WP surge clear, Limpopo Blue Bulls to host final in Absa u21 competitions

Oct 4 • General News • 1666 Views • Comments Off on WP surge clear, Limpopo Blue Bulls to host final in Absa u21 competitions

The DHL Western Province made sure of finishing top of the Absa Under-21 A-Division log by beating the Xerox Golden Lions in Johannesburg this weekend, but their opponents in the play-offs are yet to be determined with one round left of the competition. The Cape side won 44-38 against the hosts, with the defeat dropping the Golden Lions to fifth on the log.

They do however, have one fixture left against the Leopards while the Vodacom Blue Bulls, in fourth, finished their season with a solid 43-10 win over the EP Kings in Pretoria. The Lions now need to beat the Leopards in Johannesburg next weekend to finish fourth on the log. The Potchefstroom side lost 45-12 at home to the Cell C Sharks at the weekend and it looks unlikely for them to do the Pretoria side any favours.

In the other clash next weekend, the Sharks travel to face the Toyota Free State and need a big, bonus point win to move past the Bloemfontein side in second place.

Meanwhile, the Limpopo Blue Bulls will host SWD in the B-Division final in Polokwane next week. The Polokwane team won 22-18 against ORC Griquas in the one semifinal and SWD beat Boland 19-15 in the other.

In the B-Division play-offs, the SWD made full use of their unexpected change in fortunes.

The team was out of the top four when the league fixtures were completed, but Steval Pumas contravened regulations with regards to Player Movement. As a result of the sentence the Pumas forfeited 19 log points from the four matches at issue and moved from first to fifth on the log.

This moved Boland into the top spot of the log, but that helped little as SWD outplayed them in Wellington. Two second half tries by SWD lock Jurgens Schoeman proved the difference between the two sides as the visitors won 19-15.

The Limpopo Blue Bulls, who was due to travel to Wellington before the Pumas ruling, are now hosting their first final in Polokwane next week. They outlasted a determined ORC Griquas team 22-18 after leading 17-5 at the break.

Run of play summary of each match is available by clicking on the match results.

A-Division:

Xerox Golden Lions 38 (25), DHL Western Province 44 (13).

A massive fightback by the log-leading WP saw them overturning a 12 point deficit at halftime into a six point win in a high-scoring affair at Emirates Airline Park.

The Lions scored three tries to one in the first half, despite having a player in the sin-bin. They looked in total control when Jano Venter scored their bonus-point try in the 45th minute, but then WP took complete control.

They scored four tries in the last 30 minutes to secure a well-deserved win.

Scorers:

Xerox Golden Lions 38 (25). Tries: Christiaan Meyer, Jano Venter (2), Shaun Reynolds. Conversions: Shaun Reynolds (3). Penalties: Shaun Reynolds (3), Kobus Engelbrecht.

DHL Western Province 44 (13). Tries: EW Viljoen, Jarryd Sage, Johan Momsen, Khanyo Ngcukana (2). Conversions: Brandon Thomson (3), Ryno Eksteen (2). Penalties: Brandon Thomson (3).

Leopards 12 (0), Cell C Sharks 45 (5).

Six second half tries by the visiting Cell C Sharks left the Leopards stunned. Things were tight in the first half, with only an Ayron Schramm try for the Sharks bothering the scorers, but in the second half, there was only one team on the field.

The Leopards paid the price for an early yellow card in the second half as the Sharks scored twice and then picked up momentum to race into a convincing win away from home.

Scorers:

Leopards 12 (0). Tries: Rudolph van Deventer (2). Conversion: Gene Willemse.

Sharks: 45 (5). Tries: Ayron Schramm, Barend Potgieter, Graham Geldenhuys, Hyron Andrews, Innocent Radebe, Sias Koen, Wian Vosloo. Conversions: Innocent Radebe (5).

Vodacom Blue Bulls 43 (26), EP Kings 10 (10).

The home side and defending champions are in danger of missing the play-offs and left nothing out there in a solid win over the winless Kings. They scored seven tries and played good rugby on either side of the break to finish their league fixtures on a high note. They will now want to see the Leopards stun the Golden Lions next weekend in order to be able to defend their title.

Scorers:

Vodacom Blue Bulls 43 (26). Tries: Dan Kriel, Dayan van der Westhuizen, Duhan van der Merwe, Jason Jenkins, Joshua Stander, Njabula Gumede, Philip Orffer. Conversions: Joshua Stander (4).

EP Kings 10 (10). Try: Malcolm Jaer. Conversion: Leighton-Ray van Wyk. Penalty: Leighton-Ray van Wyk.

B-Division:

Limpopo Blue Bulls 22 (17), ORC Griquas 18 (5).

Scorers:

Limpopo Blue Bulls 22 (17). Tries: Brian Leitch, Done Davids, Kallie Jantjies, Shepherd Mhembere. Conversion: Jean Grobler.

ORC Griquas 18 (5). Tries: Johannes Labuschagne, Jovan Cookson, Shaun Clarke. Penalty: Deon Taljaard.

Boland 15 (12), SWD 19 (7).

Scorers:

Boland 15 (12). Tries: Cheslyn Korasie, Killian von Mollendorff. Conversion: Adriaan Carelse, Penalty: Adriaan Carelse

SWD 19 (7). Tries: Fizell Fredericks, Jurgens Schoeman (2). Conversions: Fizell Fredericks (2).

•A complaint from the Valke Rugby Union that players registered with their clubs had appeared for the Pumas Under-21 team without obtaining the necessary clearance certificates from the Valke Rugby Union, was accepted by a SARU Judicial Officer.

A South African Rugby Union (SARU) Appeal Tribunal on Friday dismissed an appeal by the Mpumalanga Rugby Union (MRU) against their conviction for breaching Player Movement regulations in the Absa Currie Cup Under-21B competition.

However, the Pumas’ appeal against their sentence was partially upheld. The Appeal Tribunal modified the sentence such that the Pumas Under-21s forfeited the log points from four matches in which they fielded ineligible players – rather than the seven of the original sentence. The imposition of a fine of R200 000, suspended for 12 months, remains in place.