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March 12 - The Golden Lions won their first match in this year’s Vodacom Cup competition when they beat the Boland Cavaliers 32-10 at Moorreesburg on Saturday.
The Lions scored four tries to one with a good second following an average first 40 minutes - – and conversely the Cavaliers’ game petered out after the break which was taken with the Lions only 7-3 ahead.
The Cavaliers hit their straps from the word go and were especially impressive at scrum time. But they didn’t use all their scoring chances when they got close to the line.
The Lions had fewer opportunities and their attacks were one-dimensional. Indeed, spectators had way more fun having their pictures taken with Springbok scrumhalf Ricky Januarie and Bok coach Peter de Villiers, who attended the game.
A solo try by Tonderai Chavhanga gave the Lions their halftime lead, but the Cavaliers were still very much in control of business.
That was, however, until No 8 Zandré Jordaan was shown yellow 15 minutes into the second period after referee Archie Sehlako had given Boland a few warnings for illegal play at the breakdown. Eventually somebody had to pay and that someone was the almost irreplaceable Jordaan.
While he considered his sins the Lions scored 17 points, the first of which came in the form of André Pretorius’s boot. This former Springbok seemed to have little trouble kicking against the wind, slotting three conversions and two difficult penalties.
Gaps then started to open in Boland’s defence, with Alwyn Hollenbach and Jonathan Mokuena making use of their side’s numerical advantage.
Those 10 minutes messed up Boland’s chances and even when the Lions’ David de Villiers was shown yellow about 10 minutes before the end, the Cavaliers just couldn’t get back into the match.
Scorers:
Boland: Bolla Conradie. Conversion: Willie le Roux. Penalty: Le Roux.
Golden Lions: Tries: Tonderai Chavhanga, Alwyn Hollenbach, Jonathan Mokuena, Dries van Schalkwyk. Conversions: André Pretorius (3). Penalties: Pretorius (2).
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