Xerox Golden Lions, DHL WP retain Section leaderships – Vodacom Cup Round 5 Review
Photo: Bernard Gerber
It was business as usual at the top of the North and South Section logs with four of the top five in the divisions recording victories to remain on course for home play offs.
The ‘best’ result of the day was secured by North Section leaders, the Xerox Golden Lions, who recorded a hard-fought 24-16 victory over the Steval Pumas, the only team among the top five not to win, having started the round in second place.
The Lions’ fifth successive win allowed the Vodacom Blue Bulls to leapfrog into second position on the northern log, courtesy of a 44-0 victory in Windhoek.
In the South, DHL Western Province and GWK Griquas both maintained their 100 percent records with their third successive victories, the former edging the Kings by six points in Port Elizabeth while GWK Griquas had an easier time of it in beating Border by 12 in Hartswater.
The Toyota Free State Cheetahs stayed in contention in the South with a 35-18 win over the Cell C Sharks XV in Kokstad while in the North the Hino Valke recorded their first victory at the fourth attempt with a 38-17 victory over the Down Touch Griffons.
Welwitschias 0 – 44 Blue Bulls
The Vodacom Blue Bulls recorded a comfortable 44-0 win in Windhoek on Friday night, to leave their hosts remaining in search of their first victory of the season.
The Welwitschias made their visitors work hard for their win on a rainy night in Windhoek and they led only 8-0 at halftime in a match which was also disrupted by a 10-minute power outage.
However the Bulls made their forward power count in the long run, scoring their first four tries through the rolling maul.
Scorers:
Blue Bulls – Tries: Corniel Els (2), Kefentse Mahlo, Kobus Marais, Marquit September, Roelof Smit (2). Conversions: Marais (2), Tinus de Beer. Penalty: Marais.
Boland 34 – 26 SWD Eagles
The Boland Cavaliers outplayed the visiting SWD Eagles 34-26 (halftime 22-12) at Boland Park in Worcester on Friday afternoon.
Both sides collected a bonus point for scoring four or more tries but the Eagles were unable to breach the Cavaliers’ line in the closing moments to claim a second point for losing by seven points or fewer.
Veteran former Boland winger Alshaun Bock scored two of the Eagles’ tries to take his Vodacom Cup career total to 33.
Scorers:
Boland Cavaliers – Tries: Edwin Sass (2), Wilneth Engelbrecht (2), Harlon Klaasen. Conversions: Eric Zana (3). Penalty: Zana.
SWD – Tries: Alshaun Bock (2), Hentzwill Pedro, Nemo Roelofse. Conversions: Elric van Vuuren (2), Gerrit Smith.
Down Touch Griffons 17 – 38 Hino Valke
The Hino Valke recorded their first victory of the campaign, beating the Down Touch Griffons 38-17 at the HT Pelatona Stadium in Welkom on Friday afternoon.
The visitors led 19-7 at the break that set the tone for a well-deserved bonus-point victory.
Scorers:
Down Touch Griffons – Tries: Martin Sithole, Oshwill Nortje. Conversions: Louis Strydom (2). Penalty: Strydom.
Hino Valke – Tries: Andrew van Wyk, Arno Poley (2), Dean Muir, Ernst Ladendorf, Jaun Kotze. Conversions: Jaun Kotze (4).
EP Kings 13, DHL Western Province 19
Western Province maintained their narrow lead at the top of the table with a 19-13 victory (halftime 12-5) over the Eastern Province Kings in a South Section clash at NMB stadium in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.
Scorers:
EP Kings – Tries: George Whitehead, Sylvian Mahuza; Penalty: Scott van Breda
DHL Western Province – Try: Godlen Masimla. Conversion: Jean-Luc du Plessis; Penalties: Jean-Luc du Plessis (4).
Cell C Sharks XV 18, Toyota Free State XV 35
Vincent Jobo scored two tries in six minutes as the Toyota Free State XV stunned the Cell C Sharks XV with a 35-18 (13-11) at the Kokstad Rugby Club on Saturday afternoon.
The big No 8 crossed either side of the hour, adding to a first-half score from outstanding full-back Coenie van Wyk and a late effort by Shaun Venter to secure the bonus-point win.
Van Wyk scored an impressive 20 points in total, two more than the Sharks XV managed between them, as the men from Bloemfontein leapfrogged their hosts to climb to third on the South Section log.
Scorers:
Cell C Sharks XV – Tries: Daniel Du Preez, Khaya Majola. Conversion: Innocent Radebe. Penalties: Radebe (2).
Toyota Free State XV – Tries: Vincent Jobo (2), Coenie van Wyk, Shaun Venter. Conversions: Van Wyk (3). Penalties: Van Wyk (3).
GWK Griquas 37, Border Bulldogs 25
GWK Griquas maintained their unbeaten record in this year’s Vodacom Cup competition after beating Border Bulldogs 37-25 in Hartswater on Saturday afternoon.
The hosts scored five tries to cement the bonus point against the Bulldogs in a tough game that delivered some good running rugby to the very end.
