Damian Willemse’s last-gasp penalty goal secured a thrilling 46-45 Currie Cup victory over the Blue Bulls at Loftus Versfeld on Sunday.
The result was the Blue Bulls’ third loss in a row and for Province ensured they remained in the top three.
JD Shickerling opened the scoring for the visitors in the seventh minute but in-form Warrick Gelant hit back for the hosts two minutes later.
Robert Du Preez scored a try he duly converted to hand his side a 17-7 lead after the 15-minute mark.
However, the Bulls responded before half-time with two successive tries, first from Nic de Jager and then Edgar Marutlulle to take a slender 19-17 lead in to the break.
Shortly after the interval, Province regained the lead courtesy of Nizaam Carr. But the topsy-turvy nature of the game continued as Piet Van Zyl restored parity.
Soon after, Seabelo Senatla and Huw Jones scored a try apiece as the visitors gave themselves some breathing space with a 38-26 lead.
But a try from Duncan Matthews put the Blue Bulls within striking distance again but Senatla grabbed a brace to restore a seemingly unasaillable lead at 43-31.
However, the Blue Bulls scored two further tries via Ulrich Beyers and JT Jackson but it was not to be as substitute fly-half Willemse’s last-minute penalty gave Province a memorable win.
The scorers:
For Blue Bulls:
Tries: Gelant, De Jager, Marutlulle, Van Zyl, Matthews, Beyers, Jackson
Cons: Boshoff 3, Jantjies 2
For Western Province:
Tries: Schickerling, Du Preez, Carr, Senatla 2, Jones
Cons: Du Preez 5
Pens: Du Preez, Willemse
The teams:
Blue Bulls: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Duncan Matthews, 13 Burger Odendaal (captain), 12 John Jackson, 11 Johnny Kotze, 10 Marnitz Boshoff, 9 Ivan van Zyl, 8 Nic de Jager, 7 Tim Agaba, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Aston Fortuin, 4 Ruben van Heerden, 3 Conraad van Vuuren, 2 Edgar Marutlulle, 1 Pierre Schoeman.
Replacements: 16 Johan Grobbelaar, 17 Dayan van der Westhuizen, 18 Jano Venter, 19 Johannes Prinsloo, 20 Piet van Zyl, 21 Tony Jantjies, 22 Ulrich Beyers
Western Province: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 EW Viljoen, 12 Huw Jones, 11 Werner Kok, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Cobus Wiese, 6 Jaco Coetzee, 5 John Schickerling, 4 Chris van Zyl (captain), 3 Frans van Wyk, 2 Ramone Samuels, 1 Jacobus Janse van Rensburg.
Replacements: 16 Dean Muir, 17 Allister Vermaak, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Jan de Klerk, 20 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 21 Dewaldt Duvenage, 22 Ruhan Nel
Referee: Jaco van Heerden
Assistant referees: Jaco Pretorius, Egon Seconds
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