The host province, the Mpumalanga Pumas and Free State were the winners among the ”A” league provinces on the first day of the Coca-Cola Craven Week in Nelspruit on Monday.
The Pumas met Eastern Province (EP) in the final game of the day and the two sides turned it on to produce a spectacle of running rugby in front of a big partisan crowd at the Hoërskool Nelspruit ground.
The hosts had the edge up front and their backs did more with the chances that came their way, making them deserved winners in the end.
Their tries were scored by Zama Nyemi, Willie Stapelberg and Stoffel Duvenhage, and Ruan Boshoff added three conversions and two penalties.
For EP Lourens Lombard, Sarel du Plessis and Jerome Williams (two) scored tries. Warren Bell kicked a penalty.
Free State have the look of a potential Craven Week finalist team about them. They played with greater cohesion than their opponents in their 26-20 win over KwaZulu-Natal. The front five of the Natal team had the edge, but their backs threw away too many chances through handling errors.
Shane Coetzee, Wesley Daniels, Herman Pretorius and Renaldo du Preez scored tries for Free State, with Frans Steyn kicking three conversions. For KwaZulu-Natal Bradley Bennet and Chris Micklewood scored tries and Micklewood added two penalties.
In the earlier games, the Griffons beat Namibia 36-20 and the Leopards were 22-9 winners over Border. — Sapa