In the main matches of the day SWD held their composure against a determined Western Province outfit to create one of the biggest upsets of the tournament, while KwaZulu-Natal defeated hosts the Pumas 38-27.
In the other matches Griquas CD registered a 26-20 victory against Zimbabwe, while Border thrashed the Limpopo Blue Bulls 78-17 and the Griffons beat Griquas CD 33-15.
Zimbabwe 20 (20) Griquas CD 26 (14)
Griquas CD staged a strong second half comeback against Zimbabwe to register their first victory of the tournament after trailing 20-14 at the break. Zimbabwe started the clash well as they penetrated Griquas CD’s tryline twice in the first eight minutes while centre Shaun Snyder added a penalty to hand the team a 13-0 lead.
Griquas CD, however, hit back with two tries, the second of which was on the stroke of half time, while Zimbabwe added another to take a 20-14 lead at the break.
The Northern Cape side, however, showed their fighting spirit in the second half as they contained Zimbabwe on defence and denied them from scoring further points, while they also forced their way onto the front on attack. This allowed them to double their tally of tries and secure the victory.
Scorers:
Zimbabwe – Tries: Brian Muntanga, Daniel Nyamugama, Stephen Bhasera. Conversion: Shaun Snyder. Penalty: Shaun Snyder.
Griquas – Tries: Coenie Lamprecht, Denvill Joseph, Dillon-Doyle Magerman, Jacobus Wiese. Conversions: Coenie Lamprecht.
Limpopo Blue Bulls 17 (0) Border 78 (54)
Border were rampant in their display against the Limpopo Blue Bulls as they dominated proceedings from the outset to rack up an impressive 54-0 half-time lead. With the East London side’s pack functioning well and their backs using their pace to take advantage of the gaps in the Limpopo Blue Bulls’ defence, they crossed the tryline at will.
Such was the dominance of their attack they scored eight first-half tries and 12 in total, with three players earning hat-tricks in the match.
With momentum and confidence on their side they added another four tries to their total in the second half.
The Limpopo Blue Bulls, however, showed immense character to bounce back despite their disappointing first-half showing and managed to earn 17 points to salvage some pride.
Scorers:
Limpopo Blue Bulls – Tries: Armand Davies, Diederik Oberholzer, Dumisani Mushwana. Conversion: Barend Janse van Rensburg.
Border – Tries: David Brits (3), Jerry Danquah (3), Michael Brink (3), Reinhardt Engelbrecht, Rob Lyons, Yamkela Nyalambisa. Conversions: Morgan Steyn (9).
Griffons 33 (19) Eastern Province CD 15 (3)
The Griffons continued their impressive form in the tournament as they registered a 33-15 victory against Eastern Province CD, which marked their second victory in as many matches. The first 20 minutes were tight as the teams threw everything at one another, with Eastern Province CD putting the first points on the board compliments of a penalty.
But the Griffons finally broke through their defence in the 23rd minute and followed this up with another two first-half tries to build up a 19-3 lead.
The second half was also competitive as Eastern Province CD forced their way into the match, but they were unable to prevent the Griffons from stretching their score, which resulted in the Eastern Cape side going down 33-15.
Scorers:
Griffons – Tries: Francois Stemmet, Johann Vermaak (2), Siya Ngxesha (2). Conversions: Johan van Zyl (3), Stephanus Vermaak.
Eastern Province CD – Tries: Bradley Christian, Davron Cameron. Conversions: Cameron Hertz. Penalty: Cameron Hertz.
Pumas 27 (5) KwaZulu-Natal 38 (24)
KwaZulu-Natal delivered a solid performance against the Pumas to secure their second victory in the Coca-Cola Craven Week, with a strong first-half giving them an edge over the hosts.
The Durban side proved to be a force to be reckoned with in the first half as they capitalised on their try-scoring chances and made fantastic line breaks to earn three tries in the first 21 minutes.
The Pumas, however, managed to breach their defensive line a few minutes before half time for their first points of the match.
The Pumas, however, delivered an inspirational second-half showing as they retained possession and placed pressure on KwaZulu-Natal. This allowed them to spend more time in the opposition’s half, and the rewards followed as they earned four tries.
But these efforts were cancelled out by two extra tries by the Sharks, which took the score to 38-27. The defeat marked the hosts’ second loss in the tournament.
Scorers:
Pumas – Tries: Barend Smit, Andries Steynberg (2), Kevin Ndhlovu, Siyabonga Masuku. Conversion: Barend Smit.
KwaZulu-Natal – Tries: Curtis Jonas, Jacobus Coetzee (2), Morne Joubert (2). Conversions: Curtis Jonas (5). Penalty: Curtis Jonas.
Western Province 23 (6) SWD 38 (5)
The clash between Western Province and SWD was tense as the teams put their bodies on the line on attack and defence in the first half, which resulted in the Cape side taking a narrow 6-5 lead.
Western Province spent most of the first half in SWD’s half and did well to apply pressure on attack, but they struggled to convert this pressure into points as SWD stood their ground on defence.
As a result Province opted for two penalty kicks to get onto the scoreboard in the first half, while SWD centre John Thomas Jackson snuck through the defence to score his team’s first try.
The flood gates, however, opened for the George side in the second half as they spotted the gaps in Western Province’s defence and cruised through them to add an impressive five tries to their total in the second half.
The match was particularly memorable for the speedy centre as he earned a hat-trick and slotted over four conversions for an individual total of 23 points. With the momentum against them Western Province tried hard to force their way back into the match, and they managed to score two tries, but in the end the difference between the teams was SWD’s ability to convert the half chances into points.
Scorers:
Western Province – Tries: Aidynn Cupido, Mervano Da Silva. Conversions: Tiaan Swanepoel (2). Penalties: Aidynn Cupido (2), Jondre Williams.
SWD – Tries: John Jackson (3), Le Roux Baard, Shadward Fillies (2). Conversions: John Jackson (4).
Coca-Cola Craven Week day 4 fixtures:
10h10 – Namibia vs Border CD
11h30 – Boland vs Griquas
12h50 – Valke vs Leopards
14h10 – Blue Bulls vs Golden Lions
15h30 – Eastern Province vs Free State
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