Valke, Griffons and EP dominant in Currie Cup First Division action

The Valke, NovaVit Griffons and Eastern Province may have booked their places in the Carling Currie Cup First Division semifinals with three more victories this weekend, but a lot can still happen before the final standings are confirmed after next weekend’s last round of league action.

The Phangela SWD Eagles currently sit in fourth spot on the log, but they can be pipped by the fifth-placed Leopards. The two teams play each other next weekend, which is effectively a quarterfinal, but the Border Bulldogs are out of the running.

The top three teams on the log all recorded comfortable victories this weekend, with EP too good for the Bulldogs in the Eastern Cape Derby with a 44-20 win on Friday.

On Saturday afternoon, the Valke and Griffons each scored half-centuries of points – the East Randers beat the Eagles by 54-26 in Kempton Park, and the Northern Free Staters smashed the Leopards by 59-7 in Potchefstroom.

Despite winning all four of their games to date, the Valke can still lose their top spot on the log to the Griffons, while the Elephants also have an outside chance of finishing top of the log, making the final round a crucial one for all involved.

EP OVERCOME BORDER

On Friday, EP controlled their encounter with the Bulldogs from start to finish. They led 27-3 at the break and added a few more tries in the second half to cruise to a solid win, with Rodney Damons scoring twice for the hosts at the Madibaz Stadium.

In Kempton Park, the first half was very tight and the Valke went into the break at the Barnard Stadium leading by only 14-7, but they pulled away in the second half for a big win.

Mbembe Payi scored a hat-trick for the hosts and Valentino Wellman chipped in with a brace as they ended up scoring eight tries to four, which included a penalty try for the Eagles.

The Leopards came up against a purple wave at Olen Park, with the Griffons outscoring their hosts by nine tries to one. The visitors led by 33-0 at the break. Ulrich Stander and Ngia Selengbe scored two tries apiece, while the top points’ scorer in the competition, Andrew Kota, contributed 19 points with a try and seven conversions.

Apart from the “quarterfinal” between SWD and the Leopards in George, the other games will see the Valke travel to Gqeberha to take on EP, while the Griffons host the Bulldogs in Welkom.

SCORERS:

Eastern Province 44 (27) Border Bulldogs 20 (3)

EP – Tries: Enrique Franks, Rodney Damons (2), Stefan Willemse, Davian Swanepoel, Masikane Mazwi, Diego Williams, Jayden Bantom. Conversions: Oliver Zono, Chadwin November.

Border – Tries: Oyisa Balekile, Esethu Zenani. Conversions: Maxwell Klaasen (2). Penalty goals: Klaasen (2).

Valke 54 (14) Phangela SWD Eagles 26 (7)

Valke – Tries: Ezrick Alexander, Valentino Wellman (2), Mbembe Payi (3), Eddie Evans, Kelvin Kanenungo. Conversions: Keagan Fortune (3), Sergio Stalmeester (4).

SWD – Tries: Mpho Ntsane, Marlo Weich (2), Penalty try. Conversions: Sachin Toring, Weich.

Leopards 7 (0) NovaVit Griffons 59 (33)

Leopards – Try: Ricardo Fourie. Conversion: Charles Williams.

Griffons – Tries: Willem van den Hever, Buhle Nojekwa, Ulrich Stander (2), Richman Gora, Quan Eymann, Ngia Selengbe (2), Andrew Kota. Conversions: Kota (7).