Vodacom Cup
Pumas surprise Lions
2009-03-07 17:21
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Johannesburg - The Pumas surprised the Golden Lions with a 47-34 (halftime 20-10) win in a second round Vodacom Cup match in Randfontein on the West Rand on Saturday.
The entertaining match saw each side score five tries but it was the accurate boot of Pumas fullback Rudi Vogt which was the ultimate difference.
He slotted five conversions and three penalties for a haul of 19 points while wing Alistair Kettledas scored two tries for the visitors.
It was the Pumas first victory of the season after suffering a 14-0 defeat against the Leopards in week one, while it was the Lions’ first game of the competition.
The first half belonged to the visitors although they never made their superiority in most phases count with two tries to the one of the Lions.
Flyhalf Tiaan Marx slipped through a slender gap to score the first try of the match in the seventh minute which fullback Vogt converted.
The Lions responded with a try through centre Jannie Boshoff just five minutes later, which new acquisition Divan Kotze converted to draw the scores level.
The Pumas kept plugging away and forced the Lions into a series of transgressions as they defended their goalline by any means necessary. They conceded penalties and Vogt knocked over two kicks to give the visitors a comfortable cushion.
In the 23rd minute the Pumas’ territorial dominance paid off again when wing Alistair Kettledas rounded off a sweeping move to score a deserved try.
Kotze slotted a penalty for the Lions to end the first half action.
The second half was a festival of open, running rugby, especially after the Pumas surged ahead with a further Vogt penalty and a try for replacement lock Eduan van der Walt in the 67th minute.
That spurred the Lions on and they scored through lock Shane Kirkwood a minute later. Marx replied with a drop-goal for the Pumas almost from the kick-off but the Lions kept coming and scored a third try through flank Derick Minnie.
But the Pumas snuffed out any chance of a comeback when lock Luan Velthuizen drove over in the 74th minute and three minutes later Kettledas made sure of victory with his second try.
Scorers:
Lions – Tries: Jannie Boshoff, Michael Killian, Shane Kirkwood, Derick Minnie, Justin Wheeler. Conversions: Divan Kotze (3). Penalty: Kotze.
Pumas – Tries: Tiaan Marx, Alistair Kettledas (2), Eduan van der Walt, Luan Velthuizen. Conversions: Rudi Vogt (5). Penalties: Vogt (3). Drop-Goal: Marx.