Scorers:
GWK Griquas – Tries: Rocco Jansen, JW Jonker (2), Hugo Kloppers, Martin Bezuidenhout. Conversions: Clinton Swart (3). Penalties: Swart (2).
Border Bulldogs – Tries: Johannes Jonker, Sipho Nofemele (2). Conversions: Maxisole Banda (2). Penalties: Maxisole Banda (2)
Steval Pumas 16, Xerox Golden Lions 24
The Xerox Golden Lions grabbed a 24-16 win in a North Section clash against one of the heavyweights of Vodacom Cup rugby, the Steval Pumas, at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit on Saturday afternoon.
A brace by the Lions outside centre Jacques Nel proved to be the difference between the well-matched sides.
Thanks to their hard-earned victory, the Lions have retained their position at the summit of the Vodacom Cup log with 23 points after five matches. It includes three bonus-point wins.
The Pumas could not add to their halftime-tally and would have rued their wasted opportunities in the final 40 minutes.
Scorers:
Steval Pumas: Try: Jerome Pretorius; Conversion: JC Roos; Penalties: Roos (3)
Xerox Golden Lions: Tries: Jacques Nel (2), Ashlon Davids; Conversions: Davids (3); Penalty: Kobus de Kock.
Logs
North Section
|
Pos |
Team |
P |
W |
D |
L |
PF |
PA |
PD |
TF |
TA |
BPts |
Pts |
|
1 |
Xerox Golden Lions |
5 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
180 |
78 |
102 |
23 |
8 |
3 |
23 |
|
2 |
Vodacom Blue Bulls |
5 |
4 |
0 |
1 |
159 |
80 |
79 |
23 |
7 |
3 |
19 |
|
3 |
Steval Pumas |
5 |
3 |
0 |
2 |
204 |
69 |
135 |
25 |
7 |
4 |
16 |
|
4 |
Leopards XV |
3 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
83 |
86 |
-3 |
12 |
11 |
2 |
10 |
|
5 |
Hino Valke |
4 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
108 |
138 |
-30 |
15 |
18 |
4 |
8 |
|
6 |
Down Touch Griffons |
3 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
67 |
123 |
-56 |
8 |
18 |
1 |
5 |
|
7 |
FNB Welwitschias |
4 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
38 |
190 |
-152 |
5 |
28 |
2 |
2 |
|
8 |
Assupol Limpopo Blue Bulls |
3 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
30 |
105 |
-75 |
2 |
16 |
0 |
0 |
South Section
|
Pos |
Team |
P |
W |
D |
L |
PF |
PA |
PD |
TF |
TA |
BPts |
Pts |
|
1 |
DHL Western Province |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
76 |
35 |
41 |
9 |
5 |
2 |
14 |
|
2 |
GWK Griquas |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
83 |
56 |
27 |
9 |
6 |
1 |
13 |
|
3 |
Toyota Free State XV |
3 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
104 |
66 |
38 |
14 |
7 |
2 |
10 |
|
4 |
SWD Eagles |
3 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
71 |
70 |
1 |
7 |
8 |
2 |
6 |
|
5 |
EP Kings |
3 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
59 |
63 |
-4 |
9 |
6 |
2 |
6 |
|
6 |
Cell C Sharks XV |
3 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
83 |
67 |
16 |
11 |
8 |
1 |
5 |
|
7 |
Boland Cavaliers |
3 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
59 |
103 |
-44 |
8 |
16 |
1 |
5 |
|
8 |
Border Bulldogs |
3 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
42 |
117 |
-75 |
5 |
16 |
0 |
0 |
Top scorers
| Player | Team |
Tries |
Conv |
Pen |
Drops |
Tot |
| JC Roos | Steval Pumas |
1 |
14 |
6 |
0 |
51 |
| Kobus Marais | Vodacom Blue Bulls |
1 |
12 |
6 |
0 |
47 |
| Ashlon Davids | Xerox Golden Lions |
1 |
14 |
4 |
0 |
45 |
| Coenie van Wyk | Toyota Free State XV |
2 |
10 |
4 |
0 |
42 |
| Jaun Kotze | Hino Valke |
1 |
12 |
3 |
0 |
38 |
| Elric van Vuuren | SWD Eagles |
0 |
5 |
8 |
0 |
34 |
| Jean-Luc Du Plessis | DHL Western Province |
0 |
5 |
7 |
0 |
31 |
| Justin van Staden | Steval Pumas |
0 |
8 |
4 |
0 |
28 |
| Gouws Prinsloo | GWK Griquas |
0 |
4 |
6 |
0 |
26 |
| Sikhumbuszo Notshe | DHL Western Province |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
25 |
| Louis Strydom | Down Touch Griffons |
0 |
5 |
5 |
0 |
25 |
| Eric Zana | Boland Cavaliers |
1 |
4 |
3 |
0 |
22 |
| Alshaun Bock | SWD Eagles |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
20 |
| Ruaan Lerm | Xerox Golden Lions |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
20 |
| Stephan de Wit | Xerox Golden Lions |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
20 |
| Marquit September | Vodacom Blue Bulls |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
20 |
| Anton Beswick | Assupol Limpopo Blue Bulls |
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