Round One of the Currie Cup
The first round of Rugby's Currie Cup saw the majority of the favorites claiming victory until the Griquas were able to upset the Sharks in what was an exciting try-filled match.
Lions 43 Leopards 13
The Leopards were dealt a drumming at the hands of the Lions in the first round of this year’s Currie Cup. The Leopards were not thought to be able to compete with the Lions in this match, and the Johannesburg side showed why, scoring five tries to earn the bonus point. The away victory for the Lions helped to put them at the top of the group heading into round two.
Blue Bulls 48 Pumas 15
A similar match-up took place between the Blue Bulls and the Pumas last week, as the Blue Bulls looked to defend their title. The Bulls proved why they have been called the class of this year’s Currie Cup. The home town bulls opened up a ridiculous lead, having already earned the bonus point by the 21st minute with a 31-3 lead. In the rest of the game, however, the Bulls seemed to relax a little too much. Allowing an inferior Puma side to crawl back and score 12 points. Despite holding on to the ball for most of the second-half, the Puma’s were not able to take advantage. The Bulls had two tries from John Mametsa and three conversions from Dewald Potgieter.
Western Province 25 Cheetahs 12
In what was a hard fought defensive match, Western Province was able to come away with a road victory against the Free State Cheetahs. The Cheetahs were in penalty trouble for most of the first half despite their fine play. With only two tries scored in the whole day, it came down to man-of-the-match Willem de Waal, who notched six penalties and his team’s conversion to drive Western Province to victory. With the lead at 16-8 coming out of half-time the Cheetahs committed two fouls, and de Waal made no mistake putting both kicks home, to extend the lead to 22-8 in the 45th minute. Louis Strydom converted a penalty of his own for the Cheetahs, but it was too late as Adriaan Fondse scored at the very end of the game to cap off the 25-12 victory.
Griquas 40 Sharks 34
In the upset of the week, the Northern Cape Griquas defeated the Natal Sharks to earn five points and tie atop the table. The Sharks started off the game strong tallying a 22-8 half time lead. However, the Griquas battled back and were able to take the lead in the 65th minute. The Griquas scored two tries quickly after half time and notched both of their conversions to tie the game up at 22 in the 54th minute.
The celebration was short lived however, as the Sharks answered right back on the kick-off scoring a try to regain the lead at 27-22. Two Naas Olivier penalties brought the Northern Cape side the lead, and they did not look back for the rest of the match. Adding two more tries by the 70th minute, even a 74th minute try by the Sharks proved to be too little too late as the Griquas came back to win 40-34. The match featured a total of 10 tries, five each, making conversions and Olivier's penalties the difference.
Table
With such a try-filled first week, in the Currie Cup standings the Lions, Bulls, and Griquas all sit tied with five points apiece, while Western Province sits in second with four points. The Sharks managed to secure a third position, having earned two bonus points in their loss. Meanwhile, the Cheetahs, Pumas, and Leopards sit at the bottom of the table with zero points.
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