Replacement wing Madosha Tambwe scored a hat-trick as the Golden Lions beat Western Province 60-19 in the U19 Provincial Championship final in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
WP won 11 of their 13 games this season and were favourites coming into this clash, but the Lions dominated from the get-go to clinch the silverware.
The Lions were full value for their victory as they displayed an array of silky skills on attack without lacking the physicality needed in defence to repel WP. Tambwe was the star of the show with three scores in the second half, but fullback Jeanluc Cilliers also deserves credit for his perfect nine-from-nine kicking display off the tee.
The youngsters from Johannesburg sped out to a 27-0 lead via two penalties by Cilliers and three converted tries. Former WP and Paarl Boys’ High star Tyreeq February scored one of the Lions’ tries with a long-range effort.
WP struggled to retain possession, but managed to break their duck in the 30th minute when captain Ernst van Rhyn stretched to score. But the Lions had the final say before the break when flank Edwin Jansen finished off a brilliant team try for a 34-7 advantage.
The second half was less one-sided, but the Lions still outscored their opponents 26-12.
WP narrowed the gap when No 8 Juarno Augustus crossed from a turnover at the lineout. However, their hopes of a comeback were quashed with three Lions tries in the space of 12th minutes. Making matters worse for WP, was Cilliers’ accuracy off the tee. The fullback maintained his 100% record, before being substituted.
David Brits grabbed a late consolation try for WP, but Tambwe wrapped up the result with his third.
Golden Lions – Tries: Stean Pienaar, Ruan Vermaak, Tyreeq February, Edwin Jansen, Hajivah Dayimani, Madosha Tambwe (3). Conversions: Jeanluc Cilliers (7). Penalties: Cilliers (2).
Western Province – Tries: Ernst van Rhyn, Juarno Augustus, David Brits. Conversions: Jondre Williams (2).
Golden Lions U19 – 15 Jeanluc Cilliers, 14 Tyreeq February, 13 Jan-Louis La Grange, 12 Wayne van der Bank, 11 Stean Pienaar, 10 Eduard Fouche, 9 Bradley Thain, 8 Leon Massyn, 7 Hacjivah Dayimani, 6 Edwin Jansen, 5 Reinhard Nothnagel, 4 Ruan Vermaak, 3 Chergin Fillies, 2 Hendrick van Schoor, (c) 1 Leo Burger.
Subs: 16 Justin Brandon, 17 Niell Bezuidenhout, 18 Rouxbann Baumann, 19 Thokozani Skhosana, 20 Patrick Wait, 21 Morne van den Berg, 22 Xander Crause, 23 Madosha Tambwe.
Western Province U19 – 15 Tristan Leyds, 14 Nico Leonard, 13 David Brits, 12 Cornel Smit, 11 Ryan Muller, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Jondre Williams, 8 Juarno Augustus, 7 Cobus Wiese, 6 Zain Davids, 5 David Meihuizen, 4 Ernst van Rhyn (c), 3 Carlu Sadie, 2 Matt Wiseman, 1 Ricky Nwagbara.
Subs: 16 Shane Farmer, 17 Roux Swart, 18 Lee-Marvin Mazibuko, 19 Joa Swart, 20 Johan Visser, 21 Brandon Salomo, 22 Adriaan van der Bank, 23 Troy Payne.
Photo: Louis Botha/Gallo Images
