Cape Town — It wasn't the best of matches, with plenty of errors from both sides, but Western Province managed to score a late try on the full-time hooter to seal an important Currie Cup victory over the Pumas at Athlone Stadium in Cape Town on Friday.
The home side won 22-14 thanks to three tries and the boot of captain Jean-Luc du Plessis after a late Pumas try seemed to have turned the tide for the defending champions who were on the back foot for most of the game.
They were eventually thwarted by the boot of Du Plessis, who also scored a try and kicked a conversion to contribute 10 of his team's points, but it was the last-gasp converted try by lock Adre Smith that sealed the deal.
Two tries in the first half gave Province a lead of 12-7 at the break, but it was the visitors who were quick out of the blocks when their prop Cameron Dawson broke away to score a try.
He outstripped a few would-be WP defenders after getting the ball in their 22 meters area after the home side failed to exit adequately after the kick-off.
But those were all the points the Pumas saw in the first half even though they had good runs with the ball. Their inability to round off chances, though, kept WP in the game after the visitors took control of the opening minutes.
The massive defence of WP, even towards the end of the game, keeps them fighting for a play-off berth in the competition. Province will keep the fourth spot on the log, while they also made up ground against the Pumas, currently second, after the defending champions did not get a single point from the match.
John Dobson, WP coach, can be happy with his young side's tenacity. They worked for each other, especially on defence, although some errors on attack hampered them.
The young props, Lee-Marvin Mazibuko and Kwenzo Blose, also stood their ground against the hard men from the Pumas who are a team known for their good scrummaging.
Both teams’ kicking out of hand let them down in the end, but it was the home side, in front of a very vocal Athlone crowd, that took their chances when it mattered to grab the win.
Point-scorers
Western Province 22 — Tries: Godlen Masimla, Jean-Luc du Plessis, Adre Smith. Conversions: Du Plessis (2). Penalty: Du Plessis.
Pumas 12 — Tries: Cameron Dawson, Andrew Kota. Conversion: Tinus de Beer (2)
IOL Sport