Lions power to victory over EP
The Golden Lions turned on the power in the second half to earn a 46-25 win over Eastern Province on the opening day of the 2018 Craven Week in Paarl.
Both teams tried to stamp their authority on attack with strong forwards and skilful backs, which resulted in a fastpaced, entertaining spectacle.
The Johannesburg team took a narrow 26-20 halftime lead before finding their rhythm later in the match, which saw them earn seven tries to the opposition’s three.
Try scorers for EP were Dumisa Ngcivana, Ryben Dupont and Basie Malesu, but it was not enough to tame the Lions.
Try scorers for the Lions were Izak Esterhuizen, Karel Zowitsky, Franco Schutte, Zihan Coetzee, Emmanuel Tshituka, Muzilikazi Manyike and Edward White.
Tournament hosts Western Province ran riot on attack against the Pumas as they broke through the defence at will and rounded off their chances, earning them a 72-10 victory.
The WP team powered their way to an early 36-10 lead, and continued to navigate their way through the defence as the game progressed, which allowed them to touch down an impressive 11 times.
The match was particularly memorable for Dawid Kellerman, who scored four of his team’s tries.
Border started their clash against Limpopo Blue Bulls with a bang, which set them up for a convincing 68-17 victory.
Their superb all-round performance pushed them 40-12 ahead at halftime, and they maintained this good form as the match progressed to run in a fantastic 10 tries – four of which were scored by Sibabalwe Xamlashe.
The Griffons were also in fine form against the Blue Bulls XV and did well to round off their try-scoring opportunities, which paved the way for a rewarding 51-17 victory.
The Northern Free Staters’ set pieces were solid, while their effective finishing skills allowed them to run in an impressive eight tries, with Georgen Kiewiet and Keith van Aswegen each scoring two, while they limited the Pretoria side to three tries.
The action continues on Tuesday, with the remaining 10 U18 Craven Week teams and 14 Coca-Cola Academy Week teams kicking off their campaigns.