Two late tries saw DHL Western Province u/20 claim a dramatic 30-29 win against Vodacom Bulls u/20 at City Park on Saturday.
Down to 14 men and trailing 29-16 heading into the last five minutes, the home side dug deep to find a way to win and make it back-to-back victories to start their season.
DHL Western Province u/20 were playing into a fairly strong breeze in the first half, but that didn’t stop them from dominating the early exchanges.
The pressure in the 22 eventually resulted in the first points, with scrumhalf FC Fourie scoring to put them 7-0 up.
The Vodacom Bulls u/20 responded with a maul try and they followed that up with a long-range effort from outside centre Sonwabo Sokoyi to take the lead.
The visitors added another try before half-time after another strong maul and took a 19-7 lead into half-time against a DHL Western Province u/20 side that was down to 14 after wing Ebenezer Tshimanga was shown a red card.
The home side had the wind at their backs in the second half and took advantage through flyhalf Sacha Mngomezulu, who landed three penalties, two of which were from 60 metres out. That brought DHL Western Province u/20 right back in it at 19-16 heading into the final 30 minutes.
The Vodacom Bulls u/20 took their lead back out to eight points with a try from left-wing Quewin Nortje and DHL Western Province u/20 found themselves under even more pressure when replacement Jonathan Roche was shown a yellow card, reducing them to 13.
The visitors looked to have struck the final blow when right-wing Katlego Letebele scored five minutes from the end, but somehow DHL WP u/20 found two late tries to win by one point.
Roche broke the line and seared through for the first try, before picking up a loose ball and surging into the 22 where he was brought down just short of the tryline, with the referee eventually awarding a decisive penalty try which sealed the one-point win.
Scorers:
DHL Western Province u/20: Tries: FC Fourie, Jonathan Roche, penalty try. Conversions: Sacha Mngomezulu (2). Penalties: Sacha Mngomezulu (3).
Vodacom Bulls u/20: Tries: Tiaan Lange, Sonwabo Sokoyi, Merwe Olivier, Quewin Nortje, Katlego Letebele. Conversions: Franco Knoetze (2)
DHL Western Province u/20: 15 Luke Burger, 14 Eagon van der Rheeder, 13 Melbirt van der Spuy, 12 Hofmeyr Retief, 11 Ebenezer Tshimanga, 10 Sacha Mngomezulu, 9 FC Fourie, 8 Armand Maritz (captain), 7 Hendrik Sieberhagen, 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 Imaad Phillips, 4 Daniel Louw, 3 Corne Weilbach, 2 Lukhanyo Vokozela, 1 Lamla Nunu. Replacements: 16 Francois Breytenbach, 17 Yannick Marais, 18 Nande Moses, 19 Jan-Daniel Cilliers, 20 Carlos da Costa, 21 Imad Khan, 22 Jonathan Roche, 23 Nic Krone.
Vodacom Bulls u/20: 15 Franco Knoetze, 14 Katlego Letebele, 13 Sonwabo Sokoyi, 12 Carlton Banies, 11 Quewin Nortje, 10 Compion Von Ludwig, 9 Rowan Cloete, 8 Cameron Hanekom, 7 Eric Basson, 6 Rynard Mouton, 5 Ruan Delport, 4 Merwe Olivier, 3 Sebastian Lombaard, 2 Tiaan Lange, 1 Tielman Nieuwoudt. Replacements: 16 Johan Lombard, 17 Juann Else, 18 Johan Louw, 19 Willie Potgieter, 20 Abulele Ndabambi, 21 Jayden Sam, 22 Moemagare Motlhodi, 23 Munashe Dukuswa.