Western Province (WP) retained their unbeaten record by the skin of their teeth when they were held to a 23-23 draw by Griquas in a Vodacom Cup match at Newlands on Saturday.
It was the first time this season that WP were not able to record a win, and the outcome will add to the intrigue when the two teams are likely to meet in the knock-out rounds of the competition.
Griquas unsettled WP with their speedy playing patterns at the outset and it came as no surprise when they scored a try in the seventh minute through blindside flanker Frans Viljoen. Fullback Riaan Viljoen, who added the conversion, was also on target with a penalty moments later (10-0).
Their try might have come three minutes earlier but WP centre Morgan Newman brought off a great tackle and dispossessed his opposite number, Barry Geel, who was in the process of crossing the try line.
WP needed about 10 minutes to regain their composure after Griquas’ spirited start, but they never looked like breaching the Griquas defence. Instead, their only rewards came off the boot of flyhalf Isma-eel Dollie, who struck three penalties to keep WP in the picture (10-9).
WP’s pressure started to tell midway through the half and it required a moment of magic from left wing Zhahier Ryland to undo the Griquas defence. After his spectacular 40m sprint down the centre of the field, he fed Dollie with a scoring pass for a touchdown under the posts in the 27th minute.
When Dollie’s conversion followed, WP led for the first time in the match (10-16).
This setback did not seem to deter Griquas and they rallied splendidly as the match approached half-time, with their nippy scrumhalf Sarel Pretorius leading the way.
WP, not for the first time in the match, seemed to have difficulty with Griquas launching their raids. Their final first-half sortie into the WP half proved a telling one when tighthead prop Albertus Buckle barged over for a converted try, allowing Griquas to regain the lead in the match (17-16).
Griquas started where they left off in the second half and exerted great pressure on the WP defence. They came close to scoring a try three minutes into the half but hooker Hans van Dyk was held up and prevented from grounding the ball.
WP managed to spring several counter-attacks from deep options but, as the second half progressed, more and more errors crept into their game.
Several promising moves broke down around the Griquas’ 22m area.
Two more penalties by Viljoen saw Griquas open up a 23-16 lead, which induced a measure of desperation in WP’s ranks.
There was a great 71st-minute effort by WP fullback Wylie Human, who broke the Griquas line in spectacular fashion, but he lacked support when he was chased down 10m from the try line.
Eventually, with about five minutes’ playing time remaining, it was left to WP substitutes to have an impact on the score board. Replacement scrumhalf Dabeon Draghoender streaked through for a try, and replacement flyhalf Ricardo Croy added the conversion to allow WP to draw level (23-23). — Sapa