A four try blitz from Valke left wing V Wellman helped his team bounce back from a halftime deficit to beat the Eastern Province Elephants 39-23 (halftime 17-23) in their Carling Currie Cup First Division clash at the Bosman Stadium in Brakpan on Friday afternoon.
The bonus point win sees the Valke confirm their spot in the competition semifinals as they move into third place on the log on 18 points with only the Boland Kavaliers in fourth place on 16 points able to move ahead of them during Saturday’s final two games, while the Elephants run in the competition comes to an end with them stuck in fifth place.
In the match it was the visitors who got off to a fast start as flyhalf K September gave them a second minute lead with a successful penalty, before fullback R Arends went over for the opening try in the sixth minute, with September’s conversion putting the Elephants 10-0 up.
The home side then fought back as scrumhalf A Richter got them on the board with a ninth minute penalty before they levelled up the scores as Wellman ran in the first of his four tries in the 18th minute with Richter converting.
The Elephants then edged back in front as September slotted a 25th minute penalty only for the Valke to be awarded a penalty try in the 35th minute as they took a 17-13 lead.
The visitors however finished the half strongly as another September penalty two minutes later was followed by a converted try to right wing D Swanepoel with a minute to go to the break to give the Elephants a 23-17 lead at halftime.
The second half however belonged fully to the home side as the Valke scored 22 unanswered points while fully shutting out the Elephants to seal an impressive comeback win.
Richter got the ball rolling with a 44th minute penalty before a two try blitz in five minutes from Wellman saw him bring up his hattrick as he dotted down an unconverted score in the 61st and then went over for his third in the 66th, with Richter’s conversion putting them ahead 32-23.
Wellman then rounded out his four star performance with a 76th minute try, converted by fullback J Vermeulen as the Valke made sure they ended the match on top and cruised into the competition knock outs.
SCORERS: VALKE
Tries: V Wellman (4), Penalty Try
Conversions: A Richter (2), J Vermeulen
Penalties: A Richter (2)
SCORERS: EP ELEPHANTS
Tries: R Arends, D Swanepoel
Conversions: K September (2)
Penalties: K September (3)