Province still on the march

Western Province continued their impressive march in the Currie Cup competition when they recorded a convincing 20-13 win over the previously unbeaten Cheetahs, who are also the defending champions, at a very wet Newlands on Saturday.

Try-scorer: Robbie Diack

The scoreline and the try-count, two to one, flatters the visitors, as they enjoyed total dominance in the set pieces and in territory. But like last week, Province played with the scraps that they won at the breakdowns - repeated turnovers - and certainly made better use of the few opportunities that came their way.

This is an exciting bunch of youngsters who play with enjoyment and enthusiasm, who play the game with passion and are ably led by Luke Watson.

And while on the subject of Watson. What a disgrace that Springbok coach Jake White continues to ignore his claims. Watson is making a mockery of the claims - by White - that he lacks the size and ability to play at the top end of the game.

His leadership and ability at the breakdown is half of what makes this Province team such a special unit. The other half comes from the heart and enthusiasm with which the team plays.

They love an expansive and unpredictable game and thrive on playing into spaces. They love to entertain and do so like true champions.

The down side is that they lost two players to injury - star wing Joe Pietersen being carried off in the ninth minute with concussion after a huge collision with Gaffie du Toit (there were shades of a high tackle) and star hooker Schalk Brits limping off with a serious looking leg injury in the 19th minute.

But their replacements stood their ground - Zhahier Ryland for Pietersen and Huia Edmonds for Brits.

The first half was a carbon copy of last week's win over the Blue Bulls for Province.

It was the home team that played all the rugby, with a high-paced game of unpredictability dominating proceedings. Quick taps, chip-kicks and counter-attacks were all part of the WP approach.

WP were soon rewarded for their endeavours, as Justin Melck opened the scoring in the third minute with a great try. It came from a line-out and WP taking the ball wide, with Melck running a great support angle to collect a pass from Corné Uys to score. Naas Olivier's conversion made it 7-0.

The Cheetahs kept their cool and dominated both possession and territory, with their set pieces and mauling particularly impressive.

But some sound defending and great turnovers - with captain Luke Watson ever present - stopping numerous raids on the Province line.

Cheetahs certainly had their moments and should have scored, but the wet conditions also made ball control very difficult.

It was not before the 35th minute that the next points came. In a rare raid into the Cheetahs 22 WP won a scrum five metres out. Robbie Diack, picking up from the back of a solid scrum, drove past the hapless Cheetah defenders for his team's second try. Olivier made it 14-0 with the conversion.

And the final act of the half belonged to the Cheetahs when they were finally rewarded for their endeavours with a Willem de Waal penalty.

It was indeed a half in which Cheetahs dominated everything, but the scoreboard.

The first act of the second half also consisted of a De Waal penalty, as the Cheetahs edged closer to the WP score.

Both teams then had some good chances of scoring - with Bolla Conradie just failing to dot down after following up a hack through, while a pass to Kabamba Floors five metres from the WP line was intercepted.

With the rain now coming heavier than before, the passing and handling became a lottery.

Province were next to score, as Naas Olivier launched a bomb, the Cheetahs scampered back and were caught in possession and then penalised for holding on. Olivier slotted the penalty for a 17-6 lead.

The Cheetahs continued to dominate possession and territory, but always there were those errors - either a poor kick, a knock-on or a penalty - that stopped the moves.

And in terms of poor options, or should we say shocking options, the biggest culprit was Willem de Waal. He simply kicked far too much possession away - not just aimless kicking, but pretty ordinary stuff as well. Not to mention his poor running lines, which gave his outside backs no chance.

The next score also came from WP, another Olivier penalty after yet another mistake by the Cheetahs. At 20-6 and with four minutes remaining the game was over as a contest.

It was now just a matter of a possible bonus point for the Cheetahs.

They did get that point, when in the dying minutes they drove a maul over from a line-out just five metres out. Replacement hooker Richardt Strauss was credited with the try and De Waal added the conversion to secure the bonus point.

But you almost felt that was more than what the Cheetahs deserved. They looked clueless and their key players were found wanting.

The scorers:

For Western Province:
Tries: Melck, Diack
Cons: Olivier 2
Pens: Olivier 2

For the Cheetahs:
Try: Strauss
Con: De Waal
Pens: De Waal 2

Teams:

Vodacom Western Province: 15 Gio Aplon, 14 Joe Pietersen, 13 Corne Uys, 12 Sarel Potgieter, 11 Egon Seconds, 10 Naas Olivier, 9 Bolla Conradie, 8 Robbie Diack, 7 Justin Melck, 6 Luke Watson (captain), 5 Gerrie Britz, 4 Francois van der Merwe, 3 Brock Harris, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 JD Moller.
Replacements: 16 Huia Edmonds, 17 Schalk Ferreira, 18 Rob Linde, 19 Pieter Louw, 20 Paul Delport, 21 De Wet Barry, 22 Zhahier Ryland.

Vodacom Cheetahs: 15 Bevin Fortuin, 14 Giscard Pieters, 13 JW Jonker, 12 Dale Heidtmann, 11 Gavin Passens, 10 Willem de Waal, 9 Michael Claassens, 8 Ryno van der Merwe, 7 Bian Vermaak, 6 Hendro Scholtz (captain), 5 Barend Pieterse, 4 Rory Duncan, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Jaco du Toit, 1 Ollie le Roux.
Replacements: 16 Richardt Strauss, 17 Wian du Preez, 18 Corniel van Zyl, 19 Kabamba Floors, 20 Falie Oelschig, 21 Gaffie du Toit, 22 Philip Burger.

Referee: Craig Joubert
Touch judges: Phillip de Bruin (Golden Lions), Michael Cupido (Golden Lions)
Television match official: Linston Manuels (Boland)
Selector: Freek Burger
Assessor: Frans Muller (Eastern Province)