Province take five in Brakpan

Western Province took a full five points from their trip to Brakpan on Friday night, when they beat a brave Falcons outfit 40-31 at the Bosman Stadium. Province outscored the home team by six tries to four, but some of the more entertaining rugby came from the Falcons.

Some locals will claim that the scoreline flatters WP and that it was only poor goal-kicking that prevented the home team from having recorded a famous win. Falcons fly-half Louis Strydom failed with three conversions and a couple of penalties on a rare off night with the boot.

That meant the Falcons took only one point, when at times five points looked a distinct possibility.

Province won the game thanks to their superior forward power, with four of their six tries the direct result of some powerful driving and mauling. And captain fantastic, flank Luke Watson, scored his customary try for his team - one of the four coming from the pack.

The best part of this trip for Province - one which coach Kobus van der Merwe dreaded because of the dangers of a night game in Brakpan against a fired up opponent - is that the Cape Town side are now handily placed in the race for the play-offs.

It may be a long way to go yet, but four wins from five starts means they are real contenders - which is a far cry from the pre-season expectations, when it was suggested that WP would struggle to reach the play-offs.

For once Province did not display their creative instinct - which won them their last two games, against the Blue Bulls and Cheetahs - and it was indeed the Falcons who entertained the Brakpan faithful.

While fly-half Louis Strydom and fullback Riaan Viljoen had a dismal night with the boot, with the ball in hand they were far more impressive - with Viljoen in particular devastating with his counter attacking from the last line of defence.

Not only did he create numerous opportunities for his teammates - such as wing Mpo Matsaung's try - but he scored one of his own and came close on another occasion. He had a night to remember.

The Falcons remained within striking distance throughout the first half and trailed only 21-19 at the break. In fact the home side had taken a 16-7 lead after about 30 minutes, with WP's seven points coming from an early Corne Uys score.

Sixteen unanswered points from the Falcons in 20 minutes tells a story of its own - the home team was competitive for large parts of the game.

In the early stages of the second half, with replacement Sean Plaatjies in particular impressive form, they looked capable of causing an upset.

But in the end it was the Province pack's pure power that ruled the day and their four tries were ample proof of their ability to score when it mattered most, even though it may not have been as entertaining as the rugby produced by the home team.

But the scoreboard doesn't care how the points came and for WP it was a win, a god win, and a full five points that took them to second place on the standings - for at least 24 hours.

The scorers:

For the Falcons:
Tries: Viljoen, Matsaung, Senekal, Pretorius
Con: Viljoen
Pens: Strydom, Viljoen 2

For Western Province:
Tries: Uys, Watson, Harris, Melck, Shimange, Seconds
Cons: Olivier 5

Teams:

Falcons: 15 Riaan Viljoen, 14 Yannick Wombo, 13 Sam Willard, 12 Hanno Coetzee, 11 Mpho Matsaung, 10 Louis Strydom, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Michael Vermaak, 7 Jacques Nieuwenhuis, 6 Piet Krause (captain), 5 Nico Luus, 4 Ryan Strudwick, 3 Philip Lemmer, 2 Frik Venter, 1 Zane Killian.
Replacements: 16 Gavin Whittingham, 17 Piet Grobler, 18 Dewald Senekal, 19 Bosman Grobler, 20 Sean Plaatjies, 21 Morné Adams, 22 Riaan Hefer.

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

Referee: Tappe Henning
Touch judges: Stuart Berry (KwaZulu Natal), Fakumile Yamile (Eastern Province)