Western Province U21 dominating the first half, before Vodacom Blue Bulls came from behind to claim the title in the second half.

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The teams traded early penalties, but those would be the only points of the first half for Vodacom Blue Bulls U21, DHL Western Province U21 took control.

Despite being down to 14 men when scrumhalf Vusile Dlepu was shown a yellow card for a high tackle, DHL Western Province U21 took the lead with a second penalty from flyhalf David Coetzer.

A dangerous tackle on captain Ben-Jason Dixon saw their opponents reduced to 14 and DHL Western Province U21 duly took advantage as the forwards rumbled forward for a try from flank Shaine Orderson.

The second try came from Dlepu, who was back on the field and spotted some space on the fringe to dart through for a try, which saw them take a comfortable 20-3 lead into half-time.

The Vodacom Blue Bulls U21 got their first try eight minutes into the second half, with flank Stephan Smit scoring in the corner, and they followed that up with a penalty to bring themselves within range at 20-13.

Another two tries, a penalty and a drop-goal was enough to see them come from behind to claim victory, despite a late runaway try from DHL Western Province U21 flank Gift Dlamini.

The scorers:

For DHL WP U21:
Tries:
Orderson, Dlepu, Dlamini
Cons: Coetzer 2
Pens: Coetzer 2

For Vodacom Blue Bulls U21:
Tries:
Smit, Mouton, Els
Cons: Boshoff 3
Pens: Boshoff 2
DG: Boshoff

DHL Western Province U21: 15 David Kriel, 14 Sihle Njezula, 13 Lyle Hendricks, 12 Rikus Pretorius, 11 Angelo Davids, 10 David Coetzer, 9 Vusile Dlepu, 8 Adrian Paarwater, 7 Shaine Orderson, 6 Gift Dlamini, 5 Ben-Jason Dixon (captain), 4 Marcel Theunissen, 3 Sazi Sandi, 2 Schalk Erasmus, 1 Dian Bleuler.
Replacements: 16 Daniel Jooste, 17 Hugo Pienaar, 18 Dandre Degenaar, 19 Ian Kitwanga, 20 Jesse Johnson, 21 Gerardo Jaars, 22 Abner van Reenen, 23 Sako Makata.

Vodacom Blue Bulls U21: 15. Richard Kriel, 14. Gershwin Mouton, 13. Marnus Potgieter, 12. Wian van Niekerk, 11. Sebastiaan Jobb, 10. Theo Boshoff, 9. Keagan Johannes, 8. Muller Uys (C), 7. Hanru Sirgel, 6. Stephan Smit, 5. Ruan Nortje, 4. Ryno Pieterse, 3. Mornay Smith, 2. Werner Fourie, 1. Kudzwai Dube.
Replacements: 16. Llewellyn Classen, 17. Etienne Janeke, 18. Carl Els, 19. Ewart Potgieter, 20. Johan Mulder, 21. Vaughen Isaacs, 22. Sango Xamlashe, 23. Cabous Eloff.