Du Preez kicks life out of Lions as Western Province triumph

Robert du Preez kicked four penalties and a conversion as Western Province beat the Lions 19-5 in Cape Town to make the Currie Cup final. WP will play the Sharks in Durban.

Du Preez a week ago was man of the match as Province beat the Sharks in Durban in the last league fixture. He will have another chance to put one over his father and brothers when the two teams meet in the final. Robert du Preez senior is the Sharks coach.

The Lions led 5-3 midway through the first half but he last hour belonged to the home team. Pressure resulted in penalties and Du Preez’s boot did the rest.

Western Province scored closed to halftime to take a 13-5 lead and applied slow poison in a second half. The Lions created scoring opportunities but a combination of home team defence and indifferent handling proved their undoing. The Lions turned over the ball 12 times through handling errors and conceded 13 penalties. No team wins easily with that kind of disregard for the ball, especially not in a play-off semi-final.

WP No 8 Nizaam Carr was named man of the match.