Griquas broke the record for the biggest win by smashing tournament punch bags, Limpopo Blue Bulls 124-5. A WRAP of the weekend’s Vodacom Cup action.
This bettered the mark set by the Leopards last week against the same opponents, when the North West team romped home 113-3. Griquas scored a record 20 tries and both Rocco Jansen and Marnus Schoeman (five apiece), now share the record for most tries in a match by a player with Stephen Brink and Jannie van der Walt, who did the same in 1998 and 2001 respectively.
Griquas took control of the match in the first half as they scored six tries and led 38-5 at halftime. Limpopo had no answer to the structured play of the visitors as Griquas’ excellent control and their ability to recycle the ball through several phases to stretch the defense, had the hosts in complete disarray.
There were also big scores recorded in Nelspruit, where the Pumas beat the Griffons 64-7 and in Robertson where SWD scored a very comfortable 44-12 win over Boland.
SWD ran riot in the second half and scored 31 unanswered points to trounce Boland 44-12. Flyhalf Jeff Taljard scored 19 points with the boot via five conversions and three penalties and former Free State Cheetahs and Springbok flanker, Kabamba Floors, finished off an energetic afternoon by scoring the fifth try for the Eagles in the 64th minute of the match.
The Pampas continued their unbeaten run in the competition, outplaying Border in a 45-26, claiming a bonus point along with the convincing win. The Bulldogs are yet to win a game this season and remain at the bottom of the South Section log. Five tries in the first half put the Pampas in control with Jeronimo de la Fuente scoring twice while Benjamin Madero slotted two conversions.
Things were much tighter in Durban though, where The Sharks scored two late tries to pip Free State 34-33. S’burra Sithole and Franco Marais scored in the last ten minutes for the hosts, and even though the visitors scored a last-minute touchdown, it wasn’t enough to deny the Sharks a full haul of five points. Fred Zeilinga, the young pivot for the Sharks, slotted all his kicks in tough conditions and added a try in a personal haul of 19 points. He is the leading points’ scorer in the competition with 60 points.
Earlier, in the other South Section match, there was much relief in Cape Town with defending champions, WP, finally getting it right for their first win of the season when they outplayed EP in Port Elizabeth. Flanker Chris Cloete ran in a hat-trick to help put away the home side 43-18 on Friday night. Five tries in the first half all but sealed the win for the visitors and their 31-18 lead at the break was extended by the trusted boot of Gary van Aswegen in the second half, with the replacement fly-half kicking three penalties and a dropped goal.
Up north the rampant Pumas ran in ten tries in comprehensively beating the Griffons 64-7. The Pumas dominated every aspect of the game, but the final score might have flattered them a tad as the Griffons could not convert several promising opportunities into tries. Pumas captain Corné Steenkamp was an inspirational presence for the hosts with his excellent support play. Roscoe Speckman and Faf de Klerk were arguably the two best backline players on view as the Nelspruit faithful saw some excellent movements by the Pumas.
At Ellis Park Tony Jantjies scored 27 points as the Blue Bulls thumped the Golden Lions 54-26. He kicked five conversions, four penalties (including three in the first seven minutes) and scored a try as the men from Pretoria ran riot. It was a fantastic display by the flyhalf who directed the backline like a true general does his troops. The hosts had no answer to the sweeping open play of the visitors and the Blue Bulls played some magnificent running rugby.
On Friday, former Springbok flyhalf Andrè Pretorius turned back the clock with a polished performance to steer the Leopards to a comfortable 47-16 win over the Valke in Potchefstroom. Pretorius landed six out of seven conversions for a personal haul of 12 points. The home side scored three tries after only 11 minutes and with more than an hour to play the result was already beyond doubt. Pretorius, who played the last of his 31 test matches nearly six years ago, calmly dictated matters with great tactical awareness behind a dominant pack. The Valke were a fumbling mess and were strangely subdued a week after they had beaten the Golden Lions in Brakpan.
All the scorers:
Pampas 45 (24) Border 26 (9)
Pampas – Tries: Jeronimo de la Fuente (2), Matias Massero, Benjamin Macom, Santiago Cordero, Cesar Fruttero, Penalty Try. Conversions: Benjamin Madero (3), Santiago Gonzales Iglesias.
Border – Tries: Quinton Crocker, Juan Pretorius, Johannes Seerane. Conversions: Karlo Aspelling, Penalties: Karlo Aspelling (3).
Pumas 64 (26) Griffons 7 (7)
Pumas – Tries: Roscoe Speckman (2), Faf de Klerk (2), Frankie Herne (2), TJ Steenkamp, Karl Bezuidenhout, Stefan Watermeyer, JW Bell, Wilhelm Loock. Conversions: Tiaan Marx (4), Bezuidenhout (3).
Griffons – Try: Andries Mahoney. Conversion: Hansie Graaff.
Boland 12 (12) SWD 44 (13)
Boland – Tries: Albert Trytsman, PJ van Zyl. Conversion: Garth April.
SWD – Tries: Johan Herbst, Deroy Rhoode, Lyndon Hartnick, Kabamba Floors, Penalty Try. Conversions: Jeff Taljard (5), Penalties: Taljard (3).
Limpopo Blue Bulls 5 (5) Griquas 124 (38)
Griquas – Tries: Marnus Schoeman (5), Rocco Jansen (5), Luzuko Vulindlu (2), Enrico Acker, Penalty Try, Deon Carney, Jaco Coetzee, Leon Karemaker, Justin Downey, Francois Brummer, Richard Lawson. Conversions: Francois Brummer (12).
Limpopo Blue Bulls – Try: Ruan Muller.
Golden Lions 26 (19) Blue Bulls 54 (30)
Golden Lions – Tries: Ruhan Nel, Ashlon Davids (2), Harold Vorster. Conversions: Davids (3).
Blue Bulls – Tries: Wiaan Liebenberg (2), Rohan Janse van Rensburg, Tony Jantjies, Heinrich Steyl, Penalty Try. Conversions: Jantjies (5), Ulrich Beyers. Penalties: Jantjies (4).
Sharks 34 (20) Free State 33 (18)
Sharks – Tries: Sizo Maseko, Fred Zeilinga, S’burra Sithole, Franco Marais. Conversions: Zeilinga (4). Penalties: Zeilinga (2).
Free State – Tries: Rossouw de Klerk, Joubert Engelbrecht, Elandre Huggett, Freddie Ngoza. Conversions: Tewis de Bruyn (2). Penalties: De Bruyn (3).
EP 18 (8) WP 43 (31)
EP: Tries: Boetie Britz, Mpho Mbiyozo. Conversion: Wesley Dunlop. Penalties: Dunlop (2).
Western Province: Tries: Ruan Botha, Chris Cloete (3), Cheslin Kolbe. Conversions: Tim Swiel (3). Penalties: Gary van Aswegen (3). Drop Goal: Van Aswegen.
Leopards 47 (26) Valke 16 (13)
Leopards – Tries: BG Uys, Danie Dames, Edmar Marais, Jacques Olivier, Morné Hanekom (2), Akker van der Merwe. Conversions: Andrè Pretorius (6).
Valke – Try: Friedle Olivier. Conversion: Wesley Roberts. Penalty: Roberts. Drop-Goal: Juan Kotze.
