DHL WP finish top of Absa Under-21 log with final four confirmed

Oct 11 • General News • 2344 Views • Comments Off on DHL WP finish top of Absa Under-21 log with final four confirmed

The DHL Western Province will take on the Xerox Golden Lions in one of the two semifinals of the Absa Under-21 A-Division Provincial Championship this weekend, while the Toyota Free State will host the Cell C Sharks in the other.

WP secured a solid 45-31 win over the EP Kings on Friday to confirm their top spot on the log. Their opponents for this weekend’s semifinal in Cape Town were only determined on Saturday though when the Xerox Golden Lions beat the Leopards 56-20 in Johannesburg.

This win moved the Johannesburg side past their Gauteng neighbours, the Vodacom Blue Bulls, into the fourth spot on the A-Division log and resulting in the Pretoria team, who are the defending champions, not making it into the final four, but finishing fifth, one point shy of the Lions.

In the other match of the weekend, the Toyota Free State landed an early mental blow in beating the Cell C Sharks 74-22 in Bloemfontein. This win secured second spot on the log and will see the Durban side travelling back to Bloem this weekend in the other semifinal.

On Thursday, the SWD ended their season on a high by winning the B-Division title in Potchefstroom, beating Limpopo Blue Bulls 32-29. The Eagles overturned a 13-22 halftime deficit with Eagles’ fullback Fizell Fredericks delivered in a match-winning performance and contributed 21 points to the winning effort.

Below follow a summary of the weekend’s clashes. Run of play summary of each match is available by clicking on the match result.

Xerox Golden Lions 56 (28), Leopards 20 (8).

The Golden Lions had everything to play for, but the Leopards made them work for this win that secured their final four spot on the log. It took them 20 minutes to breach the visitor’s line and three tries in the next 15 minutes laid the foundation for the win. The Leopards did come back in the second half, but two tries in the last two minutes ended the home side’s performance in front of their fans in the very satisfying manner.

Scorers:

Xerox Golden Lions 56 (28). Tries: Aphiwe Dyantyi (2), Cameron Rooi, Jano Venter (2), Shaun Reynolds (2), Victor Sekekete. Conversions: Kobus Engelbrecht (2), Shaun Reynolds (6).

Leopards 20 (8). Tries: Chriswill September, Dalen Goliath, Gideon van der Merwe. Conversion: Myburgh Briers. Penalty: Myburgh Briers.

Toyota Free State 74 (43), Cell C Sharks 22 (7).

Three tries in the opening six minutes by the Free State showed the difference in mind-sets of the two teams in this clash. The home side blew the visitors away in the first half, leading 43-7 at the break.

They dominated all phases of play, especially up front, where flanker Jasper Wiese helped himself to a hat-trick of tries. The Sharks are returning to Bloemfontein next week for the semis and will have to work wonders this week to reverse this comprehensive result.

Scorers:

Toyota Free State 74 (43). Tries: Arrie Vosloo, Carel-Jan Coetzee, Daniel Maartens, Henry Immelman, Jacobus van Vuuren, Jasper Wiese (3), Justin Basson, Lorenzo Gordon (2), Ox Nche. Conversions: Andre Swarts (2), Arrie Vosloo (5).

Cell C Sharks 22 (7). Tries: Malcolm Cele, Thembalethu Williams (2), Wian Vosloo. Conversions: Colin Willemse (2).

DHL Western Province 45 (31), EP Kings 31 (12).

The quality of play in this age group was highlighted at DHL Newlands where log leaders WP had their hands full to beat bottom of the log EP Kings in an entertaining match. The home side did most of their work in the first half and had a good 31-12 lead at the break. The Kings came back storming in the second half and showed their worth.

Scorers:

DHL Western Province 45 (31). Tries: Christo van der Merwe (2), EW Viljoen (2), JD Schickerling, Marcus Kleinbooi, Penalty Try. Conversions: Brandon Thomson (5).

EP Kings 31 (12). Tries: CJ Velleman (2), Franswa Ueckermann (2), Warren Swarts. Conversions: Leighton-Ray van Wyk (3).