No stopping the boys in blue-and white

HOSTS Western Province thrashed the Griffons from Welkom 65-5 in a Craven Week match at the Paul Roos Markötter Stadium yesterday.

There was no stopping the boys in blue and white as they ran in 10 tries to one in a wonderful all-round performance.

It was exhibition rugby from start to finish from Province’s Under-18 team and the prospect of ending the tournament on Saturday afternoon as top dogs is looking brighter.

That is yet to happen for Province when they have hosted the competition.

After a bruising 20-13 win over the Blue Bulls on day one on Monday for WP, it seemed as though it was going to take some time for the boys from the Cape to recover from the northsouth derby.

Kudos to the coaching staff led by rookie coach Elmo Wolfaardt, for getting the boys rested and recharged within 48 hours. Playing two games in three days is challenging at any level.

A tough encounter awaited Province on day three, it was forecast, but it never turned out that way. The Griffons, after denting Free State’s hopes with a resounding 41-27 victory in their opener on the first day, seemed set and ready to make a game of it, but they just never got out of the starting blocks.

Maybe the hangover from beating once-mighty derby rivals Free State gave them a false sense of security and drained their cause.

Then again, they were up against a WP side just as determined as they were to stay on the winning trail. And that’s the way it played out. Scorers WP - Tries: Joshua Vermeulen, Cornel Smit, Ernst van Rhyn, Tyreeq February, Ruben de Villiers, George Lourens, Ryan Muller, Damian Willemse, Nico Leonard (2). Conversions: Joshua Vermeulen (4), Cornel Smit (2). Penalty: Cornel Smit. Griffons – Try: Duke Jantjies.