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
Pages: « 1 … 4 5 6 7 8 [9] 10 11 12 13 14 … 19 » Show All
20 Oct 2012, 21:16 pm
@katman-392: The camera swooped on him in the stands as well
20 Oct 2012, 21:16 pm
@wnbb-382: The poor old sod is probably hanging over a table now staring into bambi’s eyes.
20 Oct 2012, 21:17 pm
Got a feeling Jantjies will not be coming back to ellis park.
This kid should do well with the Stormers and WP pack.
20 Oct 2012, 21:19 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-401: I bet he has the number 1 on his back too.
20 Oct 2012, 21:20 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-396: The should be favourites against our u/21 team.
20 Oct 2012, 21:21 pm
@wnbb-405: they
20 Oct 2012, 21:21 pm
Well done Lions great effort.
Was actually a good game of rugga. Frenetic pace, in difficult conditions.
This De Allende fellow looks the part and should start next week.
Scarra should also start ahead of a fit Liebenberg.
20 Oct 2012, 21:22 pm
@katman-404: It’s fabulous that the gingers once more have a hero of their own. Jannie de Beer and Pollock could only wave the flag for so long……
20 Oct 2012, 21:23 pm
@wnbb-405: WP should start this match with a 30 point handicap
BOOM?
20 Oct 2012, 21:26 pm
@RL-358:
Koebaai teef
20 Oct 2012, 21:27 pm
The Stormers players in the Lions team had a fairly good game.See you lads soon.
20 Oct 2012, 21:28 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-409:
We have made all 3 finals… u19, 21 and senior.
I wonder if there is not a special throphy for this achievement, lol .
20 Oct 2012, 21:29 pm
Louis Schreuder also looked sharp at flyhalf. Carstens and Brok must be sent packing! Piss poor!!!
20 Oct 2012, 21:30 pm
Good day for me as far as sport is concerned.
Even Liverpool won.
20 Oct 2012, 21:31 pm
@Robzim-412: The u19′s probably the best bet for silverware
20 Oct 2012, 21:32 pm
@Robzim-412: Yup, and when you think of how injuries disrupted all 3 teams (the junior teams indirectly…because players kept moving up to the ‘higher team’), it really is a remarkable achievement, all things considered.
U/19′s playing U/21
U/21′s playing Senior
It’s actually been a nightmare of a season for all 3 coaches, so the union must be doing something right
I just have to enlist the help of a pro-googler, so that I can start comparing ‘caps’ between the Guppies and our young team heading off to Durban
20 Oct 2012, 21:33 pm
Interesting. I’ve often though Schreuder would be much better at fullback or flyhalf. Didn’t expect them to gamble at a crucial stage like this though
20 Oct 2012, 21:34 pm
@Robzim , lol!
20 Oct 2012, 21:34 pm
@wnbb-415:
Probably yes…. they have no “superstars” but as a team they play very well.
The under 21′s are more unpredictable but are probably in with at least a 50% chance.
Not so sure about the seniors….. they are certainly the underdogs by quite a margin.
20 Oct 2012, 21:35 pm
@Slappes-418:
Howzit Slappes, U doing well?
20 Oct 2012, 21:37 pm
@mikeybrass-400: i’ve never seen this allende guy before today, brache maybe twice but the former stands up well in contact & makes metres which forced taute to help & thus free the outside players. good few minutes from him.
20 Oct 2012, 21:37 pm
@silent_shadow-417: That move actually shocked me.I was going at the screen…’what the fck is going on here’.
20 Oct 2012, 21:39 pm
Great win for Province. Marius Jonker made my blood boil , hate to say it but think today was our final can’t see us winning next weekend. Prroooooooovince
20 Oct 2012, 21:39 pm
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-416:
Lol, sadly I cannot help you with the googling tonight… need to go and help my wife to finish a braai otherwise we will eat coals tonight…. cheers.
20 Oct 2012, 21:40 pm
@Slappes-418: hoezit slappes…
20 Oct 2012, 21:41 pm
Farken incredibly happy…..beautiful WP….farken beautiful man!!!!
20 Oct 2012, 21:43 pm
Apparently the black people in PE love the Sharks and WP….
20 Oct 2012, 21:44 pm
@Robzim, all good here in CFR mate. Happy for WP… now for those farkin clownfish mercenaries!
20 Oct 2012, 21:48 pm
@Transie, dit gaan goed broer. Drink jy n ietsie vanaand? What you up to tonight..
20 Oct 2012, 21:48 pm
said it before and I’m saying it again.. Taute and Jantjies are not going to do WP many favors I would rather have had them both go to the Sharks.. we far better off without them
WP looked the best they have been all season when De Allende and Schreuder came on at 12 and 10, that was like a master stroke if you ask me..
