Ken Borland

Western Province were grateful for the services of an ace goalkicker in Tim Swiel as they edged out the Sharks 32-31 in their Currie Cup match in Cape Town on Wednesday evening, the flyhalf succeeding with all eight of his kicks at goal.

Western Province were outscored four tries to two by the Sharks, but Swiel’s man-of-the-match display ensured they were in the lead for almost the whole game. The Sharks led twice, taking a 21-19 lead into halftime after a sensational run by wing Thaakir Abrahams from his own 22 set up scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse for his second try; and then flyhalf Curwin Bosch kicked an easy ruck penalty to put them 31-29 up with just four minutes remaining.

But as happened so often in the game, the Sharks messed up the restart, being penalised for hands in the ruck, and Swiel nailed the kick to make the final score 32-31.

But the hardworking flank Thembelani Bholi won a turnover penalty in the final minute, only for Bosch to kick the ball dead, Western Province then stealing the lineout throw to notch their first win at Cape Town Stadium.

Western Province fullback Sergeal Petersen had an elegant response to the halftime deficit as he cut the line soon after the restart and then passed to powerhouse eighthman Evan Roos, who muscled over the tryline with only scrumhalf Hendrikse fighting a lone and futile battle to try and bring him down.

It was yet another moment of sloppiness by a Sharks side who played some beautiful rugby, but were beaten by a team that simply made fewer mistakes.

Not even dominating the lineouts and scrums could win the game for the visitors, who dominated territory and possession. That allowed them plenty of opportunities to maul from the lineout, from which three of their tries came, but Western Province’s new-look side proved their character by winning against the run of play.

Scorers

Western Province: Tries – Paul de Wet, Evan Roos. Conversions – Tim Swiel (2). Penalties – Swiel (6).

Sharks: Tries – Thembelani Bholi, Jaden Hendrikse (2), Fez Mbatha. Conversions – Curwin Bosch (4). Penalty – Bosch.

Replacement flyhalf Tim Swiel kicked a 77^th minute penalty and sealed a 25-22 win for the Stormers over the Sharks in their Rainbow Cup match at a wet and miserable Kings Park in Durban on Saturday.

The penalty was awarded when Sharks loosehead prop Ox Nche was caught scrumming in at a set-piece inside the 22. The Sharks then lost a lineout, for the fifth time, inside Stormers territory and spent the final minute desperately trying to run the ball out of their own 22 before a knock-on ended the game.

The Sharks started the game strongly and were 10-0 up after the first quarter as their dominance of the early scrum exchanges led to flyhalf Curwin Bosch kicking a phenomenal angled penalty from 60 metres out and Nche forcing his way over for the opening try.

But a patch of very poor rugby by the Sharks around the 25^th minute then saw the momentum shift and the Stormers gained the ascendancy for the rest of the first half. A couple of iffy tactical kicks by Bosch allowed wing Edwill van der Merwe to counter-attack from 65 metres out and he put in a brilliant run, helped by dismal Sharks tackling, and scored under the posts.

Van der Merwe scored a second try shortly before the break as the Stormers went into halftime with a 12-10 lead.

The contributions of loose forwards Pieter-Steph du Toit and Siya Kolisi in the early stages of the second half will please people who have the Springboks’ interests at heart, but it was Du Toit who made the more lasting impact and was declared man of the match at the end of the tight contest.

Du Toit started the second half superbly by surging over for a try from 30 metres out after hooker Bongi Mbonambi and scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies had combined well off a lineout drive, putting the Stormers 19-10 up.

But Sharks scrumhalf Jaden Hendrikse then took a quick tap-and-go at a penalty and passed out wide to Kolisi, who bumped off a tackle, made a break and then sent wing Yaw Penxe racing away for the try.

The Sharks scored again two minutes later in freakish fashion to take a 22-19 lead. The Stormers were hard on attack when a pass rebounded off the head of Sharks fullback Aphelele Fassi, who was always quick to get off the line in defence.

Fassi beat Van der Merwe to the ball, kicked through and scored. Some people may have been concerned about the legality of the try coming so soon after Du Toit had tapped a penalty, but he had already run five metres while the Sharks were retreating so the home side were not offsides.

