WP annihilate Pumas

Western Province (WP) kicked off their Currie Cup campaign in style as they thrashed the Pumas 44-18 at Newlands on Saturday evening. 

Veteran left wing Pieter Rossouw scored two tries, but young scrumhalf Tertius Carse was the man who raised the eyebrows on his Currie Cup debut.

He dived over under the posts in the 27th minute as WP went into a 22-6 lead and set up Rossouw with a terrific break two minutes before half-time. Rossouw still had some work to do as he cut in from the left. The converted try made the score 32-6.

There was no relenting after the break as fullback Rodger Smith and Rossouw touched down.
With just 47 minutes played, the scoreline was an incredible 44-6 to the delight of the 14 000 supporters who braved the cold.

But as the conditions steadily worsened, so did WP, while the Pumas also upped the ante a bit.

Lively centre Sasha Marot beat Smith for a good try in the 63rd minute and right wing Giscard Pieters ran in six minutes from time after slipping De Wet Barry’s tackle.

That was the exception to the rule as Barry made a pleasing return to rugby after recovering from an ankle injury. He struck fear into the hearts of the Pumas’ backline players as he lined them up for some massive tackles.

Outside him Jean de Villiers looked satisfactory, displaying some good vision for WP’s first try as he threw a long pass out to Adri Badenhorst in the WP 22m area. After some excellent interplay with Barry and Egon Seconds, Badenhorst finished to the delight of the crowd.

In spite of his side’s disappointing second-half effort, WP coach Carel du Plessis will have few complaints as his side started with a full haul of log points.

Even better, a new talent was born on the Currie Cup scene in Carse, who deservedly bagged the man-of-the-match award.—Sapa