WP edge Ellis Park epic
20 Oct 2012
RYAN VREDE reports on a 21-16 victory for Western Province who shifted gears in the final quarter to down the Golden Lions in their Currie Cup semi-final.
WP lost twice to the Lions in the league phase, and appeared to be on their way out of the competition before they showed the mettle that has so often eluded them in knock-out matches. This will be an important step in their youngsters’ education, although a far greater test awaits against the Sharks in Durban next week.
The defending champions will lament poor goal kicking, but outside of a try from broken field, they never posed a serious attacking threat.
Defence dominated the first half, with the visitors faring better in the regard. The Lions didn’t test their now famously efficient system (even when Gerhard van den Heever was yellow carded in the seventh minute), refusing to earn the right to play the expansive game they wanted to.
A little more pragmatism in their play would have benefited them, but with their strike runners in the pack seeing too little of the ball and flyhalf Elton Jantjies tucked too deep in the pocket, they were always going to struggle to break down the WP wall. They compounded their problems with poor goal kicking, Jantjies missing three penalties in the first 40, while Ruan Combrink’s 55m effort came up short.
WP looked the more organsied side, playing well through the phases with their forwards. But they showed too little appreciation for the territory game and little inventiveness in the back division initially, Don Armand coming up with their best chance but being held up over the line in his attempt to score.
Demetri Catrakilis kicked both of his penalty goals, giving his side a 6-3 lead at half-time, but Jantjies levelled with a three pointer just after the restart. Then the Lions grabbed the initiative with a try that was birthed from a turnover in their 22m, Michael Rhodes running a good angle to cut through the line. Jantjies converted and the Lions looked galvanised.
The Joburg union upped the ante at the gainline and in their breakdown contesting, which in turn compromised WP’s ability to control the flow and tempo of their attacking play. There were a couple of flashes of brilliance from the Cape side’s backs, but their potency patently lay in their tight play, particularly their mauling. One such surge drove them into the Lions’ red zone, only to see yet another opportunity slip away through a combination of poor ball protection and a rabid Lions ruck assault.
WP gambled by sending on scrumhalf Louis Schreuder to replace ace goal kicker Catrakilis, no doubt hoping the youngster would inject something special into their attacking play. But the Lions were brutal in their defence and reduced their opponents to rudderless messes. With each minute that ticked by, the inexperienced WP side seemed to become more desperate and consequently more loose. This played into the Lions’ hands, as they were able to pick off their targets with relative ease.
The composure they showed under pressure, aided by the experience they were able to introduce off the bench, was impressive. But they finally succumbed, WP fullback Joe Pietersen rounding off a move in which his forwards depleted the Lions’ defensive line superbly. Crucially he missed the conversion attempt, leaving his side down by two, but he made no mistake from a penalty shortly thereafter.
One point game. Four minutes to play.
Jantjies held his nerve with a 78th-minute penalty, leaving the Lions with a desperate closing period, one they couldn’t negotiate successfully, with WP setting up a rolling maul 20m out from goal and rumbling to glory.
908 Comments
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20 Oct 2012, 22:14 pm
@ahasaid theclown-447: yes yes, pat howard is a natal boy playing for wp u21,
laddies love natal, its a place for winners,
20 Oct 2012, 22:15 pm
@ahasaid theclown-435: My apologies. Thought Joe came on for him as Joe was standing in the flyhalf position on many occasions.
20 Oct 2012, 22:16 pm
I still dunno what all the damn comotion was about signing Jantjies.. I wish Sharks had won the bid for him.. he gonna stuff our rugby another backward direction, he’s not the answer I rather have Swiel or Schreuder at 10 than him.
Taute is still a misnomer will wait and see what he offers in the back line but so far I’m definitely not convinced about him at either 13 or 15.
20 Oct 2012, 22:16 pm
On another note Eben Etzebeth is just such a beast. We’re blessed to have this future legend playing for us. He hasn’t reached quite the heroic levels of his domestic form on the internationa stage yet, but this guy must’ve been the best player for Stormers/WP in half the games he’s played. Absolute monster and there’s still a lot more to come from him.
Will never forget how he knocked down Bismarck at Newlands. For an instant I thought this team may have had a real chance with someone like him to lead them in the team, of course Joe P did his thing where he competely choked under any sort of pressure and the rest of the team promptly followed lead.
And I agree with De Allende at centre. Seemingly coem out of nowehere but a player who always gains ground with ball in hand. Not a big Brache fan myself. Think his moments are few and far between, don’t rate his decision making and overall just think he falls short on nearly every level in terms of making it as a top class rugby player.
20 Oct 2012, 22:16 pm
SHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARKSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
home final.
who will lamboe handoff this time?
20 Oct 2012, 22:17 pm
@rangerman-444: Technically Joel was at WP in ’95
20 Oct 2012, 22:19 pm
cant wait for the wp light five vs the sharks monsters,
no place to hide.
