Thirteen minutes of near-frantic rugby saved the Currie Cup match that was heading for mediocrity at Coca-Cola Park in Johannesburg on Saturday with the Lions running out deserved 27-13 winners against Western Province (WP).
A lethargic WP were down 13-6 at the break, well beaten in most facets but still showing glimpses of penetration when they ran the ball. Then, at 20-6 to the Lions five minutes after the break and captain Cobus Grobbelaar leading from the front, it seemed all over.
The game appeared to belong to the Lions — until 13 minutes before the end when replacement scrumhalf Dewaldt Duvenage broke after a WP sortie into the Lions quarter. Nick Koster stumbled his way over and WP were back in it at 20-13.
The Lions were then in control for a lengthy spell but squandered chances that prevented them from finishing off the visitors.
WP shook off the pressure and suddenly started running everything from everywhere. Guts and good structure saw the Lions survive and, against the run of play, the home side scored a try by Doppies le Grange after the hooter following yet another WP turnover to deny the Capetonians a bonus point.
The match started dramatically when a kick after a clean catch by WP number eight Schalk Brits was charged down by Louis Ludik.
Willem Alberts collected the bounce and charged for the line but was tackled and he managed to off-load to Franco van der Merwe, who took defenders over the line for a good try. With Earl Rose converting, it was 7-0 after two minutes and then 7-3 a further two minutes later when Willem de Waal converted a penalty.
Lions lock Dewald Senekal was sin-binned for punching after 12 minutes with the score at 10-3 following a call by assistant referee Jason Jaftha, but all the visitors could do in his absence was add another penalty.
The Lions scrummed well and turned over a few early balls at the ruck with WP taking the ball wide in an effort to neutralise the stronger front five of the Lions. Springbok centre Gcobani Bobo was dangerous on one or two occasions but the Lions defence scrambled well.
In the second quarter, the Lions resorted to forward charges around the fringes but were held out by good defence and poor finishing that resulted in a few turnovers to WP.
The line-outs on both sides were initially messy with the throwers often not finding their jumpers, and overall it was not a great first half with stoppages and errors abounding.
The Lions went into the break a shaky but deserved 13-6 ahead. After the break they had more urgency and a mere three minutes after the restart, Alberts and Ludik combined again when the big number eight broke around a ruck and fed Ludik, who passed inside to Vermaak who scored his seventh try for the Lions.
At 20-6 the Capetonians had it all to do but were not allowed the room they needed and were forced into errors.
With both sides stretching the ball wide more than in the first half, the rugby was a little more exciting. WP did not capitalise after Koster’s try and the Lions were unlucky not to score on two or three occasions that would have settled the result.
Eagles down Pumas
The SWD Eagles picked up their third win of the season when they beat the Pumas 31-20 (half-time 14-3) in an Currie Cup first-division match played at Outeniqua Park in George on Saturday afternoon, reports the SuperSport website.
The bonus-point win moves SWD up to 16 points on the log and consolidates their second position in the standings, behind the all-conquering Leopards.
The Eagles, playing their third home game in a row, started the game hanging on to second place, thanks to a better points difference than the Pumas, but they soon proved who is the better side in this year’s competition.
The home side, coming off a resounding 48-7 defeat of Border last week, opened the scoring in the seventh minute when scrumhalf Hendrik van der Nest broke through for a try converted by flyhalf Ricardo Croy, the former Western Province pivot.
The Eagles then doubled their lead six minutes later when flanker Victor Joubert crashed over from close range. Croy was once again on target to make it 14-0.
The Pumas, playing their third away match on the trot, cut the deficit to 11 points with a quarter of the match gone when flyhalf Tiaan Marx kicked a penalty to make it 14-3.
Marx occupied fourth place on the points-scoring list before the match and, despite his off-colour afternoon in last week’s heavy defeat to the Leopards, he once again kept his team in the hunt.
The Pumas struck back shortly after the break when former Maties wing Gordon Pangeti crossed for the first of his two tries, converted by Marx, to make it 14-10.
But the Eagles bounced back straight away, replacement utility back Mark Esterhuizen dotting down in the 47th minute, converted by Croy, to open up an 11-point lead.
Pangeti scored his second three minutes later to cut the Eagles’ lead to just four points before Marx made it a one-point game (21-20) with a nerveless 58th-minute penalty.
The Eagles finished the stronger of the two sides, however, with wings Ricardo Pietersen and Allistair Kettledas diving over in the final 10 minutes to complete the scoring and deny the Pumas what would have been a well-deserved bonus point.
Leopards win
The Platinum Leopards defeated the Griffons 29-23 on Saturday to keep their unbeaten record in the Currie Cup first division but failed to score a bonus point for the first time in the competition.
The Leopards weren’t welcome in Welkom and struggled to keep the Purple People Eaters at bay, but two tries by the flying Deon van Rensburg and another by try glutton Jan van Zyl saw them through.
The Griffons, with three tries, were the first side to score a bonus point against the visitors.
Clayton Durandt, the top scorer in the first division, won his kicking duel against the Griffons’ Jacques-Louis Potgieter. — Sapa