Western Province (WP) kept up their charge at the top of the Currie Cup table with a sixth consecutive victory as they downed the Pumas 43-10 at Newlands on Saturday.
It was a largely scrappy encounter and WP seldom moved out of third gear as they dominated almost every facet of the game. They led 17-10 after a thoroughly uninspired first half, with only fullback Gio Aplon’s twinkle toes providing a highlight.
Flyhalf Naas Olivier put WP 3-0 up with a penalty after 11 minutes, and two minutes later pulled off a try-saving tackle on Pumas hooker Ashton Constant after WP had failed to control a kick-off.
The home side then increased their lead, with flank Pieter Louw scoring following some great work by Aplon. WP’s backs seemed to fluff their lines on several occasions, but Aplon snatched the loose ball and had the Pumas at sixes and sevens. He chipped and was taken out off the ball, but Louw capitalised on the bounce.
Olivier converted, and with WP 10-0 up after just 16 minutes, the scene seemed set for the log leaders to run away with the game.
However, the Pumas managed to draw level, with flyhalf Arno Coetzee slotting a penalty and Constant scoring a try from a line-out deep in WP territory in the 32nd minute. Coetzee’s conversion briefly squared the game, but that was as close as the Pumas were going to get.
Province upped a gear and Fijian flyer Sireli Naqelevuki nonchalantly beat three tackles to give them their second try. Olivier converted, but the seven-point lead did not adequately reflect their dominance of territory and possession.
Coach Kobus van der Merwe no doubt threw the half-time tea cups and WP stepped up a gear in the second half.
Three tries in five minutes effectively killed off the game. The Pumas made the mistake of kicking on to Aplon and he launched a counter-attack that eventually led to Naqelevuki running in for his second try in the 49th minute.
Andries Bekker, who had come on for Francois van der Merwe, then got in on the act, exchanging passes with Gerrie Britz before touching down. Bekker was also the beneficiary after Olivier had broken the line impressively and off-loaded.
It wasn’t all one-way traffic, though, with the Pumas setting up camp in WP territory for a lengthy period. Right wing Lourens Dunn, in particular, impressed with his pace.
However, just as they thought they would score, Aplon intercepted the final pass in the corner and ran the length of the field to touch down under the posts. Olivier converted to bring up the final score. — Sapa