Kobus Marais contributed 12 points as the Pumas beat Western Province for the first time in eight years with a hard-fought 22-12 win in Nelspruit on Friday, writes MARIETTE ADAMS.
It wasn’t a particularly good performance, but the result will be satisfactory for the Pumas as it takes them up to fourth in the Currie Cup standings, above the Golden Lions.
Notwithstanding a few bursts of excitement, the contest lacked intensity and fluency. There were a combined total of 52 handling errors with 31 of those by WP and 21 by the Pumas.
Province used their scrum as a strike weapon for the best part of the opening hour against the stubborn resistance of the Pumas, but the hosts turned the tables on WP by seizing control of that specific set piece in the final 20 minutes of the match, which made all the difference in the end.
It has to be said, while WP coach John Dobson will not be pleased with the effort of his charges, the supreme performance of lock JD Schickerling will at least be a positive for them.
Schickerling was the receiver of a clever inside pass from EW Viljoen and from there he scored the first try. Marais opened the Pumas’ account with a penalty, but WP hit back quickly to make it 12-3.
With the Pumas applying pressure on their line, Seabelo Senatla read play beautifully as he picked off a flat pass, intercepted the ball and cantered away to score at the other end.
The sloppiness continued well into the second half, but a turnabout in the Pumas’ defence left Province frustrated and unable to add to their tally.
The Pumas’ first try came in bizarre fashion as WP fullback Craig Barry failed to control possession in the in-goal area, but managed to pick the ball up again only to have his clearance kick charged down with Marais then catching the ball and simply falling straight down to score.
Replacement hooker Frankie Hern dotted down next as the hosts took the lead for the first time. Frustration and agitation among the Province players grew and was underlined when scrumhalf Jano Vermaak cynically picked up an opponent and drove him into the ground recklessly. His act got him a yellow card and three minutes later the Pumas scored what turned out to be the winning try. Wing Jerome Pretorius dived over in the corner despite replays confirming the final pass to be forward.
Try as they might, they was no way back for Western Province as the Pumas held on for a rare victory against men from the Cape.
Pumas – Try: Kobus Marais, Frankie Herne, Jerome Pretorius. Conversions: Marais (2). Penalty: Marais.
Western Province – Tries: JD Schickerling, Seabelo Senatla. Conversion: Damian Willemse.
Pumas – 15 Justin van Staden, 14 Jerome Pretorius, 13 Gerrit Smith, 12 Hennie Skorbinski (c), 11 Ruwellyn Isbell, 10 Kobus Marais, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Willie Engelbrecht, 7 Lambert Groenewald, 6 Thembelani Bholi, 5 Hugo Kloppers, 4 Stefan Willemse, 3 Pieter Scholtz, 2 Mark Pretorius, 1 Khwezi Mona.
Subs: 16 Frank Herne, 17 De-Jay Terblanche, 18 Cameron Lindsay, 19 Brian Shabangu, 20 Hilton Lobberts, 21 Reynier van Rooyen, 22 Selom Gavor.
Western Province – 15 Craig Barry, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 EW Viljoen, 12 Huw Jones, 11 Ruhan Nel, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Cobus Wiese, 6 Jaco Coetzee, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Chris van Zyl (c), 3 Michael Kumbirai, 2 Ramone Samuels, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg.
Subs: 16 Chad Solomon, 17 Ali Vermaak, 18 Caylib Oosthuizen, 19 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 20 Dewaldt Du-venage, 21 Robert du Preez, 22 Werner Kok.
Photo: Dirk Kotze/Gallo Images