20 Oct 2012, 22:19 pm
Poor handling and Jantjies playing his shittiest game of the season cost them tonight. Lions should have wrapped this game up with 10 minutes to go. How about that hyped up front row of Province getting murdered at scrum time. Some of you talking about Jantjies playing against a dominant pack at Province. Talking about hype… I see some of you are already hyping up this De Allende kid. Yes… he played good against guys who already had a hard 65+ minutes behind them. Sharks will be too strong at King Park next weekend.
20 Oct 2012, 22:19 pm
@ahasaid theclown-447:
so skoppie, you admit then that natal have very few natural rugby resources.
yet they have achieved above average over the last 20 years?
can only be brain power.
much like the japanese in the world economy?
20 Oct 2012, 22:20 pm
@rangerman-451: all your natal boys that schooled up there who come here say that WP is by far the better place to play and have a good time.. ask Stransky, ask Peter Grant, ask James Small (who schooled in Jhb but played for Natal before WP), ask Luke Watson, ask Bob Skinstadt, ask anybody who started off at KZN and finished up at WP which is the better place to be.
20 Oct 2012, 22:21 pm
@mikeybrass-456: he was ja, but he was natal educated (maritzburbg college like butch and peter grant)..
its ok, sharing is caring and we had honiball from bergville…
20 Oct 2012, 22:24 pm
@charo-459: its all the money that they invested in other provinces talents.. so if that equates to brain power then perhaps they can claim that as their success story..
20 Oct 2012, 22:25 pm
@rangerman-461:
i see this armande bloke is also a maritzburg college lad.
our little soutie province does it’s bit to contribute to the superpowers of sa rugby.
20 Oct 2012, 22:25 pm
@ahasaid theclown-460: a list of trophyless players (with wp) IS your reasoning?
loser
@Tuna-458: hahaha, just shows the wishful thinking about jantjies is all about race rather than ability.
pat lambie is the man.
end of.
20 Oct 2012, 22:27 pm
@charo-463: haha, *** head s like snoeky and co will eat their own puke before they recognise this.
it makes me so happy.
20 Oct 2012, 22:29 pm
@ahasaid theclown-462:
but……
how did they get this money?
simple, from the outset of pro rugby they were the smartest.
promoting the brand, merchandise, worldwide recognition etc…
things only the bulls have woken up to a few years later.
weepee are still decades behind because they are fat and lazy.
the result of having the biggest pool of talent on their doorstep.
20 Oct 2012, 22:40 pm
Well done Wp a good win.
Jantjes cost the Lions the match, 5 missed kicks. eish eish eish
20 Oct 2012, 22:42 pm
@charo-466: Hiyas Charo,
Thank goodness the Sharks now have a decent backup 10 for next year
20 Oct 2012, 22:42 pm
@ahasaid theclown-469:
have you always been a weepee supporter?
to me, the weepee fan club have had it easy for so many years.
because they have been one of the “superpowers” of sa rugby and could afford to be arrogant.
us long suffering natal/bananaboy supporters have taken the jibes for many years because our team was exciting but not very successful.
so, do you see the difference?
“old” natal supporters are more genuine than “old” weepee supporters.
because we have had to endure more – that’s all.
20 Oct 2012, 22:47 pm
@ahasaid theclown-470:
my height and my weight – just a little younger!
why should weepee be his first allegiance?
you underestimate the strength of the maritzburg college family.
even pieter dixon came back to his roots
20 Oct 2012, 22:48 pm
@ahasaid theclown-473: What about all the WP players playing for other unions at the moment huh kom snor ?
Sharks have had their share of Currie Cup silverware over the last couple of years ? What have WP had pielkop ? Fokkol. We not retrieving results back to the 1880s when WP played against themselves in the Currie Cup.
20 Oct 2012, 22:50 pm
@sharks_lover-474:
good news – thought he had decided to retire.
his wife is the daughter of my doctor – she is a beaut of note!
20 Oct 2012, 22:50 pm
@rangerman-477: WP should have been relegated. Sharks, Lions, Bulls, Cheetahs have all won Currie Cups in the last W0 years. WP should have f##ked off to the first division.
20 Oct 2012, 22:52 pm
@Dusky-480: @charo-478: @rangerman-477: Chaps, in all honesty arging with thaat old **** is as good as going to groen Dakkies and arguing with a oke thats in a vegetable state, seriously he must be one of the sadest loneliest people on earth,
His life revolves around insulting people and there place of living to make himself feel good about himself,
20 Oct 2012, 22:53 pm
@rangerman-468:
Just a quick one.
Well done to your team, they were very good today and are certainly overwhelming favourites to win next week.
The other thing I want to mention is the under 21 game…. a few weeks ago you were having a larf at the wp team after the sharks thrashed them… you also asked whether Swiel was playing as you never saw him doing anything.
I guess you saw him today making that match winning long flat pass to send Howard over for the match winning try ending the hopes of the sharks in the process?
Things can quickly change in this game…. the winner today is the loser tomorrow…. or how did Bob Dylan say?
