iCOLLEGE Pumas, Tafel Lager Griquas to host SuperSport Rugby Challenge Semi-finals – Quarter-finals Review
The iCOLLEGE Pumas will face the Cell C Sharks XV in Nelspruit and Tafel Lager Griquas will host the Toyota Free State XV in Kimberley next weekend to determine the finalists of the SuperSport Rugby Challenge.
The eventual winner will become the new champion after the Toyota Free State XV knocked out defending champions, DHL Western Province, on Sunday with their 26-20 victory in the fourth Quarter-final match of the weekend.
Their reward is a trip to Kimberley, where the Tafel Lager Griquas scored a convincing 51-22 win over the Boland Cavaliers on Saturday to secure a home Semi-final.
The Free State midfielders, Carel Coetzee and Benhard Janse van Rensburg, dominated proceedings on a wet and slippery Green Point Track in Cape Town, as they adapted better to the conditions. The defeat for DHL Western Province was their first ever in the competition and their most costly by far.
The iCOLLEGE Pumas remained the only undefeated side in the tournament after they edged the Vodacom Blue Bulls 30-24 in a hard-fought encounter in Nelspruit on Saturday. They will host the Cell C Sharks XV, who outplayed the Xerox Golden Lions completely, for a rewarding 48-12 win in Durban.
Flyhalf Garth April was the star of the show, as he scored 28 points for his team in sublime performance.
The men in black and white scored four tries in no time, with their backs showing their class on attack.
The visitors scored first through a fourth minute try by Junior Springboks ace, Wandisile Simelane, but the April show started soon thereafter, with the crowd treated to a full array of skills from the flyhalf. He scored two tries, two penalty goals and six conversions before leaving the field to an applause.
The Tafel Lager Griquas had too many weapons in their arsenal for the visiting Boland Cavaliers, who tried hard, but could not stop the all-out attack from the home side.
The Kimberley faithful were treated to six tries by their team, with the forwards and backs getting on the scoresheet as the ‘Kwaste’ delivered a perfect display of a team effort.
In Nelspruit, three penalty goals by the leading points’ scorer in the competition, Chris Smith, proved the difference between the ICOLLEGE Pumas and Vodacom Blue Bulls. Smith, the only player to score 100 points in the competition, also converted two of the three tries scored by his team.
The weekend’s results and points’ scorers are:
iCOLLEGE Pumas 30 (20), Vodacom Blue Bulls 24 (19)
iCOLLEGE Pumas – Tries: Jeandre Rudolph, Marne Coetzee, Frankie Herne. Conversions: Chris Smith (2), Justin van Staden. Penalty Goals: Smith (3).
Vodacom Blue Bulls – Tries: Earll Douwrie, Xolisa Guma (2), Dewald Maritz. Conversions: Tinus de Beer, Douwrie.
Cell C Sharks XV (19) 55, Xerox Golden Lions (7) 12
Cell C Sharks XV – Tries: Courtney Winnaar (2), Garth April (2), Grant Williams, Jeremy Ward, Tera Mtembu. Conversions: April (6), Francois de Villiers. Penalties: April (2).
Xerox Golden Lions XV – Tries: Wandisile Simelane, James Venter. Conversion: Shaun Reynolds.
Tafel Lager Griquas 51 (30), Boland Cavaliers 22 (10)
Tafel Lager Griquas – Tries: Kyle Steyn, Ederies Arendse, De Wet Kruger, Sias Koen, AJ Coertzen (2). Conversions: George Whitehead (5), Andre Swarts. Penalty Goals: Whitehead (3)
Boland Cavaliers – Tries: Rinus Bothma, Charles Mayeza, Edwin Sass. Conversions: Watts (2). Penalty Goal: Elgar Watts.
DHL Western Province 20 (10), Toyota Free State XV 26 (14).
Toyota Free State XV – Tries: Carel Coetzee (2), Jasper Wiese, Benhard Janse van Rensburg. Conversions: Benhard Janse van Rensburg (3).
DHL Western Province – Tries: David Brits, Tristan Lleyds. Conversions: Grant Hermanus (2). Penalty Goals: Hermanus (2).
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