OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Sunday 9.45pm.
BOLAND played stunning rugby to beat an uncharacteristically out of form Griqualand West side 17-13 in a Bankfin Currie Cup match played in Wellington on Sunday.
A penalty in injury time of the first half gave Griquas a 8-7 lead, which they increased to 13-7 five minutes into the second half. The Boland pack led by lock Julian Barnard, flanker Jannie Coetzee and prop Pierre Marais fought back with admirably.
Boland halves Martin Stander and Pieter O’Neill outclassed an off-form Springbok flyhalf Gaffie du Toit, and made good use of the ball behind the scrums.
Marius Goosen, who played fullback in the Super-12 for the Northern Bulls,added fire to Boland’s attacks and his long-range kicks helped to maintain the pressure on the Griquas forwards.
Boland centre Riaan van Jaarsveld scored the winning try. and his second of the match, with just four minutes left on the clock.
Eastern Province bagged an upset win over last year’s runners-up Free State on Friday. The Elephants were in complete control throughout the match, and the 20-7 victory will give them great incentive to do well in this year’s competition.
The Blue Bulls are the leaders on the Currie Cup log after their good 27-22 win over the Gauteng Falcons at Loftus Versfeld on Friday night. The Bulls had to work hard for the victory over a tough Falcons side, who scored three tries but still failed to clinch the match.
The Golden Lions came from behind to beat the Mpumalanga Pumas 44-21 in their Currie Cup match played in Witbank on Friday. The half-time score was 21-19 in favout of the Pumas.
The Natal Sharks beat the South Western Districs Eagles 15-14 in a tough Currie Cup match at King’s Park on Friday. The Sharks were kept in the match by the boot of Gavin Lawless, who kicked five penalties. The half-time score was 9-9.