Leopards, Boland take early lead in Absa Currie Cup Qualifier

Jun 14 • General News • 1753 Views • Comments Off on Leopards, Boland take early lead in Absa Currie Cup Qualifier

The Leopards and Boland Cavaliers took an early lead in the Absa Currie Cup Qualifier this weekend as they both secured bonus-point victories in the opening round.

The Qualifier features seven teams battling it out for the last remaining spot in the Absa Currie Cup Premier Division. The remaining six teams will participate in the Absa Currie Cup First Division.

The Leopards defeated the SWD Eagles 45-17 at Outeniqua Park in George on Friday thanks to an impressive six tries, while the Boland Cavaliers were guaranteed of their bonus-point for four tries in the first half against the Down Touch Griffons on Saturday, which set them up for a 32-22 victory in Malmesbury.

In the other match the Border Bulldogs surprised the ORC Griquas with a 20-13 victory at the BCM stadium in East London following a closely contested first half.

The Hino Valke, meanwhile, had a bye.

Boland Cavaliers 32 (29) Down Touch Griffons 22 (5)

The Boland Cavaliers got off to a strong start in their clash against the Down Touch Griffons as they ran in an impressive three tries in the first 24 minutes, with right wing Senan Van Der Merwe scoring two of the tries. Such was their dominance in the first half they secured their four-try bonus point shortly before half-time.

But the Down Touch Griffons bounced back strongly in the second half with two tries to add to the one scored in the first half and defended well to prevent the Boland Cavaliers from inflating their score significantly. In fact, the hosts were only able to add a penalty in the second half, but despite this, they held onto the victory.

Scorers:

Boland Cavaliers – Tries: Hanno Kitshoff, Senan Van Der Merwe (2), Wilneth Engelbrecht. Conversions: Eric Zana (3). Penalty: Eric Zana (2).

Down Touch Griffons – Tries: Alvin Brandt, Rudi Britz, Tertius Maarman. Conversions: Louis Strydom (2). Penalty: Louis Strydom.

Border Bulldogs 20 (3) ORC Griquas 13 (3)

A strong second-half surge by Border, in which they scored three second-half tries, allowed them to register a morale-boosting victory against 2014 Absa Currie Cup Premier Division side ORC Griquas at the BCM Stadium in East London.

The first half was tight as the teams managed only a penalty a side for a 3-3 halftime score. The Kimberley side, however, had the first say after the break with a try by Stephan Kotze, which pushed them into a 10-3 lead. But Border took control of the match soon after by retaining possession and using it effectively, which earned them three tries. They supported this with a solid defensive effort, which limited ORC Griquas to only a penalty in the second half. The penalty, however, secured them a valuable bonus point.

Scorers:

Border Bulldogs – Tries: Lukhanyo Am, Makazole Mapimpi, Sipho Nofemele. Conversion: Masixole Banda. Penalty: Masixole Banda.

ORC Griquas – Try: Stephan Kotze. Conversion: Gouws Prinsloo. Penalties: Gouws Prinsloo (2).

SWD Eagles 17 (10) Leopards 45 (17)

The Leopards were in fine form in their clash against the SWD Eagles despite the hosts taking an early 10-3 lead in the opening eight minutes. The Potchefstroom side found their rhythm in the second quarter and scored two tries compliments of prop Johan Smith and hooker Wian Fourie to take a 17-10 half time lead.

They continued to build on this form in the second half and took control of proceedings, which set up left wing Adri Jacobs for a hat-trick. Right wing Sergio Torrens supported this with another try to increase their tally to six for the match. The SWD Eagles, meanwhile, were only able to add one more try to their score after the break, which forced them to settle for a 45-17 defeat.

Scorers:

SWD Eagles – Tries: Elric van Vuuren, Peet van der Walt. Conversions: Elric van Vuuren (2). Penalty: Elric van Vuuren.

Leopards – Tries: Adri Jacobs (3), Johan Smith, Sergio Torrens, Wian Fourie. Conversions: Adriaan Engelbrecht (6). Penalty: Adriaan Engelbrecht.

Absa Currie Cup Qualifier log after Round 1:

TEAM	PLAYED	WON	LOST	DREW	POINTS FOR	POINTS AGAINST	POINTS DIFFERENCE	TRIES FOR	TRIES AGAINST	LOSS BONUS	TRIES BONUS	POINTS
Leopards	1	1	0	0	45	17	28	5	3	0	1	5
Boland	1	1	0	0	32	22	10	4	3	0	1	5
Border	1	1	0	0	20	13	7	3	1	0	0	4
Griquas	1	0	1	0	13	20	-7	1	3	1	0	1
Valke	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Griffons	1	0	1	0	22	32	-10	3	4	0	0	0
SWD	1	0	1	0	17	45	-28	3	5	0	0	0