De Villiers and SWD stun WP XV with exceptional second half
South Western Districts stunned the Western Province XV and, seemingly, most of the spectators, with a stunning fightback in the second half of their Grant Khomo Week showdown in Gqeberha on Wednesday.
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After being 0-22 down with only a couple of minutes left in the first half, SWD started to hit their straps by giving the ball, in extremely windy conditions, as much air as possible.
That approach opened up space for them to exploit, which they did well. Captain and no. 8, Jacobus de Villiers, just as he had on the first day, led from the front.
The Province XV struggled to find any answers to his physicality as he bashed his way over the advantage line countless times. De Villiers also broke through to score a try, which put his team within touching distance of victory. Alongside him, the replacement flank, Zay-winn Januarie, put in a massive shift in support of his captain.
Cayden Snyman stood out for the WP XV. Playing at inside centre, he worked well in space out wide and twice opened up the SWD defence to cross for tries. His contribution of 10 points was one of the main reasons why the side from the Western Cape took early charge of the contest.
With seconds left on the clock, and the scoreboard reading 31-29 in favour of the Western Province XV, a good passage of play from SWD finally paid off as utility back, De Andre Meintjies, was put into space, and he rounded off in the corner to seal a barely believable and very special victory for his side.
Border showed signs of real class, especially in their backline, in an 11-point win over the Griffons. Aaron James, at inside centre, was phenomenal on defence and attack.
James upset the Griffons’ attempts at continuity, laying down the law with his big hits, and a piece of individual brilliance from the no.12 also brought him a fantastic try, much to the delight of the crowd.
Dirkie Lochner, Namibia’s scrumhalf, and hooker Marius de Villiers, both dived over twice in their 31-7 win over Border Country Districts. Their try scoring exploits wouldn’t have been possible without a wonderful performance from the Namibian pack, which laid a solid foundation for their dangerous backline to get going.
Scorers
South Western Districts 34 (8) – Tries: Zay-winn Januarie, Qlin Booyse, Adrian Smith, Jacobus de Villiers, De Andre Meintjies. Conversions: Qlin Booyse (2). Penalty: Caleb Williams. Western Province XV 31 (22) – Tries: Cayden Snyman (2), Caleb Bell. Conversions: Achmar Behardien (2). Penalties: Caleb Bell (2).
Border 21 (14) – Tries: Nongalethu Mxoli, Liyabona Mayikana, Aaron James. Conversions: Liyema Tsoko (3). Griffons 10 (10) – Tries: Shelvon Mabodi, Lyle Afrikaaner.
Namibia 31 (12) – Tries: Dirkie Lochner (2), Marius de Villiers (2), Johann Jankowitz. Border Country Districts 7 (0) – Try: Indiphinde Ngoma. Conversion: Kamva Nkwentsha.
Other results:
Limpopo 29 (10) – Tries: Ziahn Lombaard (2), Stephan Janse van Rensburg, Barnabas Nyamakupe, Rirhandzo Mido. Conversions: Juan Randall (2). Zimbabwe 18 (13) – Tries: Jacob Viki (2), Lee Chigumba.
Free State XV 17 (17) – Tries: Johan Dormehl (3). Conversion: Aiden Cloete. Valke 15 (10) – Tries: Almero Gerritson, Matthew van Deventer. Conversion: Vaughn Steynvaart. Penalty: Steynvaart.
Free State 22 (10) – Tries: Ruan Roux, Steven Muller, Niel du Randt, AJ Hendricks. Conversion: Lamla Mgedzi. Pumas 0.
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