What Happened in Round Three of the Currie Cup?
The third round of the 2010 Currie Cup was full of excitement, as all eight teams battled it out over the weekend. Western Province was able to maintain their promising form with another victory, while the Pretoria Blue Bulls continued to struggle, recording their second loss.
Free State 25 Blue Bulls 23
The Free State Cheetahs handed the Blue Bulls their second upset of the 2010 tournament over the weekend.
The Bulls looked strong as they attempted to make up for last week’s loss, scoring the first 10 points of the match in 10 minutes. The Bulls continued to remain in front as Jacques-Louis Potgieter and Louis Strydom twice exchanged penalties, making the score 16-6 in favour of the Bulls in the 37th minute. Strydom continued to generate all of the Cheetahs offence by adding his third penalty of the day in the 40th minute, making the score 16-9 at half.
Strydom came back from half and continued to do it all for the Cheetahs, notching another two penalties. Centre Stefan Watermeyer extended the Bulls lead to 23-15 in the 65th minute.
It was not until the 77th minute that the Cheetahs turned it on, starting with a Robert Ebersohn penalty, followed quickly by a Skipper Bandenhorst try to tie the game. The final Cheetahs run was capped off by an Ebersohn conversion giving the cats the victory in the 80th minute.
Griquas 26 Golden Lions 20
The Griquas started off slow, but put their game together in the second half to record their second win of the tournament.
The Lions opened scoring in the 11th minute with a Jano Vermaak try. The Griquas were only able to notch two penalties in the first half off the boot of Naas Olivier. However, the Lions crossed the line for a second try of the day courtesy of George Earl.
The second half began with a Lions penalty that seemed to spark the Griquas to action. They would record two tries from Jacobie Adriaanse and Bjorn Basson. Olivier would add another penalty to continue his strong tournament and give the Griquas the lead at 20-17. Olivier proved to be the difference late, as another two penalties put the Griquas out of reach and cemented their victory.
Western Province 42 Leopards 23
Western Province continued to be the class of the 2010 tournament by notching their third straight victory, this time over the Platinum Leopards.
Willem de Waal hit his first of three penalties on the day to start the scoring early in the 3rd minute. The Leopards responded quickly with a Neill Jacobs drop goal only a minute later. Brok Harris got the lead back with a try in the 11th minute, while a de Waal conversion made the lead 10-3. The Leopards scored a penalty off the boot of Jean Tiedt, but it was erased by tries from Frikkie Welsh and Paul Bosch to give Western Province a 23-6 lead at half.
Western Province charged into the second half with tries from Pieter Louw, Conrad Hoffmann, and Pieter Myburgh, giving them a 42-13 lead in the 62nd minute. The lead proved to be enough as two late tries from the Leopards could not reduce the deficit and Western Province took the win.
Sharks 27 Pumas 17
The Sharks enjoyed a second half comeback of their own on the weekend, defeating the Pumas on the road.
The two teams exchanged tries and three point scores early in the first half to keep the game tied after the 30th minute. The Pumas, however, looked to be in fine form to start the game and took the lead in the half after scoring a try just before the whistle.
The Sharks came out of the half as the better side as Charl McLeod scored early and Pat Lambie added the conversion to keep the game level at 17. The Sharks' Keegan Daniel nabbed the victory and the bonus point for the Sharks as he crossed the line twice before the 80th minute.
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