Old Kingswoodian fly-half Garrick Mattheus was instrumental with the boot as the Eastern Province Kings upset the Vodacom Blue Bulls 19-14 in Saturday’s Currie Cup clash at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
Old Kingswoodian fly-half Garrick Mattheus was instrumental with the boot as the Eastern Province Kings upset the Vodacom Blue Bulls 19-14 in Saturday’s Currie Cup clash at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
The Kings drew first blood through Mattheus, who nailed a penalty from halfway to put them 3-0 up after five minutes.
The game remained evenly poised until the 16th minute, when Bulls flyhalf Josua Stander surged through the Kings defence from his own half, running onto his own chip to score a superb try, which he then converted.
Ten minutes later, Mattheus scored another penalty to reduce the deficit to one point. The Kings took advantage of their momentum when Liam Hendricks dotted down under the posts after 30 minutes. The conversion ensured that the Kings went into the break 13-7 up.
Two quickfire penalties from Mattheus after the break increased the hosts’ lead to twelve points. However, the Bulls responded with a try from Dean Greyling, which was converted by Stander.
Mattheus missed a penalty from just inside the Bulls’ half with 13 minutes left on the clock.
The Bulls responded by camping on the Kings try line throughout the latter stages of the game. However, the hosts’ defence remained resolute.
The Kings will look to carry their good form into next Saturday’s game against Western Province at Newlands as Robbi Kempson’s young side continue their Currie Cup quest.
