If ever there was a prize for the Currie Cup match of the season, it must go to the local derby match between the Xerox Golden Lions and Vocacom Blue Bulls.
The Currie Cup continued over the weekend when the top sides played each other in thrilling matches. The local derby between the Lions and Blue Bulls took place on September 16 in front of a 10 000-strong crowd which assembled at Emirates Airlines Park and can be marked as the best match this season.
The Lions climbed the Currie Cup log after beating near neighbours in a thrilling encounter 36-33. The Bulls under the watchful eye of former Lions coach, John Mitchell, who has been appointed by the Blue Bulls Company as their Head coach for the Currie Cup season, opened the scoreboard early in the match to show they intended winning the match. Former Lions fly half, Marnitz Boshoff, now playing for the Blue Bulls, made no mistake with the conversion which let his team lead by 7-0.
The home team, which struggled in the first 20 minutes to secure possession, came back flying when their first try was converted by fullback, Jaco van der Walt, to level the scores 7-7. Thereafter, the two teams exchanged tries in a short period of time and set up a magnificent match for the spectators. They went into the break with the Lions leading 26-14.
Photo: Gordon Arons
In the second half it was again the Bulls who came out roaring – not the Lions. The Bulls narrowed the score line with their try and conversion to 21-26. The score still favoured the Lions, but by the fourth quarter the visitors forced their way into a narrow lead.
The Xerox Golden Lions opted for a penalty goal to nudge their way back in front on the scoreboard, which resulted in a gripping finish in which each side scored their fifth try. In the end, however, the vital penalty goal by the Xerox Golden Lions proved to be the difference on the scoreboard.
The Currie Cup Premier Division log leaders, the Cell C Sharks, and the Xerox Golden Lions continued their winning ways in the competition this weekend as DHL Western Province stumbled against the Steval Pumas in a thrilling weekend of action.
The Cell C Sharks extended their lead at the top of the log table to a comfortable 14 points as they registered their eighth successive victory by defeating Tafel Lager Griquas 40-22 in Kimberley on Friday.
The hosts struck first with a try in the third minute, but the log-leaders hit back with three tries to take a 19-7 lead. They built on this in the second half to increase their total to six – with centres Marius Louw and Jeremy Ward each scoring a brace. Tafel Lager Griquas, in turn, were only able to add two tries to their tally, which saw them suffer their fifth defeat in a row.
The Steval Pumas, meanwhile, fought their way back from 12-3 down against DHL Western Province in Nelspruit on Friday to earn a rewarding 22-12 victory. The win ended their eight-year losing run against the Capetonians and bolstered their confidence after back-to-back defeats.
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