A battle supreme is developing in the South Section of the 2008 Vodacom Cup tournament as the top three teams continue to taste success.

Vodacom Free State, Vodacom Western Province and the Boland Cavaliers all recorded their third straight wins at the weekend to open up a five or more point gap at the top and remain on course for the quarter-finals and, ultimately, a shot at the R 1 million prize money.

In the North Section, the Vodacom Blue Bulls won their second consecutive match to leap-frog early leaders Wilderklawer Griquas and the Pumas, who were beaten at the weekend.

Free State lead the South Section with a full haul of 15 points from three starts after a 47-31 win over the Platinum Leopards in Hopetown at the weekend. WP are second a point adrift after a comprehensive 54-21 drubbing of the Valke at Brookside in which centre Daboen Draghoender scored a hat-trick of tries.. The Cavaliers continued their winning run with an impressive 45-7 win over the Pumas in Wellington. It was the Pumas first loss of the season.

The Blue Bulls moved into top place in the North section with a narrow 35-33 win over the BA Mighty Elephants in Port Elizabeth. They are now two points clear at the top.

Reigning champions Griquas were beaten 23-20 by a spirited KZN Wildebeest side in Durban on Saturday. It was the Wildebeest’s first win in three outings.

The Xerox Lions also got their first win of the campaign, beating the Border Bulldogs 35-15 to move into fourth spot in the North section. The SWD Eagles got back onto the winning train, scoring a 24-7 win over the Griffons to move into fourth place in the South Section and remain in contention for the playoffs.

Standings
North Section
Team P W D L PF PA PD TF TA BP Pts
Vodacom Blue Bulls 3 2 0 1 101 76 25 13 8 4 12
Wildeklawer Griquas 3 2 0 1 93 48 45 13 6 2 10
Pumas 3 2 0 1 94 72 22 12 10 1 9
Xerox Lions 3 1 0 2 85 73 12 10 8 4 8
Platinum Leopards 3 1 0 2 88 90 -2 12 10 3 7
Griffons 3 1 0 2 55 102 -47 7 13 1 5
Valke 3 0 0 3 76 121 -45 11 14 2 2

South Section
Team P W D L PF PA PD TF TA BP Pts
Vodacom Free State 3 3 0 0 125 100 25 16 13 3 15
Vodacom WP 3 3 0 0 121 42 79 15 5 2 14
Boland Kavaliers 3 3 0 0 105 54 51 12 7 1 13
SWD Eagles 3 2 0 1 77 92 -15 9 14 0 8
Wildebeest 3 1 0 2 43 89 -46 4 10 0 4
BA Mighty Elephants 3 0 0 3 64 124 -60 7 17 2 2
Border Bulldogs 3 0 0 3 47 91 -44 6 12 0 0

Leading Points Scorers
Player Team Tries Cons Pens Drops Total
Johann Myburg Vodacom Free State 0 12 7 0 45
Rudi Vogt Pumas 1 10 4 0 37
Arno Coetzee Xerox Lions 1 4 7 1 37
Coenraad Fourie SWD 0 7 6 0 32
Isma-eel Dollie Vodacom WP 0 6 6 0 30
Justin Peach Boland Kavaliers 0 4 7 0 29
Anvor Schooney Platinum Leopards 2 4 3 0 27
Francois Brummer Vodacom Blue Bulls 1 4 2 1 22

Leading Try Scorers
Player Team Tries
Terry Jacobs Vodacom WP 4
Alshaun Bock Boland Kavaliers 3
Albertus Parsons Vodacom Free State 3
Phillip Snyman Vodacom Free State 3
Rocco Jansen Vodacom Blue Bulls 3
Dabeon Draghoender Vodacom WP 3
Bjorn Basson Wildeklawer Griquas 3