Currie Cup Roundup
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The Bulls maintained their unbeaten record in the Curie Cup Premier Division, while the Lions and Cheetahs won their matches to stay in the race for home semi-finals.
In the first of three Saturday fixtures, the Lions outplayed the Pumas by 55-12 in Johannesburg. Then it was the turn of Bulls to trump Griffons 55-21 at Loftus Versfeld and on a cold and wet Saturday evening in Cape Town, the Cheetahs gained the round's only away win by defeating WP 26-19.
In the last fixture of the round, staged Sunday in Durban, the Sharks XV maintained their upward curve courtesy of a 40-21 triumph over Griquas.
Following the sixth round of matches, with only four cross-group clashes remaining before the semi-finals, the Bulls still top the log on 26 points, followed by Lions and Cheetahs, both on 23 points.
The Pumas are fourth on 18 points, one point ahead of the resurgent Sharks XV who are now on 17 points following their bonus-point victory on Sunday, three more than WP (14). Griquas (eight) and the Griquas (two) complete the standings.
Playing in the first round six fixture on Saturday, Springbok loose forward Ruan Venter scored three of the Lions' eight tries as they outclassed the Pumas 55-12 in Johannesburg.
Enjoying the perfect winter conditions, the Gauteng outfit quickly raced into a 27-5 lead which they held until halftime. They raised the tempo in the second half to increase their lead, eventually scoring eight tries to two for their fifth win of the campaign.
Apart from Venter, who showed why he made his Springbok debut last month with his hat-trick while assisting several other scorers, Lions flyhalf Bronson Mills also had a good performance and contributed 20 points to the winning tally via a try, six conversions and a penalty goal.
Log leaders, the Bulls, romped to a 55-21 triumph over Griffons in a fixture which started late afternoon at Loftus. The hosts scored nine tries, of which five were converted, while their Welkom opponents managed three converted tries.
Left wing Sibongile Novuka capped a good outing for the Bulls with two tries, while Springbok speedster Canan Moodie, playing at fullback, was also on the scoresheet.
The hosts dominated proceedings and held a comfortable 24-7 advantage at the halfway stage and then kicked on for another comfortable victory.
In Saturday's third encounter played in cold winter conditions at Stadium, the Cheetahs recovered from an early 13-0 deficit to outplay WP by 26-19. The Capetonians did just enough in the first half to take 16-12 lead into the break.
However, the Free Staters adjusted better to the wet conditions as the game went on, and in the end, they scored four tries to one for an important away win which kept them in the top-three on the log.
In Sunday's only encounter, the Sharks XV served notice of their continued improvement when they downed Griquas 40-21 in Durban.
JP Pietersen’s team scored their fourth try in the 31st minute, by which time they had managed to build a comfortable 35-7 lead. Although the men from Kimberley outscored the hosts 14-5 in the second half, the Durbanites did enough to secure a solid win.
Springbok scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse made a welcome return to action after a four-month layoff due to a shoulder injury by scoring his team’s first try. Lively Junior Bok outside centre Jurenzo Julius continued his fine form and he was once more amongst the try scorers.
Moving on to the next round, the Pumas and Bulls will kick off proceedings on Friday, at 17h15, in Nelspruit.
That game is followed by two more on Saturday – the Lions host WP from 15h00 in Johannesburg, and the Cheetahs welcome the Sharks XV to Bloemfontein at 17h15.
The last clash in round seven will be staged in Welkom, where the Griffons host Griquas at 15h00.
Scorers:
Lions 55 (27), Pumas 12 (5)
Lions – Tries: Ruan Venter (3), Kelly Mpeku, Bronson Mills, Nico Steyn, Jarod Cairns, Sibabalo Qoma, Bronson Mills. Conversions: Mills (6). Penalty goal: Mills.
Pumas – Tries: Phiko Sobahle, Darren Adonis. Conversion: Clinton Swart.
Bulls 55 (27), Griffons 21 (7)
Bulls – Tries: Sibongile Novuka (2), Cornal Hendricks, Canan Moodie, Juann Else, Zak Burger, Lionel Mapoe, Keagan Johannes, Nama Xaba. Conversions: Boeta Chamberlain (4), Jaco van der Walt.
Griffons – Tries: Keanu Vers, Cheslin Arendse, Curtly Ambrose Thomas. Conversions: Andrew Kota (3).
Western Province 19 (16), Cheetahs 26 (12)
Western Province – Try: Angelo Davids. Conversion: Jurie Matthee. Penalty goal: Matthee (3), Kyle Smith.
Cheetahs – Tries: Victor Sekekete, Carl Wegner, Daniel Kasende, Jeandre Rudolph. Conversions: Ethan Wentzel (2), Reinhardt Fortuin.
Sharks XV 40 (35), Griquas 21 (7)
Sharks XV – Tries: Jaden Hendrikse, Hakeem Kunene, Eduan Keyter, Jannes Potgieter, Jurenzo Julius, Ethan Bester. Conversions: Lionel Cronje (5).
Griquas – Tries: Marco de Witt, Sango Xamlashe, Dylan Maart. Conversions: Lubabalo Dobela (2), Zinedine Robinson.
