Leopards make their move in Absa Currie Cup Qualifier race
The Leopards moved to within a point of Absa Currie Cup Qualifier log leaders ORC Griquas thanks to a gritty 24-20 win over Down Touch Griffons at the HT Pelatona Projects Stadium in Welkom on Saturday. Griffons led 17-10 at the break.
Also on Saturday, fullback Eric Zana scored 19 points as the Boland Cavaliers overcame a halftime deficit to score a 29-16 bonus-point victory over the Hino Valke in Wellington. The win was Boland’s first success again since the opening round and allowed them to move above Border into third spot. On Friday evening, hosts SWD Eagles turned in a strong first-half performance on their way to a 19-13 win over the Border Bulldogs at Outeniqua Park in George.
The win moved the Eagles (eight points) to fifth while the loss severely dented Border’s (10 points) faint hope of ending on top as they dropped down to fourth following their second successive loss. Leaders Griquas (16 points) had a bye while Griffons (five points), despite picking up a losing bonus-point against the Leopards, remain rooted to the bottom of the table. Click on the score link of each game to access the detailed match day stats.
Down Touch Griffons 20 (17) Leopards 24 (10)
The Leopards found themselves 20-10 down after nine minutes of the second half. But they scored two converted tries to overhaul the gallant Griffons and keep their hopes of topping the table at the end of the competition alive. The loss was tough on Griffons who have showed signs of decent form recently, however, the Leopards deserved it as they ran in four tries to two.
Leopards made the better start to the game and took the lead when left wing Adrian Vermeulen ran in. The rest of the half belonged to the hosts as they battled to a 17-10 halftime lead. Fullback Tertius Maarman and left wing Vuyo Mbotho scored within two minutes after each other to put Griffons on top in the first half. Louis Strydom (No 10) kicked two conversions and added a penalty while outside centre Tyler Fisher handed Leopards their first try. Strydom kicked another penalty after the restart while a Hanco Venter (No 9) try started the visitors’ fightback. Fullback Damian Engledoe also crossed later to seal victory for the visitors and earn them a vital bonus point.
Scorers
Down Touch Griffons – Tries: Tertius Maarman, Vuyo Mbotho; Conversions: Louis Strydom (2); Penalties: Strydom (2)
Leopards – Tries: Tyler Fisher, Adrian Vermeulen, Damian Engledoe, Hanco Venter; Conversions: Adriaan Engelbrecht (2).
Boland Cavaliers 29 (3) Hino Valke 16 (9)
Fullback Zana scored two great individual tries, the second of which was scored after the hooter sounded, along with three conversions. The big talking point was the debut of flyhalf Adriaan Carelse, who scored the opening try and slotted a drop-goal while running his backline with aplomb. The Valke initially dominated possession and territory, which allowed fullback Juan Kotze to slot three penalties while Carelse succeeded with his drop attempt.
After halftime a strong scrum allowed Carelse good ball on the front foot and some deft running split the Valke defense as he scythed his way through to score, with Zana’s conversion handing the lead again to the hosts. The Valke replied swiftly with their only try of the match when lock Marlyn Williams crashed over while Kotze slotted the conversion.
With about ten minutes left Zana scored a neat individual try, which he converted himself, to hand Boland a slender one-point advantage. Right wing Denwal Demas scored the third try for the hosts after a neat break from Zana, who again slotted the difficult conversion. With time up, the Cavaliers pushed hard for a bonus-point try and it came through the lively Zana, who side-stepped two defenders to dot down for his second. The win was Boland’s first victory since the opening round.
Scorers
Boland Cavaliers – Tries: Eric Zana (2), Adriaan Carelse, Danwel Demas; Conversions: Zana (3); Drop-Goal: Carelse
Hino Valke – Try: Marlyn Williams; Conversion: Juan Kotze; Penalties: Kotze (3).
SWD Eagles 19 (14) Border Bulldogs 13 (3)
The Eagles claimed their first win of the season, in their fifth game, as they ran in three tries to one with the two tries that they scored in the first-half giving them what turned out to be an unassailable lead.
The visitors opened the scoring with an early penalty from fullback Logan Basson but the hosts were soon into their stride as two tries in three minutes saw the Eagles take a handy 13-3 lead. Inside centre Martin du Toit and fullback Leighton Eksteen grabbed a try each. Flyhalf Gerrit Smith converted both tries as the home team went to the break holding a 10-point lead.
The second half was more even and Border narrowed the gap to eight points with Basson’s second penalty. The Eagles made sure of the win when flank Christo du Plessis crashed over for an unconverted try. Border managed a consolation through replacement hooker Ludwe Booi.
Scorers
SWD Eagles – Tries: Martin du Toit, Leighton Eksteen, Christo du Plessis; Conversions: Gerrit Smith (2).
Border Bulldogs – Try: Ludwe Booi; Conversion: Logan Basson; Penalties: Basson (2).
The Absa Currie Cup Qualifier log after Round Five:
Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD TF TA BPts Pts
1 ORC Griquas 4 3 0 1 156 78 78 24 10 4 16
2 Leopards 4 3 0 1 143 92 51 20 13 3 15
3 Boland 5 2 1 2 121 136 -15 15 16 3 13
4 Border 4 2 0 2 67 60 7 7 7 2 10
5 SWD Eagles 5 1 1 3 102 133 -31 12 16 2 8
6 Hino Valke 4 2 0 2 58 111 -53 6 14 0 8
7 Griffons 4 1 0 3 87 124 -37 10 18 1 5
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