20 Oct 2012, 22:54 pm
@charo-482: Cool, and nope it seems he has agreed to play for the Sharks and will be our backup 10, I am however not sure if it is also on loan from the Lions or a perminent move
20 Oct 2012, 22:56 pm
@charo-478:
your weigh and height, lol.
Old surfers never die…… they just grow bigger like the waves they “conquired” in the old days
Well done to your team….. now you have both your number one and two teams in the final, lol..??
20 Oct 2012, 22:58 pm
@Robzim-490: Rob, congrats on your teams win.
20 Oct 2012, 23:00 pm
@ahasaid theclown-487: Ag dis ok poesneus. Jou mamma kan my ballas suig as sy wil. Sonder haar tanne in asseblief. Terwyl sy besig is, drink ek ‘n lekker whisky.
20 Oct 2012, 23:01 pm
@sharks_lover-491:
Thanks man, same to you… sharks were all over the bulls and Lambie gave Morne a masterclass in how a modern flyhalf should play. I guess the vibe after the game was great or did the rain put a damper to it?
20 Oct 2012, 23:02 pm
@ahasaid theclown-489: Ja ou kom snor.
20 Oct 2012, 23:04 pm
@ahasaid theclown-493: ****** suiplap
20 Oct 2012, 23:07 pm
@rangerman-496:
Yeah, we going to tie Pat to an oak tree in stellenbosch to make sure he dont run back to bananaland
20 Oct 2012, 23:10 pm
@Robzim-498: hahaha, looks like a good idea lol.
going spearing in ponto d’ouro in two weeks time.
can barely sleep i am so excited!
20 Oct 2012, 23:10 pm
@Robzim-494: Nope Rob Vibe was great, the fires are still burning, the band is playing and the peeps are partying.
20 Oct 2012, 23:17 pm
@rangerman-501:
Thats cool…the bug seems to have bitten you big time, it is a great passtime indeed, takes much more skill then people think. I will probably do a few wreck dives (scuba) this summer and will also take out a rock lobster license again… our RL season starts soon, but it is quite restricted these days in order to make more RL available to the subsistence guys who catch it in traps or hoop nets…… and who poach like there is no tomorrow….sad story indeed.
20 Oct 2012, 23:17 pm
@rangerman-504: Ranger the conditions in the stadium were very difficult, players were struggling to get distance with kicks today.
20 Oct 2012, 23:20 pm
@ahasaid theclown-499: Jou ma se goed gebruikte, stink ou gwaf man.
20 Oct 2012, 23:21 pm
OH AND NIKITA DARLING!!!!!!!!! Hope you see this tomorrow,
what was that about the Sharks losing and you are never wrong???? ag need Skattie totally wrong.
I will await the post of apology
20 Oct 2012, 23:26 pm
@rangerman-512: He sure did, I am busy watching the game on telly now, Actually the Ref was nort bad but he did do us in with a try, When Lambie chipped the ball and we scored Lawrence called us back but there was no reason for him to have called us back.
The try should have stood,
20 Oct 2012, 23:27 pm
HUge thunderstorm in PMB tonight
20 Oct 2012, 23:39 pm
its funny watching a jew try become as facist as the people who persecuted jews and tried to wipe them out.
i guess its the same as the generational struggle we have with leaders in africa who learnt their trde from colonial/ racist regimes and cant find a way to re-invent the system they inherit.
its kind of pathetic but should be hammered at every turn imo.
20 Oct 2012, 23:41 pm
@Tuna-458: You do realise that the WP front row that started were all U21 ? The if you take into consideration that Etzebeth is also 20 you have some context about the hype.
20 Oct 2012, 23:46 pm
i sense a nokia novel coming on
snoeky, in advance i suggest you come to peace with yourself before you try to advise a man like me ok?
i am off.
well done sharks! and wp.
bad luck lions and bulls you were worthy adversaries.
have a good weekend all.
20 Oct 2012, 23:47 pm
What do Skop and Poppa have in common? The talk turns nasty the moment they enter the room and the sane people leave, only to return at the end,
21 Oct 2012, 00:00 am
@rangerman-530:
Please **** off now. Please.
21 Oct 2012, 00:07 am
@ahasaid theclown-533:
A bunch of naaiers live in Durban. Look at Zuma. What a vraat.
21 Oct 2012, 00:11 am
is ja, Skop. Dit gaan nag vir hulle wees volgende Saterdag.
21 Oct 2012, 00:27 am
CONGRATULATIONS…and CELEBRATIONS…
HAPPY TIMES are HERE AGAIN…
PRRROOOOOOOOOOOOVVVIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNCCCEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Oh, and well done sardientjies.
Volgende week gaan julle kak in Kakfontein…sorry Kings Park.
21 Oct 2012, 00:37 am
@ahasaid theclown-538: hi skop…did you see hougaard your favourite put on a f.cuk deluxe performance today after jano was subbed?
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