The Valke remained unbeaten with a 25-22 victory over Border on day three of the U18 Academy Week in Paarl on Wednesday.
On day one, the Valke clinched a thrilling 39-36 win over Griquas and they continued the trend of securing dramatic victories with this nail-biting result against Border.
In a game where attack triumphed over defence, both sides were evenly matched as they scored four tries each. The goal-kicking, however, was poor with both kickers only able to convert one of their four conversion attempts. Ironically, a penalty proved the difference in the end as Derik Bierman nailed the match-defining kick for the Valke.
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In what was billed as the match of the day in this festival, Western Province made light work of the Sharks as they powered to a 67-14 victory. Xavier Adams scored a hat-trick, while his WP teammates Louwan Horn and Raven Smith bagged a brace each. The Sharks were limited to one try either side of the break.
In the upset of the day, Zimbabwe produced a surging second-half performance to thrash the Blue Bulls XV 44-19. In the end, the Zimbabweans outscored the Bulls seven tries to three.
Elsewhere, the Sharks CD claimed a comfortable 29-14 victory over the Leopards, the SA LSEN (Learners with Special Education Needs) staged a dramatic second-half comeback to stun the Valke CD 26-22, Namibia ground out an 18-15 victory over Griquas and Boland easily downed the Pumas 41-24.
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Day 3 results:
Valke 25 Border 22
Western Province 67 Sharks 14
Zimbabwe 44 Blue Bulls CD 19
Sharks CD 29 Leopards 14
SA LSEN 26 Valke CD 22
Namibia 18 Griquas 15
Boland 41 Pumas 24
Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
