Johannesburg - The Golden Lions were crowned 2015 Currie Cup champions after defeating Western Province 32-24 (half-time 22-10) in the final at Ellis Park on Saturday.
The home side claimed the prize in emphatic style, winning all 12 of their matches becoming the first side since the 1990s to go unbeaten in a season.
It was the Lions’ 11th Currie Cup title in their history.
After 15 minutes of sustained pressure and missed opportunities, the Lions finally opened the scoring with No 8 Warren Whiteley being put into a gap for a try.
Lions centre Rohan Janse van Rensburg made the initial break but the off-load to Kwagga Smith was knocked down by an opposition player before they managed to get the ball under control, with Whitley running into a gap to score.
After missing his first two penalty attempts, flyhalf Marnitz Boshoff finally found his target by converting the try.
The first half of the encounter seemed to be a battle between the two flyhalves to see who can make the most mistakes.
Western Province pivot Robert du Preez was slightly ahead with the youngster kicking a penalty over the dead-ball line, while he also missed with a penalty conversion.
The home side got over the whitewash on the quarter mark, with Ross Cronje the better of the halfbacks, finishing a move which was started by their two busy locks.
The second-row combination of Lourens Erasmus and Franco Mostert were immense with their carries and were crucial in sparking the try.
Erasmus made the break and later in the move he sent a floating skip pass to Andries Coetzee before Cronje received the ball for the try.
Four minutes later WP got into promising position when they were awarded a penalty which Du Preez pushed over the dead-ball line.
Nearly a half-an-hour had gone by before the Capetonians finally got onto the scoresheet with Du Preez slotting a penalty.
Six minutes from the half-time break, Janse van Rensburg showed his strength as he bashed two defenders out of the way in the in midfield with Cronje scoring his brace.
Boshoff missed the conversion but returned their lead to 19 points with a penalty goal before visitors got the breakthrough.
Du Preez finally got the rub of the green as he took on the line from a lineout beating his opposition en route to the tryline and converting his own five-pointer.
Shortly after the break, Janse van Rensburg again bullied his way over the line, sending one of his own players who got into the firing line to the ground to score with Boshoff converting to return the status quo.
WP pocket-rocket Cheslin Kolbe demonstrated why he is one of their danger men as he stepped his way over the advantage line.
Not to be out-done by his smaller team-mate, Nizaam Carr took the ball up swerving through tackles to touch down.
Just short of the third-quarter mark Boshoff landed a long-range penalty kick to extend his side’s advantage by three points.
However, WP started to make inroads and on the 62nd minute mark, flank Sikhumbuzo Notshe scored from the back of a rolling maul which emanated from a lineout with Kurt Coleman converting to make it an eight-point game.
With no time left on the clock, WP replacement lock Chris van Zyl earned a yellow card for charging into a ruck with a penalty being overturned.
It allowed the Lions to close out the game and take the title.
Scorers:
Golden Lions:
Tries: Warren Whiteley, Ross Cronje (2), Rohan Janse van Rensburg
Conversions: Marnitz Boshoff (3)
Penalties: Boshoff (2)
Western Province:
Tries: Robert du Preez, Nizaam Carr, Sikhumbuzo Notshe
Conversions: Robert du Preez (2), Kurt Coleman
Penalty: Du Preez
Teams:
Golden Lions:
15. Andries Coetzee, 14. Courtnall Skosan, 13. Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 12. Howard Mnisi, 11. Anthony Volmink, 10. Marnitz Boshoff, 9. Ross Cronje, 8. Warren Whiteley, 7. Kwagga Smith, 6. Jaco Kriel (captain), 5. Franco Mostert, 4. Lourens Erasmus, 3. Julian Redelinghuys, 2. Robbie Coetzee, 1. Jacques van Rooyen
Substitutes: 16. Malcolm Marx, 17. Ruan Dreyer, 18. Fabian Booysen, 19. Stephan de Witt, 20. Jaco van der Walt, 21. Stokkies Hanekom, 22. Sampie Mastriet
Western Province:
15. Cheslin Kolbe, 14. Dillyn Leyds, 13. Johnny Kotze, 12. Juan de Jongh (captain), 11. Seabelo Senatla, 10. Robert du Preez, 9. Nic Groom, 8. Nizaam Carr, 7. Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 6. Rynhardt Elstadt, 5. Ruan Botha, 4. Jean Kleyn, 3. Wilco Louw, 2. Bongi Mbonambi, 1. Steven Kitshoff
Substitutes: 16. Michael Willemse, 17. Oli Kebble, 18. Chris van Zyl, 19. Jurie van Vuuren, 20. Jano Vermaak, 21. Kurt Coleman, 22. Huw Jones