OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Sunday, 9.45pm.
WESTERN Province’s hopes of reaching a semi-final berth on the Bankfin Currie Cup rugby table went for a dive on Sunday when they were beaten 24-17 by the Free State Cheetahs at Newlands.
The match did not live up to expectations as both teams fell into boring patterns for long stretches, with handling and other unforced errors taking away much of the spectacle.
The Free State loose trio of Andre Venter, Johan Erasmus, and AJ Venter were also not at their best, and they could not make an impact on proceedings.
After being 18-17 in the lead, Free Sate flyhalf Jannie de Beer slotted two penalties to steer them home. Western Province still to meet the Blue Bulls next week, followed by further stiff hurdles against SWD and Natal, and they will need to immprove by a large margin if they are to reach last year’s highs.
The Blue Bulls annihilated a hapless Boland 57-3 in a Bankfin Currie Cup rugby match played at the Boland Stadium in Wellington on Saturday. Boland had no answers in the scrums line-outs and loose-play as the Bulls scored nine tries against the single penalty of the home team, posting a half-time score of 26-3.
The Natal Sharks had to come from behind in the second half of theirBankfin Currie Cup rugby match against Border at the Basil Kenyon Stadium in East London on Saturday, to beat their hosts 36-21. The Sharks had a big fright however, as a magnificent effort by Border saw them leading 16-12 at the break.
South Western Districts reaped the full tally of five bonus points by beating Northern Free State 46-25 in their Bankfin Currie Cup match at Welkom’s North West Stadium. The half-time score was 13-13.
Griquas showed a sensational first-half score run in which they scored six tries, and then went on to notch up a definite 64-7 win over Mpumalanga Pumas in their Bankfin Currie Cup rugby match at the Absa Park stadium on Friday. Griquas led 36-0 at halftime.