The Vodacom Cup Champions
The Pampas XV are Vodacom Cup champions for 2011 after they secured a clinical 14-9 victory over the Vodacom Blue Bulls at the Profert Olen Park stadium in Potchefstroom on Friday night.
The Argentineans boasted the superior scrum and dominated the breakdown, controlled most facets of the match and were never really threatened by the defending champions from Pretoria. The final yielded only one try which was scored by Pampas XV winger Agustin Gosio who ran in his eighth five-pointer of the competition. Gosio ended the competition as the second-leading try-scorer behind fellow teammate Juan Imhoff and DHL Western Province winger JJ Engelbrecht who topped the Vodacom Cup try-scoring chart with 10 five-pointers each.
The other points scored by the Pampas XV in Friday evening’s final came via the boot of Nicolas Sanchez who kicked two penalties and Santiago Iglesias who added one penalty. The Vodacom Blue Bulls’ points were scored by flyhalf Maritz Boshoff who kicked three penalties during the second half.
Sanchez opened the scoring early in the first half before Gosio dived in to score his try which ensured that the hosts enjoyed an 8-0 lead during the first half. Sanchez kicked his second three-pointer of the game just before the break to hand the Argentineans an 11-0 half time lead.
The Vodacom Blue Bulls’ first points of the match were scored in the 50th minute when Boshoff successfully slotted the first of three penalty kicks in the second half (11-3). The Pampas XVs fought back and stretched their lead to 13-3 when Iglesias kicked his first penalty of the evening.
Boshoff went on to convert two further penalty kicks which put pressure on the Pampas XV to defend their five-point lead during the closing stages of the match. However the Argentineans, due to their tigerish defensive attitude, held on and secured their 11th consecutive victory of the competition and claim their maiden Vodacom Cup title.
Scorers:
Pampas XV: Try: Agustin Gosio; Penalties: Nicolas Sanchez (2), Santiago Iglesias.
Vodacom Blue Bulls: Penalties: Maritz Boshoff (3).