Against guppies WP maybe should start like this
Pietersen
Aplon
De Jongh
De Allende
Habana
Schreuder
Groom
Vermeulen
Armand
Fourie
Steenkamp
Etzebeth
Malherbe
Ntubeni
Carstens
Harris, Kitschoff, Sinclair, Holmes, Catrakillis, Vd Heever, Brache
20 Oct 2012, 21:50 pm
@grant10-426: Fourie must have warmed your heart again
20 Oct 2012, 21:50 pm
@ahasaid theclown-430: Schreuder came on as 9
20 Oct 2012, 21:51 pm
No way should Pietersen be starting (or kicking) in a crucial game. Most mentally weak player we have by far
20 Oct 2012, 21:51 pm
@ahasaid theclown-430: Putting a scrummie at 10 for the first time and Carstens ahead of Ginger? Smoking crack dude.
20 Oct 2012, 21:54 pm
@mikeybrass-432: he came on at 10.. the best he’s ever played for Province is tonight at 10.. same as the best game Duvenhage ever played for Stormers was at 10 vs Blues in Auckland..
I rather have Schreuder at 10 than Catrakillis,, far more enterprising threat at 10 than the Cat.. that the way to go to disrupt guppies, play Groom , Schreuder at half back and De Allende at inside center,, then you see some fireworks happening at the guppy tank.
20 Oct 2012, 21:54 pm
@Slappes-428:
Cheers slappes… good to hear from u again…if i dont go now my wife is going to moer me so hard u will hear the smack in CFR. cu around..
20 Oct 2012, 21:58 pm
Pietersen will be fine in Durban.. he overcame his jitters tonight.. Catrakillis the wrong option vs Sharks at 10.. play it flat and hard with Schreuder driving the ball up in Lambies face, and Carstens is an old bananaboy workhorse he knows the ropes how to disrupt those dudes, bring Kitshoff and Sinclair on later.. or even start the big boys at back row, Vermeulen, Armand and Sinclair and have Fourie start at 2, Ntubeni and Holmes on bench.
20 Oct 2012, 21:59 pm
so the wp get a chanced to win silverware.
pity its against the sharks.
20 Oct 2012, 22:00 pm
Somebody please explain to me why the Kings signed the WP no. 10? He’s no improvement on what we have.
20 Oct 2012, 22:01 pm
Sharks gonna bottle it up and choke again next week just like they did last year and every time they ever made a final in SR
20 Oct 2012, 22:03 pm
well played weepee – sorry lions.
don’t understand this horseshit about weepee having to borrow u21 players for their 1st team.
weepee have the biggest rugby playing population in the country – by a friggen mile.
by population;
coloureds – mostly into rugby
whites (afrikaans) – almost entirely rugby
whites (english) – mainly rugby
blacks (xhosa) – maybe 40% rugby
above in order of % of population.
now do a similar exercise for the rest of the provinces/franchises and see how they compare.
natal/sharks would come stone last (zulus, then indians, then english whites).
what this says to me is that wp underachieve and sharks/natal overachieve.
put it down to brain power.
20 Oct 2012, 22:03 pm
cute.
this is from a decade losing streak perspective?
20 Oct 2012, 22:04 pm
Lions would have won easily if the played without the players who joined Province. Jantjes and Taute threw the game.
20 Oct 2012, 22:06 pm
@charo-441: its definitely brain power.
in fact, without a natal soutie flyhalf or captain, the boks dont win world cups or even tri nations.
its sad that wp fans think they are relevantg because of the 1980′s.
20 Oct 2012, 22:06 pm
@mxhosa-439: you welcome to him.. except we also made a poor signing.. Jantjies and Taute are no improvement on what we have as back up at 10 and 15
Tonight the first time I seen AC and Fleck take a calculated gamble that paid off.. hooray first time ever they thought outside the staid old box and it worked.. Pietersen and De Allende and Schreuder on for Aplon, Brache and Catrakillis was a masterstroke, Ok Aplon sub was injury enforced but the De Allende to 12 and Schreuder to 10 is actually what swung the game around.. Catrakillis will never offer any threat to Sharks.. but Schreuder and De Allende at 10 and 12 could and would.
20 Oct 2012, 22:08 pm
@ahasaid theclown-435: De Allende at outside ot inside. Juan at inside.
20 Oct 2012, 22:09 pm
Sharks pinch all their players from neighboring provinces.. if it were down to Natal whiteys and Zulus playing for KZN they would be competing with Griffons for a place in the 2nd or 3rd division.
20 Oct 2012, 22:10 pm
@sparticus-446: yeah that the way to go.. JdJ at 12 and De Allende at 13 is the way we can smack those guppies for 6 with Schreuder at 10.. they won’t know wtf actually hit them.
20 Oct 2012, 22:10 pm
@Lang Giel-443: Janjies played well below par yes but not Taute. I would say Butch was the biggest WP benefit
20 Oct 2012, 22:11 pm
@ahasaid theclown-448: sorry yes , meant to say De Allende at outside or 13. He is a natural outside centre/wing
Pages: « 1 … 4 5 6 7 8 [9] 10 11 12 13 14 … 19 » Show All
Have your say
You must be logged in to post a comment.