Though it was ugly and messy, EP still managed to accomplish their mission when they secured a 26-17 bonus point win over the Leopards on Saturday, Elephants coach Allister “Toetie” Coetzee said
In a bone-jarring SA Cup encounter, where tempers boiled over, EP clinched their first home win of the season at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
After defeats against the Pumas and Cheetahs in their opening outings in Gqeberha, EP outscored the Leopards by four tries to two to claim the log points on offer.
Coetzee said he was satisfied with how his team handled the physicality displayed by the Leopards during a confrontational duel.
As has been the case all season, EP’s exciting attacking prowess was on display when Deon Plaatjies, Hannes Huisamen, Jayden Bantom and Wayne Ngubane all crossed for five pointers.
The win has given EP momentum ahead of a tough clash against a high-flying Griquas side in Kimberley on Friday.
“I am happy we got five points out of the match, but it was messy and ugly,” Coetzee said.
“EP were not as clinical as I would liked them to have been.
“It is good to learn when you win and not to always to learn lessons when you lose.
“Our players made so many mistakes today.
“I think the boys thought after last week’s game against the Cheetahs, that it would just happen naturally and we just needed to rock up with the momentum we built.
“The biggest lesson for me from this game is that we have to work for 80 minutes in every game no matter who you play.
“That was the biggest lesson for us to take home.
“The Leopards had so many opportunities in the first half, and we were lucky they did not score more points.
“But I will move away from this game and close the door on it.”
Though he was not satisfied with the manner in which the win was achieved, Coetzee said his team stayed on track by earning five log points.
“I am happy to say that the tries still keep coming,” he said.
“What is happening with this team is they are hungry to score tries and we did it here again even though we were not at our best.
“It was probably our poorest performance of the season, but we still managed to score four tries.
“When the moment is on we snap it up, and there were also one or two opportunities we did not take out there.
“It was a very confrontational game and I knew Leopards coach Matt Proudfoot would get his forwards up to make it as physical as possible.
“But they were the ones who were breaking.
“From a physicality point of view, I am really pleased that EP were not making injury substitutions as the Leopards had to do.
“EP handled the physicality very well and our scrum was outstanding, we bossed the Leopards’ scrum.”
Scorers:
EP Elephants 26: Tries: Deon Plaatjies, Hannes Huisamen, Jayden Bantom, Wayne Ngubane. Conversions: Chris Humphries (3).
Leopards 17: Tries: Bryan Breda, Chris van Heerden. Conversions: Charles Williams (2). Penalty: Williams.
Other results: SWD Eagles 18 Falcons 24, Pumas 110 Border Bulldogs 7, Griquas 42 Boland Cavaliers 36, Cheetahs 38 Griffons 31.
Weekend fixtures: Friday: EP Elephants vs Griquas. Saturday: Border Bulldogs vs Boland Cavaliers, Leopards vs Pumas, Falcons vs Griffons, Cheetahs vs SWD Eagles.
The Herald
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.