Province thrash Bulldogs at home
Border side fade in the second half
THE Border Bulldogs showed glimpses of their potential, but were ultimately no match for a star-studded Western Province team as they went down 36-7 in their SuperSport Rugby Challenge encounter at the BCM Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The defending champs Western Province have not lost a game yet in the competition since its inaugural edition kicked off last year, so it was always going to be an uphill battle for Border.
However, in a scrappy first half the Bulldogs were well in it before a late surge saw the visitors score two tries to take a 19-7 lead into the halftime break and then added three more tries in the second half to seal a comfortable win in the end.
“It was a good first half, we managed to hold them and run the ball well, but in the second half we lost concentration and ended up letting Western Province get away from us,” said Bulldogs coach Tiger Mangweni. “Our front row was challenged, especially at tighthead where they had a Springbok in Franz Malherbe, which gave them front foot ball.
“We were also a bit naïve, because we were playing against the wind in the first half we thought we could relax in the second half which we cannot afford to do, especially against a team like Western Province.”
In a similar showing to their first match against the Boland Kavaliers in Port Elizabeth a week earlier, the Bulldogs put in a solid challenge but faded towards the end of the first half.
“It also comes down to our own lack of training, we still haven’t managed to get through a full game, so that is something we still need to work on,” said Mangweni.
“Our discipline was not great, our game plan was to play in their half but the guys forgot that and tried to run from their own 22m too many times and this put us under lots of pressure. We had to defend for large parts of the game and that took its toll on us.”
In the match Western Province dominated the early exchanges and deservedly took the lead in the 10th minute when right wing Duncan Saal dived over in the right corner, with inside centre Joshua Stander adding the conversion.
The visitors then continued to dominate, but were dealt a double blow in the 24th minute when the Bulldogs replied against the run of play.
A couple of penalties, starting in the hosts’ half, were taken quickly which allowed them to charge upfield, where scrumhalf Sinovuyo Nyoka chipped ahead but then he was tackled early trying to regather the ball.
The referee decided a clear try would have been scored if he had not been infringed upon and thus awarded a penalty try to draw the scores level, while also yellow carding Province flank Jaco Coetzee for the tackle.
Nyoka was then sent to the bin himself five minutes later after repeated infringements in the Bulldogs 22m saw the referee go to his pocket.
With three minutes in the half remaining the scores were still level but Saal showed his finishing ability to go over in the right-hand corner twice in the final minutes, with Stander converting one to give Province a handy 19-7 lead at the break.
The second half belonged to Province as the Bulldogs struggled to retain possession, which allowed the visitors to add tries through Stander, reserve scrumhalf Moegamat Kannemayer and flank Johannes du Toit, to seal a bonus point victory.
The Bulldogs will now have to go back to the drawing board and prepare for their next match this coming weekend.
“For me it is the discipline, the way we said we were going to play the game, because that is where we have lost it in these first two games,” explained Mangweni.
“If we can have discipline and manage the game well I will be happy.”