Cape Town - Western Province signed off their Currie Cup campaign in style, turning on the fireworks on a cold Cape Town evening, beating the hapless Sharks 44-5 in the DHL Stadium on Saturday.
It was a true WP-style mauling as they ran the Sharks ragged, scoring six brilliant tries to condemn the Durban side to second place on the Currie Cup log.
The Sharks still had a chance to grab first spot, but gave it up as the Cheetahs leap-frogged them on the Currie Cup log.
The win, as spectacular as it was on the muddy Cape Town pitch, wasn't enough for the home team to sneak into the playoffs as they ended on 37 log points with the Bulls (38) just-just pipping them.
We end our Currie Cup with a big win in front of the Faithful at DHL Stadium. Tonight these guys showed how much pride there is in the 🔵⚪️ #WPvSHA #wpjoulekkerding #dhldelivers pic.twitter.com/NggymOgi3z
— WP RUGBY (@WP_RUGBY) June 10, 2023
Despite their season-ending, Province probably left their best for the final match as they ran the Sharks off their feet, with eighth man Hacjivah Dayimani scoring two of their tries.
He crossed the try line in both halves, scoring tries in the left-hand corners of the stadium, beating a couple of defenders in both of his five-pointers.
Fullback Clayton Blommetjies ran the show on the attack for WP and didn't put a foot wrong. He was at home in the muddy conditions and fielded the ping-pong kicks of the Sharks with ease, and when he had a run at them, he razzle-dazzled and left defenders grasping at air.
Springbok centre Rohan Janse van Rensburg and his winger Phikolomzi Sobahle were some of Blommetjies' victims with his dummy passes every time he set on a run.
Blommetjies also worked the Sharks on the attack and put his teammates into positions to score with the space he single-handedly created.
His best move of the night came when he slipped inside his own 22m area while faking a kick, but he recovered, quickly sniped where the space was, ran through a couple of defenders, and then sent the ball on its way for replacement loose forward Jarrod Taylor to run in for a try.
Blommetjies' kicking was also on point as he capped off a good first season of rugby in Cape Town.
Lock Ruben van Heerden was a standout in the pack of forwards. He won his lineout balls, hit his former teammates with massive tackles, and rounded off his performance with a bullocking try as he carried several defenders on his back to power over for the score.
His try epitomised the effort of WP as the ball went through several hands, including that of Blommetjies, with flanker Willie Engelbrecht getting a quick pop pass to winger Leolin Zas who sprinted away, sent the ball to the inside where centre Ruhan Nel was waiting and after he was tackled he popped the ball off the ground to Van Heerden who scored.
Other players who had excellent performances for the home side include rookie flyhalf Jurie van Heerden, who converted almost all his shots at goal, and the midfield combination of Nel and Cornel Smit who were excellent in defense.
Up front lock Ben-Jason Dixon and flanker Marcel Theunissen worked tirelessly with the rest of the pack.
There was absolutely nothing to write home about for the Sharks. They put in a poor performance and could not really string together any form of attack or defensive resistance.
It is a worrying result for the visitors, who will have to pick things up ahead of their semi-final against the defending champions, the Pumas, in the Shark Tank this coming weekend.
Their URC players did not provide any impact, their kicking was poor and they looked without plan.
Their only good bit of rugby came when they were camped on the WP try line in the dying seconds of the game, and eventually got the try to break their duck as inside centre Marnus Potgieter went over in the corner.
Points scorers
Western Province 44 (27): Tries: Hacjivah Dayimani (2), Ben Jason Dixon, Marcel Theunissen, Ruben van Heerden, Jarrod Taylor. Conversions: Jurie Matthee (4). Penalties: Matthee (2).
Sharks 5 (0): Try: Marnus Potgieter.