The Boland Cavaliers have scored nine tries while conceding only one in their first two Currie Cup matches.
Boland wing Jayden Bantom scored a hat-trick and slotted five kicks in his side’s big win over the Stormers on Sunday. Picture: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
Boland Cavaliers captain Thurlow Marsh says his team are not getting ahead of themselves despite two impressive wins in the opening rounds of the Currie Cup.
The Wellington side have scored a combined nine tries while conceding only one, in victories against the Bulls (24-10) and Stormers (41-3) at home.
Boland are second on the table behind the only other undefeated team, the Cheetahs.
Marsh and coach Hawies Fourie praised the team’s defence, but said they were taking the tournament one match at a time, with the Pumas next.
‘Like a mamba’
They will remember last season, when Boland similarly started strongly and beat larger unions early on.
However, Boland lost their last two pool games to finish fourth, and were then thrashed 67-19 by the Lions in their semi-final at Ellis Park.
“We’ll take it game by game,” Marsh said simply, when asked about the battle for the top spot this year.
“The Cheetahs are [ahead] of us by one point. But next week we host the Pumas, and we’ll prepare well for them.”
Still, the captain enjoyed the way his team played against the Stormers on a sunny winter afternoon.
“The conditions suited us. We didn’t concede any tries, and the defence coach [Charl Strydom] would be happy about it. And when we had opportunities we converted those into points.
“We knew if we had a fast start against our neighbours from the Cape, we would blow the wind out of their sails. We ticked that box. After that, we kept building phases and, like a mamba, we got them. They slowly died afterwards.”
He credited his forwards for controlling the early phases, while the backline, including Jayden Bantom (who scored a hat-trick, four conversions and a penalty to amass 26 points for his side) converted their opportunities.
Boland prioritise a defence culture
Fourie believed his side left a few points on the field in the first half (score 13-3 at the break). But the second half was much better.
“I’m proud of Charl,” the head coach said.
“He works hard to create a defence culture. It’s not something that comes naturally to most of our guys. They want to attack.
“But you can see it’s starting to bear fruit, and at the end of the day, it’s what wins you competitions.”
Boland will aim for a third straight victory when they host the Pumas after the Mbombela side lost to the Sharks at home and then away to the Lions.
