Lions fall short at the hands of WP
Cell C Sharks and DHL Western Province will meet in the Currie Cup final.
Xerox Golden Lions went down at the hands of DHL Western Province during the Currie Cup semi-finals which were played at Newlands in Cape Town on October 14 while Cell C Sharks beat the Vodacom Blue Bulls on the same day in Durban.
The Cell C Sharks and DHL Western Province will meet in the Currie Cup final in Durban on October 28.
Log-leaders, the Cell C Sharks, defeated the Pretoria side 37-27 in Durban, while DHL Western Province took advantage of the Johannesburg outfit’s ill-discipline in Cape Town to secure a 19-5 victory.
These results reaffirmed their status as the top teams in the competition and steered them to a repeat of the 2012 and 2010 Currie Cup Finals in Durban.
In Cape Town, the clash between DHL Western Province and the Xerox Golden Lions was a hard grind from the outset as both sides tried to make their presence felt, but were limited by the solid defence which resulted in each side scoring only one try in the match. Both tries were scored in the first half, while the hosts’ flyhalf Robert du Preez slotted over two penalty goals to push his team 13-5 ahead going into the break.
They maintained this competitiveness after the break, which resulted in the only points scored being two more penalty goals by Du Preez for the 19-5 win. This, however, was all they needed to book their place in the final against the Cell C Sharks in Durban.
Photo: Gallo Images.
The Cell C Sharks started their semi-final with a bang at Growthpoint Kings Park as they scored two tries in the first six minutes compliments of centre Lukhanyo Am and winger Kobus van Wyk, and added another two by scrumhalf Louis Schreuder and lock and captain Ruan Botha before the break. In turn, they limited the Vodacom Blue Bulls to a converted try and two penalty goals which earned the hosts an encouraging 28-13 halftime lead.
The visitors worked their way back into striking distance of the home team on the scoreboard as they added two tries to their score in the third quarter, while their effective defence denied the Cell C Sharks from crossing the try line again in the match. However, two penalty goals and a drop goal by flyhalf Curwin Bosch guided them to a 37-27 victory and their first final berth since 2013. Interestingly, that final was also against DHL Western Province but hosted in the Mother City.
In the meantime, the Currie Cup First Division and the South African Rugby u-20 Championship were concluded. Both these titles go to the Down Touch Griffons.
The Down Touch Griffons and their u-20 team successfully defended their titles in a thrilling day of action on October 20 at the HT Pelatona Projects Stadium in Welkom.
The senior team secured a rewarding 60-36 victory against the Leopards in the Currie Cup First Division final, while the juniors defeated the Limpopo Blue Bulls 29-22 in the SA Rugby u-20 Championship.
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