DHL Western Province overcame a plucky NovaVit Griffons outfit to secure a bonus-point 47-28 (HT 19-14) Currie Cup Premier Division victory at DHL Stadium in Cape Town on Saturday.
After dropping their last two games in the competition and blowing a 14-0 lead against Griquas last weekend, the Capetonians overcame a strong start by the Welkom outfit to secure their third win of the season.
Going into the match, the Griffons would no doubt have been eyeing another upset after claiming a dramatic 32-28 victory over the Vodacom Bulls in Welkom to mark their first Premier Division win since 1999 and their first win over the Bulls since 1997.
While Province went into the fixture having welcomed back some proper firepower, the visitors got off to the perfect start and scored the opening try in the very first minute as they tore up the hosts' defence with quick hands and elusive running (0-7).
While there were some scrappy stages from both sides in the first quarter, it was the 34-time Currie Cup champions who were guilty of the most handling errors and missed tackles.
It took the men from the Cape 20 minutes to get onto the scoreboard, but once they did, the tries kept coming.
With the Griffons down to 14 men after Domenic Smit was yellow-carded for cynical play, WP finally got some digits when they took advantage and scored a try after a solid maul saw Angelo Davids snipe through the open side (5-7).
Province went ahead after Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu reached over the tryline with fine control. Kade Wolhuter made no mistake with the conversion this time to take the score to 12-7.
The half-hour mark saw the Griffons regain the lead (12-14), but it was short-lived as another maul try followed for the home side to give them the points advantage heading into the shed (19-14).
Both sides bagged a try early in the second half (26-21), and while WP butchered a couple of opportunities thereafter, they made up for those spilt chances with two more tries, while the opposition also bagged one, which saw the score tick to 40-28 with 10 minutes to go.
Province had the final say in the 78th minute when Ruben van Heerden powered his way over for their seventh try (47-28).
Province next face the Toyota Cheetahs in Cape Town on Saturday, while the Griffons will take on the Pumas on Sunday.
Scorers:
Western Province - Tries:Angelo Davids (2), Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Keke Morabe (2), Juan de Jongh, Ruben van Heerden. Conversions: Kade Wolhuter (6)
Griffons - Tries:Carl-Jan Coetzee, Marquit September (2), Robbie Petzer. Conversions: Duan Pretorius, Jaywinn Juries (3). Yellow card:Domma Smit