|
July 16 - The Free State Under-18 side came out tops in the Craven week when they beat the Golden Lions 28-17 in the main match of the week in Kimberley on Saturday. The Lions,m not as clinical as the winners, probably lost the match in the third quarter when the allowed the free State to stretch their 13-5 halftime lead to 28-5 before bouncing back with two tries in the last 15 minutes.
The Lions initially defended well and looked dangerous with their pack in early control, but then a charge that broke the Lions defensive line allowed the Free State side to open the scoring with a well-taken try under the posts. The Free State were then the better of the two sides for the remainder of the half although the match was far from won. They added two further penalties to an intercept try by the Lions flyhalf Jaco van der Walt who could not convert his own try from touch.
Van der Walt, who otherwise impressed with his general play, also missed an easy kick from right in front before the break as well as a reasonable kick in the second half that could arguably have made a psychological difference to the match in the end failed with four from four on what was simply one of those days all kickers get.
Main problem for the Lions was however not the missed kicks. Their handling and also indecisiveness at times which were well exploited by a sharp Free State side and that ultimately made the difference.
** The Griffonswas the only other defeated team of the tournament. The team from Welkom secured a 34-28 victory over the Valke in a fixture played on the B Field at GWK Park.
** The Pumas consigned Western Province to their second defeat of the Craven Week with their 39-34 victory over the Cape team, while the KwaZulu Natal failed to stop the challenge of the Blue Bulls who went on to claim a 29-8 win in the penultimate match of the day.
|
