PORT ELIZABETH, April (ANA) – A total of 56 tries were scored across the rugby fields of South Africa as the SuperSport Rugby Challenge kicked off in impressive fashion over the weekend.
On Sunday, 22 of those came from the Wolfson Stadium in Kwazakhele, Port Elizabeth - the venue of the first Rugby Festival, which is unique to the SuperSport Rugby Challenge.
In the main match, Western Province started the defence of their title in impressive fashion, beating the EP Elephants 59-12, scoring nine tries to two. The vision of the visiting backs to spot gaps in the EP defence proved decisive, with three of their first-half tries coming from such play, to contribute to a 26-7 lead at the break.
The second half saw more excellent tries from the Cape side as they used their bench to good effect.
Earlier on Sunday, the Boland Cavaliers romped home 51-24 (half-time 8-17) against the Border Bulldogs, also at the Wolfson Stadium. It was expected that the East London team would be coming in cold due to their lack of preparation, but their start surprised all.
Two tries in the first half gave them some momentum and when Athenkosi Manentsa scored his second for Border early in the second half, they were still in the match. That competitiveness disappeared quickly though as the heat and lack of preparation then started to affect the Bulldogs efforts.
The Boland side started to score at will, and winger Charles Mayeza bagged himself a hat-trick. - African News Agency (ANA)
