Western Province got their 2023 Currie Cup campaign off to a great start with a 44-28 bonus-point win over the Lions in Johannesburg.
The match started with both teams attacking with purpose resulting in teams crossing the whitewash in the first 10 minutes.
DHL Western Province's hooker Scarra Ntubeni scored the first try of the match following a powerful driving maul. The Fidelity ADT Lions' reply came a few minutes later when winger Boldwin Hansen scored in the corner the level the scores.
A Wolhuter long-range penalty gave DH Western Province a 3 points lead as the visitors started to dominate especially the physical exchanges.
Captain Marcel Theunissen bulldozed past the Fidelity ADT Lions' defence for the visitors' second try. However, a yellow card to Juan de Jongh gave the hosts an opportunity to strike back almost immediately when Hansen scored his second try in the corner which reduced the DHL Western Province's lead to just three points.
Thereafter tries by Keke Morabe and Suleiman Hartzenberg opened a 20 points gap as DHL Western Province went into halftime leading 34-14.
DHL Western Province scored first in the second half when hooker Andre-Hugo Venter scored from the back of a 5m lineout-maul.
The customary late Fidelity ADT Lions' fightback led to tries by Raynard Roets and Nico Steyn helped the host to make the score more respectable. However, the DHL Western Province won 44-28 with relative ease as they outsmarted and dominated their visitors for most of the match.
Scorers:
Fidelity ADT Lions: Tries: Boldwin Hansen (2), Raynard Roets, Nico Steyn. Conversions: Vaughen Isaacs (4).
DHL Western Province: Tries: Scarra Ntubeni, Marcel Theunissen, Keke Morabe, Suleiman Hartzenberg, Andre-hugo Venter, Conversions: Kade Wolhuter (5). Penalties: Kade Wolhuter (3).
Teams
Fidelity ADT Lions: 15. Tiaan Swanepoel, 14. Stean Pienaar, 13. Matt More, 12. Tyler Bocks, 11. Boldwin Hansen, 10. Vaughan Isaacs, 9. Morné van den Berg, 8. Travis Gordon (c), 7. Ruan Delport, 6. Sibusiso Sangweni, 5. Darrien-Lane Landsberg, 4. Pieter Janse van Vuren, 3. Ruan Smith, 2. Jaco Visagie, 1. Sithembiso Sithole. Replacements: 16. Michael van Vuuren, 17. Morgan Naudé, 18. Kabous Bezuidenhout, 19. Raynard Roets, 20. Ruhan Straeuli, 21. Jarod Cairns, 22. Nico Steyn, 23. Zeilinga Strydom.
DHL Western Province: 15. Clayton Blommetjies, 14. Angelo Davids, 13. Juan de Jongh, 12. Jean-Luc du Plessis, 11. Duncan Saal, 10. Kade Wolhuter, 9. Godlen Masimla, 8. Keke Morabe, 7. Ben-Jason Dixon, 6. Marcel Theunissen, 5. Connor Evans, 4. Ernst van Rhyn (c), 3. Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 2. Scarra Ntubeni, 1. Kwenzo Blose. Replacements: 16. Andre-Hugo Venter, 17. Leon Lyons, 18. Sazi Sandi, 19. Dylan de Leeuw, 20. Louwan Horn, 21. Paul de Wet, 22. Bruce Sherwood, 23. Suleiman Hartzenberg.