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WP fightback downs Eagles

Duane Heath

Western Province moved to the top of the Vodacom Cup South section with a nailbiting 29-23 (halftime 17-18) victory over the SWD Eagles in a match played at Florida Park in Ravensmead, Cape Town, on Saturday.
  
WP’s win takes them to 22 log points -- three ahead of a group of four teams all on 19, with only points difference separating the Sharks XV, Pampas XV, Free State and Boland sides.

The final weekend should make for riveting viewing, with the Sharks XV hosting the Pampas side, and Free State at home to WP with home-ground advantage in the playoffs at stake.

But WP very nearly did not finish the weekend on top of the table. They were pushed all the way by a spirited Eagles team who gave as good as they got in the tight exchanges and at the contact points, but who just ran out of steam in the final quarter to allow WP to sneak home.

Indeed, the visitors looked set for a surprise victory when flanker Shaun Raubenheimer scored an excellent try in the 42nd minute to extend his side’s one-point halftime lead to 23-17.

Then, five minutes later, and with WP showing signs of panic, skipper Hanyani Shimange was yellow-carded for hanging onto the ball after having a free kick awarded against him at a lineout.

But the home side, spurred on by a boisterous crowd of around 4 000 at the home of Tygerberg Rugby Club, somehow found a second wind in Shimange’s absence and closed the gap to one point when flanker Yaya Hartzenberg crashed over in the left-hand corner.

With Shimange restored to the front row, WP then clinched the match when replacement scrumhalf Dustin Jinka scooted through a yawning gap at a ruck on the Eagles’ 22 to dot down under the posts with 19 minutes remaining.

It was the score that settled the game, although the Eagles will feel hard done by as referee Sindile Mayende, who had an otherwise excellent game, missed Jinka’s knock-on at the base of the ruck just before he set off on his match-turning dash.

Try as they might, the Eagles just could not find a way through in the closing stages, although centre Joe Breytenbach tried his level best and must have come close to the man of the match award.

That prize should probably go to WP centre Dylan Des Fountain, who played with purpose all afternoon while all around him his team-mates seemed lethargic, especially in a first half in which he scored an excellent try.

Des Fountain’s 40-metre jinking run gave WP a 17-10 lead midway through the half after an earlier try by flanker Pieter Myburgh was cancelled out by one from giant Eagles lock Lubabalo Mtyanda.

Hooker Wayne Bennett then helped the Eagles close the gap with a good try on the half hour, before flyhalf Ambrose Barends gave them the lead on the stroke of half time.

But the Eagles just couldn’t close the deal in the second half, and it must be said that the after-effects of their Wednesday match against the highly physical Pampas XV probably left them just a little short of gas with the game still in the balance.

Scorers:

WP 29 – Tries: Pieter Myburgh, Dylan Des Fountain, Yaya Hartzenberg, Dustin Jinka. Conversions: Conrad Hoffmann (2), Jurgen Visser. Penalty: Hoffmann.

SWD 23 – Tries: Lubabalo Mtyanda, Wayne Bennett, Shaun Raubenheimer. Conversion: Ambrose Barends. Penalties: Barends (2).

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