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Currie Cup midweek wrap: Bulls go top, Lions hammered
The men from Pretoria have moved to top spot, but the form team, the Cheetahs, had a bye.
Keagan Johannes of Bulls, with Juan de Jongh of WP trying to stop him during the Currie Cup match at Loftus on Wednesday. Picture: Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images
The Bulls moved to the summit of the 2022 Currie Cup log after claiming a bonus point win over Western Province, while the Sharks edged the Griquas and the Pumas thumped the Lions on an action packed game day on Wednesday.
Bulls go top
The Bulls claimed an entertaining 45-34 win over the visitors at Loftus, in a high scoring match that saw 11 tries scored, but Province will be upset with their ill-discipline that saw them penalised with three yellow cards in the match which set them back.
It was a tight first half that ended with a flurry of points for the visitors, but still saw the hosts lead 17-15 at the break.
The second half then got off to a fast start as Bulls right wing David Kriel notched a double, either side of a converted score to Province inside centre Cornell Smit, which made it 31-22 after 60 minutes.
A converted try to prop Lizo Gqoboka 10 minutes later then effectively sealed the match for the Bulls, but there was still time for two more Province tries either side of a Bulls penalty try to make it a thrilling end to the contest.
The result sees the Bulls move four points clear of the Cheetahs on the log, however the tournament’s form team have a match in hand having had a bye.
Sharks edge Griquas
The Sharks claimed an important but dreary 13-6 win over the Griquas at Griqua Park in Kimberley, to secure third place on the Currie Cup log and put some space between themselves and the chasing pack.
The Sharks held a 10-6 lead at the break after a converted try to hooker Fez Mbatha and a penalty from flyhalf Tito Bonilla was offset by two penalties to Griquas flyhalf George Whitehead, while the only points of the second half came from a Bonilla penalty.
The result means the Sharks have moved six points ahead of the Griquas and three behind the second placed Cheetahs, while the fifth placed Pumas are now breathing down the Griquas necks.
Pumas pummel Lions
The Pumas trounced the Lions 45-10 at the Mbombela Stadium to fight into playoff contention just a point behind the fourth placed Griquas who lost to the Sharks.
It was a comfortable win for the home side, but they took their foot off the gas after racing to the bonus point in the first 28 minutes.
Tries to Eduan Swart, Sebastian de Klerk, Corne Fourie and Tinus de Beer, with three converted by Eddie Fouche had the Pumas 26-0 up after 28 minutes, with the Lions dotting down an unconverted try to hooker Jacque-Louis du Toit just before the break.
The Pumas then added three tries in the second half to Devon Williams, Willie Engelbrecht and Alwayno Visagie, with two converted, while the Lions only managed another unconverted score to flank Sasko Ndlovu.
