Coach Hawies Fourie’s decision to make sweeping changes to his Sanlam Boland Cavaliers team worked a treat on Saturday after an emphatic 71-21 SA Cup win against the Phangela SWD Eagles at the Boland Rugby Stadium in Wellington. Halftime score 50-7.
It is the Cavas’ second win in the competition and a much needed one after two away losses to the NovaVit Griffons and Valke that also forced Fourie make wholesale changes to the Round Four SA Cup matchday squad.
The changes turned out to be inspiring as the Kavas ran in 11 tries in a one-sided affair in which the opponents had no answer for the hosts’ physicality and clinical attacking prowess as the Sanlam Boland Cavaliers took a 50-7 halftime lead.
Xavier Mitchell, moved from outside centre to left wing, opened the scoring for the home side when he dotted down for his first of two tries in the opening five minutes of the game.
The Eagles had two opportunities to strike back soon after but could not convert on two penalties inside Cava’s half as the visitors’ lineout got pinched twice by the home side lock Michael Benadie after the Eagles decided not to take the options of a penalty goal.
Soon after, the Cavas opened the floodgates as Eagles fullback Roshwin Abrahams was yellow-carded for slapping down the ball with the home side hot on the attack.
The Sanlam Boland Cavaliers capitalised as three tries in quick succession by James Tedder, Riaan Louw, and Lunathi Nxele gave them a 26-0 lead after 20 minutes played. More five-pointers followed as Mitchell and Nxele both scored their second of the day, and giant second-rower Benadie also crossed the chalk to put the home side 43-0 up.
A lapse in concentration by the Cavas then allowed the visiting side to open their account with right wing Kirwan Cupido diving over untouched before the home team made sure they have the final say before halftime as hooker Sidney Tobias brought up the 50 on the scoreboard with his try from a powerful lineout maul.
Fourie will, however, not be happy to see his team make a drop-off in intensity and discipline as Nxele got sin-binned in the second half as the Eagles struck early through a Dian Basson try before replacement Kavas hooker HP van Schoor also drove over from a maul.
JP Duvenhage crossed for the Eagles’ third five-pointer as the Cavas started to ring the changes off the bench and lost a bit of cohesion on the attack.
But as soon as the Cavas rediscovered their mojo, they made sure they had the final say in the game as Taine-Randall Booysen scored his side’s 10th try before Van Schoor completed his brace
The big bonus-point win sees the Cavas reignite their SA Cup campaign and also stay in the hunt to qualify for the Currie Cup Premier Division.
Scorers:
Sanlam Boland Cavaliers 71 (50) – Tries: Xavier Mitchell (2), James Tedder, Riaan Louw, Lunathi Nxele (2), Michael Benadie, Sidney Tobias, HP van Schoor (2), Taine-Randall Booysen,
Conversions: Tedder (8)
Phangela SWD Eagles 21 (7) – Tries: Kirwan Cupido, Dian Basson, JP Duvenhage
Conversions: Marlo Weich (3)