Sasol I played excellent sevens rugby, defending well and exploiting their opponents mistakes, to win the cup at the Provincial Sevens Championships at Nelspruit Rugby Club on Saturday.

The men from the Highveld scored 89 points and conceded 10 in 21 minutes of sevens. They conceded only two tries in three matches. This is a remarkable statistic for this fast-paced format of the game.

Sasol I scored three tries to none to beat Nelspruit I, 19-0 in the cup final.

The home club’s first team started off the day well with a 45-7 demolition of Sasol II. They then defeated Nelspruit II, 26-7 to book a place in the cup final.

Sasol I thrashed Barberton I, 48-0 and had to work hard for a 22-10 semi-final victory over the Rooikatte.

In the cup final, Sasol controlled the match.

Nelspruit never got out of first gear. Game-plan execution and communication were lacking.

Sasol dominated possession and territory and were the hungrier team.

The fact that Nelspruit had scored 71 points in their previous two matches but could not score a single try against Sasol I, explains exactly how well the champions played.

Willem Martin, Steven Jacobs and Ruan van der Colff each scored a try for Sasol. Jannie van der Merwe slotted two conversions.

The Rooikatte beat home club’s second team in the plate final, winning 40-5. Standerton scored a 28-5 win over Sasol II to claim the bowl. Barberton won the shield final with a 26-12 win over Middelburg.