Bulls U19s back to winning ways, FS on the charge

Aug 11 • General News • 1809 Views • Comments Off on Bulls U19s back to winning ways, FS on the charge

The Vodacom Blue Bulls Under-19 side returned to winning ways in the Absa Under-19 Provincial Championship’s A-Division, scoring a good 36-11 away win over the Xerox Golden Lions at Ellis Park on Saturday, while the Toyota Free State extended their winning run by beating the Leopards 26-18 at Olënpark in Potchefstroom.
The DHL Western Province on Friday kept their perfect season intact by beating the EP Kings in Port Elizabeth, scoring four tries in the process.

The Free State side, which last week scored an upset win in Pretoria, has now moved to third on the log, just one point behind the Blue Bulls and four behind WP.

A summary of the weekend’s matches are:

Xerox Golden Lions 11 (6), Vodacom Blue Bulls 36 (22)

In Johannesburg, the Vodacom Blue Bulls regrouped well by beating the home side in a commanding performance. They showed much more enterprise on attack that last week, with flyhalf Dewald Human in fine form.

The Outeniqua-schooled back scored two tries in the win and ran the cutter with great authority, enjoying the platform laid by his hard-working forwards.

The five tries to one scored by the visitors reflected their dominance, especially in the first half. They scored three times in the opening 20 minutes and never really looked back after that.

Scorers:

Golden Lions (Under-19) 11 (6). Try: Gerdus van der Walt. Penalties: Kobus Engelbrecht (2).
Blue Bulls (Under-19). Tries: Dewald Human (2), Hanro Liebenberg, Matjikinyane Molapo (2). Conversions: Human (4). Penalty: Human.

Leopards 18 (5), Toyota Free State 28 (7).

The Free State started in perfect fashion by scoring a try in the second minute of the match, but scoring opportunities for the rest of the half proved difficult. The Leopards scored a late try in the half to reward some good work on attack, with the visitors going into the break with a slender lead.

It all changed early in the second half though as the Leopards were shown a yellow card. In the ten minutes that followed, the visitors scored twice and opened up a lead they never surrendered.

Scorers:

Leopards (Under-19) 18 (5). Tries: Ray van der Lith (2), Walt Steenkamp. Penalty: Brendon Kahts.
Free State (Under-19) 28 (7). Tries: Arno van Staden (2), Johan Grundlingh, Tyron Goddard. Conversions: André Swarts (2), Tyron Labuschagne.

EP Kings 10 (3), DHL Western Province 38 (16).

The visiting Capetonians had too much ammunition in their arsenal for the EP Kings, who held on well in the first half.

The home side battled to contain the impressive WP pack that laid a solid foundation and allowed their back some attacking space. WP flyhalf Ernst Stapelberg returned to his old stomping ground and reminded all the spectators of his kicking abilities, landing four penalties and two conversions.

The WP never had it their own way though and could only score their bonus point in the final play of the game.

Scorers:

EP Kings (Under-19) 10 (3). Try: CJ Velleman. Conversion: Malcolm Jaer. Penalty: Jaer.
WP (Under-19) 38 (16). Tries: Charlton Jonas, Dewald Naude, Heinrich Buhr, Rickus Bothma. Conversions: Ernst Stapelberg (2), Brandon Thomson. Penalties: Stapelberg (4).

•It was the opening weekend of the Absa Under-19 Provincial Championship’s B-Division as well.

In Welkom, Down Touch Griffons scored a 22-17 win over GWK Griquas, while in Kempton Park’s Barnard Stadium, the Valke had too much power for Border, winning 45-7.

Courtesy of SARU