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EP hold on against Eagles

Port Elizabeth - Eastern Province held off a determined SWD Eagles team to win their Vodacom Cup South section match 24-19 at the EPRU Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Friday.

EP led 24-6 at half-time.
 
The victory was EP’s second in five matches and takes them up to 12 points and fifth on the South log behind the Sharks XV, Free State, Boland and WP.

The Eagles suffered their third defeat in four games and despite picking up a bonus point remain seventh, with only Border below them in the pecking order.

And yet the visitors very nearly secured a dramatic victory after a last-gasp surge for the line was repelled by some excellent EP defence.

The home team scored three excellent tries in the first half to rack up a commanding lead, only to remain scoreless after the break as the Eagles came strongly back into the game.

A heavy thunderstorm before kick-off, which started up again at the beginning of the second half, made conditions difficult for both sides.

EP battled all night in the scrums but held their own in the lineouts, and it was thanks to some good ball from this phase that they paved the way to an ultimately hard-fought victory.

Eagles flyhalf Eric Zana opened the scoring with a fifth-minute penalty -- the first of four from him on the night -- before wing and man of the match Norman Nelson crashed over for EP in the 14th minute after good work by his wing partner Howard Noble.

Fullback Justin Peach converted to make it 7-3 and added a penalty before centre Siyanda Grey scored EP’s second try, also converted, after Noble booted ahead a speculative kick by flyhalf Mathew Tayler-Smith which Grey gathered to score.

Zana’s second penalty made it 17-6 before Noble got his team’s third try on the stroke of half time when Grey broke clean through for his winger to finish off and Peach to kick the extra points.

The home side didn’t quite fall apart in the second half but they just didn’t seem to be able to win enough good ball to be able to score the bonus-point try, or indeed seal the win.

Zana began reeling in the deficit for the visitors with two further penalties to make it 24-12 before hooker and captain Wayne Bennett drove over from a lineout with four minutes remaining to make the vocal home crowd squirm nervously in their seats.

Replacement Deroy Rhoode kicked the conversion to make it a five-point game but the Eagles just couldn’t get over the line for what would have been an excellent come-from-behind victory.

Scorers:


Eastern Province:
Tries: Norman Nelson, Siyanda Grey, Howard Noble
Conversions: Justin Peach (3)
Penalty: Peach

SWD:
Try: Wayne Bennett
Conversion: Deroy Rhoode
Penalties: Eric Zana (4)
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