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Western Province and Free State to face-off in Grant Khomo main match

By Willem Louw , in Rugby | News , at 2023-06-28 Tags:

GrantKhomoWeekFree State will play against Western Province in the main match on the final day of the Grant Khomo Week on Thursday.

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The Free State team beat Border 29-20 on the first day and the Lions 20-9 on the second day.

This team made up mostly of Grey College players was one of the favourites coming into the tournament and is now only one step away from repeating the success of 2022, when they beat the Sharks in the main game 39-18.

Ethan Adams (centre) has shown how destructive he can be and, apart from a yellow card on the second day, he’s been faultless for Free State.

Thristan Maree (fullback) has also been a real asset for his team, expertly controlling the game from the back.

Brendon de Wee (scrumhalf), from Fichardtpark, has also been very involved, quick to get to the rucks and not afraid to do some of the hard cleaning work when necessary.

Western Province earn their place in the finale after beating Boland 41-12 and fighting hard to get a 25-18 comeback victory against the Bulls.

Jadon Ocks (winger), one of the six players in the WP squad who are playing on their home ground at Boland Landbou, has been a stalwart for his team. He has fielded kicks in challenging conditions all week, without error, and he has shown his pace down the line.

The Parel Vallei flyhalf, Leighton Brinkhuis, has also been one of the standout players of the tournament. He was extremely effective in the game against Boland and played a pivotal role in the match against the Bulls.

Both these teams deserve their spot in the final match and there will be no outright favourites for the game on Thursday.

In the penultimate fixture, it will be a jukskei derby when the Lions take on the neighbouring Blue Bulls.

The Blue Bulls side laden with Affies boys has performed well, beating the Sharks in a nailbiter on the first day (31-27) before narrowly losing out to WP on the second (25-18).

The Lions beat the Valke on the first day (39-7) and lost to the Free State (20-19) after that.

Clinton Agu, the Lions’ hooker from Marais Viljoen scored a hat-trick on the first day. At 85kg he is by no means the heaviest player at the tournament, but he is a strong runner and not afraid of going into contact.

Jeandre Uithaler, the Noordheuwel fullback, has been at the heart of the Lions’ attack, whether he is running into space, distributing down the line, or directing with his kicking game, he has been instrumental for his team.

The Affies boys, Zirk Meyer (scrumhalf) and Ruben Groenewald (flyhalf) have stood out for the Blue Bulls.

They combine excellently to control the attack and give the Bulls two effective kicking options around the ruck to control their field position.

The fixtures for the final day are:

A field: 08:30 – SWD Eagles vs Pumas; 09:50 – Boland vs Eastern Province; 11:10 – Western Province XV vs Sharks; 12:30 – Blue Bulls vs Lions; 13:50 – Western Province vs Free State.

B field: 08:30 – Limpopo Blue Bulls vs Zimbabwe; 09:50 – Griquas vs Namibia; 11:10 – Leopards vs Border.

C field: 08:30 – Border Country Districts vs Free State XV; 09:50 – Griffons vs Falcons.

Willem Louw
error: Sorry ol' chap, those shenanigans are not permissible.