The Eastern Province Kings were well beaten by the Boland Cavaliers in the Absa Currie Cup First Division Final on Friday afternoon when they went down 43-12 in Wellington.
The Kings will be dissatisfied with their performance, as their ill-discipline and weak defence allowed the Cavaliers to dominate from the outset.
The Eastern Province Kings were well beaten by the Boland Cavaliers in the Absa Currie Cup First Division Final on Friday afternoon when they went down 43-12 in Wellington.
The Kings will be dissatisfied with their performance, as their ill-discipline and weak defence allowed the Cavaliers to dominate from the outset.
Having trailed 13-7 at the break, the Kings would have felt that they were in with a shot at retaining their 2010 title. However, a yellow card late in the first half to centre Jaco Bekker gave the Cavaliers the advantage of numbers on the pitch, which they converted to figures on the scoreboard.
From there on in it was one-way traffic as the Cavaliers piled on the points against a woeful and somewhat depleted Kings side, who were without the services of talismanic skipper, Luke Watson.
The Cavaliers added five tries in the second half as the Kings were torn to pieces after a second yellow to replacement hooker, Bobby Dyer.
Despite some enterprising play by burly eighthman Jacques Engelbrecht and some elusive running by fullback SP Marais, the Kings were simply nowhere. They struggled to mount successful attacks due to some poor handling and were constantly stifled by the many penalties they conceded.
The Cavaliers took almost every opportunity that came their way and blew the Kings out of the contest with their speedy backline. SA Sevens star, Danwell Demas was at it again when he scored twice in the final (having scored four tries against the Kings in their last encounter), while flyhalf Elgar Watts’s intelligent boot kept the visiting Kings at bay all afternoon.
The Kings will end up lamenting what could have been, because they spent most of the tournament as outright favourites. Several injuries to key players such as Siya Grey, Luke Watson, De Wet Barry and Wayne Stevens played a vital role in the dwindling form of the Kings towards the latter stages of the tournament. Still, the injuries have allowed the Kings to assess their depth and their structures, ahead of their impending inclusion in the 2013 Super Rugby tournament.
It is pleasing to see young talent like SP Marais and George Whitehead emerging through the ranks. The First Division has provided the ideal stepping stone for the Kings to blood their youngsters, but much hard work will need to be done before they dive into the depths of the toughest domestic rugby competition in the world, the Super 15.
Good news for the Eastern Province region, though, is that former Springbok, Stormers and Bath loose forward, Luke Watson, will be there to lead the side into Super Rugby glory in 2013.
Boland Cavaliers 43 – Tries: Clemen Lewis, Ligtoring Landman, Brendon April, Danwel Demas (2), Zandré Jordaan. Conversions: Elgar Watts (2). Penalties: Watts (3).
EP Kings 12 – Tries: Andile Witbooi, Bobby Dyer. Conversion: Louis Strydom.
