The Springboks disappointing loss to the B&I Lions had most of South Africa dish out advice and comments which hopefully the Springbok Coach Jacques Nienaber will ignore. The rest of the week had their big surprises with "sanity" returning the weekend.
The Cell C Sharks, Vodacom Bulls and DHL Western Province delivered commanding performances as all of them recorded victories with the Carling Currie Cup reaching its halfway stage this weekend.
The Durbanites were in great form as they beat the Toyota Cheetahs by 47-30 in Bloemfontein on Saturday, and on Sunday in Nelspruit, a big second half burst saw Province crush the New Nation Pumas, 37-23.
The final game of the weekend was a Jukskei Derby in Pretoria, where the home side had too much firepower for their neighbours from the south as they beat the Sigma Lions by 40-21.
With no midweek matches scheduled in Premier Division this week, the action resumes on Friday, with three more encounters on the cards next weekend.
With six rounds completed, the Cell C Sharks top the standings on 24 points, with the Vodacom Bulls in second on 23, followed by Tafel Lager Griquas on 19. DHL Western Province have 17, the New Nation Pumas are on 15, and the Toyota Cheetahs and Sigma Lions both have 10 points each.
Cell C Sharks 47-30 Toyota Cheetahs
The Cell C Sharks returned to Carling Currie Cup action with a bang when they claimed a 47-30 bonus-point win over the Toyota Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Saturday afternoon. Having not featured in the competition since their 32-31 loss to Western Province a few weeks ago, Sean Everitt’s men emerged from the Carling Currie Cup shadows and issued a reminder of their championship quality as they halted their hosts’ two-match winning streak.
Curwin Bosch starred for the visitors, scoring 22 points in a complete performance to steer his side to their first win in the City of Roses since 2018 and the top of the standings.
Scorers:
Toyota Cheetahs 30 (11) – Tries: Rosko Specman (2), Brandon Thomson, Duncan Saal. Conversions: Ruan Pienaar, Reinhardt Fortuin. Penalties: Brandon Thomson, Ruan Pienaar.
Cell C Sharks 47 (24) – Tries: Werner Kok, Grant Williams (2), Anthony Volmink, Kerron van Vuuren. Conversions: Curwin Bosch (5). Penalties: Curwin Bosch (4).
DHL WP 37-23 New Nation Pumas
Tristan Leyds scored two tries as DHL Western Province bounced back in style with a hard-fought 37-23 Carling Currie Cup victory over the New Nation Pumas in Nelspruit on Sunday, after leading by 16-10 at the break. After losing their last two Premier Division matches, the Capetonians were with their backs against the wall, but they responded well to beat the tough Lowvelders at Mbombela Stadium, grabbing a try-scoring bonus point in the process.
DHL WP played tactically well, were more clinical in their execution and their defence also stood firm – they only conceded a penalty try in the first 70 minutes of the match. The New Nation Pumas will be wondering where things went wrong. Despite conceding too many penalties, many of them for ill-discipline, their pack also failed to gain any form of ascendancy in the match.
Scorers:
New Nation Pumas 23 (10) – Tries: Penalty try, Simon Westraadt, Eddie Fouche. Penalties: Gerrie Labuschagne, Niel Marais.
DHL Western Province 37 (16) – Tries: Tristan Leyds (2), Paul de Wet, Evan Roos. Conversions: Tim Swiel (4). Penalties: Tim Swiel (3).
Vodacom Bulls 40-21 Sigma Lions
It was the running of the Vodacom Bulls as the men in blue romped to a 40-21 bonus-point win over the Sigma Lions in an entertaining Carling Currie Cup encounter at Loftus Versfeld on Sunday afternoon. A free-flowing Jukskei Derby produced six tries in the first half and three in the second, with the hosts scoring six of them to move up to second place on the log and add to the Sigma Lions’ woes this week, which started with a 41-31 loss to Tafel Lager Griquas at home on Wednesday.
A month to the day of their last Carling Currie Cup clash, with COVID-19 and other complications leading to three consecutive match cancellations, Jake White’s charges built on the momentum of their 17-14 win over South Africa ‘A’ as they spread the ball wide and ran their neighbours ragged.
Scorers:
Vodacom Bulls 40 (28) – Tries: Harold Vorster, Zak Burger (2), Johan Grobbelaar, Richard Kriel, Dan Kriel. Conversions: Johan Goosen (5).
Sigma Lions 21 (14) – Tries: Vincent Tshituka, Courtnall Skosan, Sti Sithole. Conversions: Jordan Hendrikse (3).
Weekend Wrap - will Jacques listen to our advice?
Toyota Cheetahs 38-21 DHL Western Province
The Toyota Cheetahs made it back-to-back Carling Currie Cup wins when they trumped DHL Western Province 38-21 in Bloemfontein on Wednesday, with the Free Staters’ captain, Ruan Pienaar, contributing 21 of their points. Having secured their first win of the season against the New Nation Pumas in their previous outing – a nail-biting 17-16 triumph – tries by Duncan Saal, David Brits, Pienaar and Cohen Jasper saw the men from Bloem continue their upward curve in a big way.
Exceptional defence and the counter-attacking brilliance of Champion of the Match Clayton Blommetjies set them up for success and while they’re still at the bottom of the log and left with plenty of catching up to do, the emphatic upset keeps the Toyota Cheetahs in the hunt.
DHL WP failed to convert territorial supremacy into points in a first half they dominated but finished scoreless, didn’t get enough reward for the lion’s share of possession they had in the second stanza as well and slipped far too many tackles.
Scorers:
Toyota Cheetahs 38 (11) – Tries: Duncan Saal, David Brits, Ruan Pienaar, Cohen Jasper. Conversions: Ruan Pienaar (2), Reinhardt Fortuin. Penalties: Ruan Pienaar (4).
DHL Western Province 21 (6) – Tries: Evan Roos (2), Thomas Bursey. Conversions: Tim Swiel (2), Sacha Mngomezulu.
Tafel Lager Griquas 41-31 Sigma Lions
Tafel Lager Griquas wing Eduan Keyter scored four tries as his side claimed their second successive big scalp away from home with a 41-31 victory over the Sigma Lions in a high-scoring Carling Currie Cup match in Johannesburg on Wednesday afternoon. The bonus-point win at Emirates Airline Park – two weeks after they beat DHL Western Province in Cape Town – shot Tafel Lager Griquas to the top of the Carling Currie Cup Premier Division log.
Three of Keyter’s four tries came after the home team were reduced to 14 men when EW Viljoen (fullback) was red carded for a dangerous tackle in the 54th minute. Tafel Lager Griquas took their opportunities, defended well and hit back by scoring almost every time they conceded points, while the Sigma Lions enjoyed the upper hand upfront, but could not make it count, while their discipline also let them down.
Scorers:
Sigma Lions 31 (12) – Tries: Morne van den Berg, Sti Sithole, Rabz Maxwane, Ruan Dreyer, Travis Gordon. Conversions: Jordan Hendrikse (3).
Tafel Lager Griquas 41 (17) – Tries: Gideon van der Merwe, Eduan Keyter (4). Conversions: George Whitehead (5). Penalties: George Whitehead (2).