Share

Lions maul woeful Province

Johannesburg - The Golden Lions produced an exciting brand of rugby, running in eight tries to four, as they mauled Western Province 58-32 (half-time 37-13) in their Currie Cup Premier Division clash at Ellis Park in Johannesburg on Friday evening.

The Lions were so dominant with their running rugby that they had sealed their four-try bonus point in the first half before adding a fifth try on the stroke of half-time.

Western Province struggled with their lineouts as Michael Willemse, recalled from the EP Kings, and replacement hooker Neil Rautenbach struggled to find their jumpers.

The home side had the upper hand in the scrums too where props Dylan Smith and Ruan Dreyer and hooker Robbie Coetzee won the front-row battle against JC Janse van Rensburg, Wilco Louw and Willemse.

The scoreboard started ticking over as early as 35 seconds into the game when centre Jacques Nel ran all the way from inside his own 22m area, with the ball being offloaded in the tackles with fantastic handling before receiving the ball back to score the opening try.

Flyhalf Robert du Preez slotted two penalties to give Province the lead by a single point after gaining some territorial advantage but the next 10 minutes proved pivotal.

The hosts scored two tries through Coetzee and fullback Andries Coetzee while flyhalf Jaco van der Walt landed two penalties and a conversion to give the Lions a comfortable 23-6 lead halfway through the first period.

A bit of magic from Province left wing Leolin Zas resulted in Province's first try as the speedster received the ball out wide, chipped and chased, collected and scored a converted try.

But the celebration was short lived as the Lions ran in two more tries before referee Jaco Peyper blew the halftime whistle.

Tall and lanky lock JP du Preez barged over close to the line before centre Rohan Janse van Rensburg, on debut, waltzed over the line after Coetzee broke away from inside his own 22m area.

The second half started much the same way as the first ended as the Lions brought up the half-century mark with another two scores through left wing Anthony Volmink after Province knocked the ball on inside their own 22m area and then flanker Kwagga Smith sprinted away from the Province defenders, side-stepped centre Johnny Kotze to score his first try of the night.

Province fought back with two tries of their own with the game already out of sight courtesy of replacements Jacques Vermeulen, who replaced a concussed Rynhardt Elstadt, and Dewaldt Duvenage, who returned from France.

Vermeulen managed to find a gap in the tenacious Lions defence to score his first try and the Duvenage dived over the line after picking up from the base of the ruck.

The home side were not finished and Smith landed his second five-pointer after Province again erred inside their own 22m from the kick-off, giving the Lions a penalty.

Van der Walt kicked to the corner and Smith scored from the lineout.

Province though fought to the end to secure their four-try bonus point as Vermeulen scored on the sound of the hooter.

The Lions now occupy fourth spot on the log with 17 points from five games, three behind Griquas while Province languish in sixth spot, four points behind the Lions after the same amount of matches.

Scorers:

Golden Lions

Tries: Kwagga Smith (2), Jacques Nel, Robbie Coetzee, Andries Coetzee, JP du Preez, Rohan Janse van Rensburg, Anthony Volmink

Conversions: Jaco van der Walt (6)

Penalties: Van der Walt (2)

Western Province

Tries: Jacques Vermeulen (2), Leolin Zas, Dewaldt Duvenage

Conversions: Robert du Preez (3)

Penalties: Du Preez (2)

Teams:

Golden Lions

15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Selom Gavor, 13 Jacques Nel, 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 Antony Volmink, 10 Jaco van der Walt, 9 Ross Cronje (captain), 8 Fabian Booysen, 7 Ruan Ackermann, 6 Kwagga Smith, 5 Lourens Erasmus, 4 JP du Preez, 3 Ruan Dreyer, 2 Robbie Coetzee, 1 Dylan Smith

Replacements: 16 Armand van der Merwe, 17 Jacques van Rooyen, 18 Andries Ferreira, 19 Cyle Brink, 20 Ruaan Lerm / Stef de Wit, 21 Ashlon Davids, 22 Howard Mnisi

Western Province

15 Cheslin Kolbe, 14 Werner Kok, 13 EW Viljoen, 12 Johnny Kotze, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 Kobus van Dyk, 7 Jurie van Vuuren, 6 Rynhardt Elstadt, 5 Chris van Zyl (captain), 4 Jan de Klerk, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Mike Willemse, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg

Replacements: 16 Neil Rautenbach, 17 Alistair Vermaak, 18 JP Smith, 19 Jacques Vermeulen, 20 Eital Bredenkamp, 21 Dewaldt Duvenage, 22 Scott van Breda

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
loading... Live
TS Galaxy FC 0
Moroka Swallows 0
loading... Live
Cape Town Spurs FC 0
Richards Bay FC 0
Voting Booth
Should the Proteas pick Faf du Plessis for the T20 World Cup in West Indies and the United States in June?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Faf still has a lot to give ...
67% - 933 votes
No! It's time to move on ...
33% - 452 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE