Western Province ended a four-match losing streak in the Absa Currie Cup rugby competition by running out comfortable 47-18 winners in their match against the Valke at Newlands on Saturday.
Province started off brightly and were up 17-0 after just 12 minutes, but their performance petered out and they carried only a 20-10 lead into halftime.
The Valke, who started the day as the only side below WP on the Premier League log, came to Cape Town with every intention of making a game of it. They played with good structure and outside centre Bertus Swanepoel also showed his class by powering his way to two good tries.
However, WP had infinitely more quality in their ranks and there was no way they were ever going to lose this encounter, even though they were clearly experiencing a crisis of confidence.
The men in blue and white hoops, however, started confidently with a well worked move involving left wing Sireli Naqelevuki and fullback Conrad Jantjes resulting in flyhalf Naas Olivier scoring the first try after three minutes.
There was more good constructive play in the build-up to lock Andries Bekker’s seventh-minute try before a superb counter attack by Jantjes set up flank Gerrie Britz for a third touchdown in the 12th minute.
The scene was set for a rout, but WP couldn’t sustain the pressure. They made some silly mistakes and the Valke also probed smartly for territory.
Swanepoel powered his way through the midfield before finishing for the Falcons’ first try. Flyhalf Mark Harris converted and slotted a penalty shortly after the half-hour mark to bring them within striking distance at 10-17.
However, an Olivier penalty on the stroke of halftime saw WP carry a 10-point lead into the interval.
This was extended to 13 a minute after halftime before right wing Tonderai Chavhanga’s set up Naqelevuki to put some daylight between the sides at 28-10.
But still the Valke came. Harris struck a penalty before Swanepoel touched down again to make it 18-28 and keep the Valke in the hunt for a bonus point with 30 minutes left.
To WP’s credit they closed it off after that, with tries by Chavhanga, and centres Peter Grant and Corne Uys, giving the scoreline some shine.
Jantjes stood out head and shoulders as the home side’s classiest player.
It was not a performance that inspired a great deal of confidence by the team, but given WP’s current circumstances, it was vitally important to get back to winning ways. – Sapa