But the Sharks’ ill-discipline cost them in the end as prop Thomas du Toit then blocked Pieter-Steph du Toit off the ball, allowing Swiel to level the scores in the 55^th minute.

A yellow card to wing Sbu Nkosi in the 69^th minute, after repeated team infringements, did not help the Sharks’ cause, and ultimately they were their own worst enemies with too many soft moments.

Scorers

Sharks – Tries:  Ox Nche, Yaw Penxe, Aphelele Fassi. Conversions: Curwin Bosch (2). Penalty: Bosch.

Stormers – Tries: Edwill van der Merwe (2), Pieter-Steph du Toit. Conversions: Abner van Reenen (2). Penalties: Tim Swiel (2).

Western Province snatched a last-minute 31-29 win over the Free State Cheetahs in their Currie Cup match in Bloemfontein on Saturday, in what may turn out to be a landmark moment in the careers of flyhalf Tim Swiel and tighthead prop Neethling Fouche.

The 27-year-old Fouche is a journeyman who went from Grey College in Bloemfontein to the University of Pretoria, but failed to cement a place with the Bulls. He then joined Western Province but has again only enjoyed sporadic appearances. On Saturday, coming on as a replacement for the formidable Frans Malherbe, Fouche conceded a scrum penalty to Free State’s behemoth loosehead Boan Venter, which allowed the Cheetahs to snatch a 29-28 lead.

But with the final hooter imminent, Western Province were awarded a scrum and Fouche managed to turn the tables and win a penalty against Venter.

Step up Swiel, also 27 and who played nine times each for Western Province and the Sharks, before heading back to England, where he was born, in 2014 to play for Harlequins and Newcastle. He returned to Cape Town this year but initially had to play second fiddle while the more flamboyant talents of Damian Willemse were tried at flyhalf.

But on Saturday, from 49 metres out and on an angle, Swiel was able to land the penalty and keep Western Province on course for a home semi-final; if he had missed, they would have slipped to fourth on the log and been in danger of missing the playoffs all together. His kick has also ended Free State’s hopes of defending their Currie Cup title.

Swiel had earlier landed six other penalties as Western Province punished the ill-discipline of the Cheetahs and took a 23-9 lead after 53 minutes.

But then Free State wing Rosko Specman made his mark, first of all sparking the counter-attack, Venter showing his all-round skills with a good run and slick hands, which allowed the home side to kick a penalty to touch, setting the rolling maul from which hooker Wilmar Arnoldi scored.

Two minutes later, fullback Clayton Blommetjies fielded a kick ahead by Western Province around the halfway line and sliced through a gap in the chase line, before feeding Specman, who raced away to score and suddenly the match was all square at 23-23.

It was an astonishing comeback because for most of the first hour, Western Province had looked in firm control. Their industrial-strength scrum and the Cheetahs’ own ill discipline was earning them a steady flow of penalties. As the first half came to an end, it was still a tightly-fought contest on the scoreboard though with the visitors only 12-9 ahead.

But a massive eight-man scrum allowed Swiel to kick a penalty deep inside the Free State 22. Hardworking loose forward Jaco Coetzee then burst around the front of the lineout and, with the Cheetahs expecting a maul, there was only one defender in front of him, the poor scrumhalf, and he blasted over for the try to give Western Province a 17-9 lead at the break.

Two offsides penalties early in the second half stretched that to 23-9 and the contest looked over. But Free State mounted a ferocious comeback and Western Province were hard-pressed to hold their nerve in the end.

Scorers

Free State Cheetahs – Tries: Wilmar Arnoldi, Rosko Specman. Conversions: Francois Steyn (2). Penalties: Steyn (5).

Western Province – Tries: Jaco Coetzee, Bongi Mbonambi. Penalties: Tim Swiel (7).

*Lions fullback Tiaan Swanepoel will return from Nelspruit with 22 points in his property as he spearheaded their 33-25 win over the Pumas on Saturday.

The hard-fought triumph means the Lions are still in the hunt for a home semi-final, with Swanepoel’s two tries and four penalties playing the major role in that.

*The Sharks posted a comprehensive 47-19 win over Griquas in Durban which ended their two-match losing streak.

They are now level with the Lions on 33 points, two points behind the Bulls and Western Province.

Next week’s matches between the Bulls and Lions and Western Province and the Sharks will be crucial in deciding who gets home semi-finals.