Currie Cup Rugby Final 2015: Golden Lions vs. Western Province Score, Reaction

Xerox Golden Lions became the first team since 1996 to finish the season undefeated, beating defending champions DHL Western Province 32-24 on Saturday to win the Currie Cup Rugby final 2015.

SA Rugby Magazine confirmed the final score:

Golden Lions entered the match as favourites after a fantastic 2015 season, but the ultimate test still lied ahead. Western Province were playing in their fourth straight final, having won two of the last three.

The hosts have turned heads with an impressive attack all season long and put tremendous pressure on Western Province early, opening the score after 15 minutes through Warren Whiteley.

Marnitz Boshoff, this year's top point scorer, seemed to struggle early and had already missed two penalties by that point.

Ben Karpinski of the Gareth Cliff Show was almost taunting the 26-year-old:

Fortunately for Golden Lions, Western Province fly-half Robert du Preez also struggled. The youngster smashed a penalty over the dead-ball line and badly missed a penalty conversion, and as a result, the visitors struggled putting points on the board.

Ross Cronje doubled Golden Lions' advantage after some sublime work by Lourens Erasmus and Franco Mostert, breaking down the defenders and setting the half-back up for the score.

It took half an hour for the defending champions to get on the scoreboard, as Du Preez finally converted his first penalty. But just minutes later, Rohan Janse van Rensburg went straight at the Western Province defenders like a battering ram, and Cronje took over the ball to score his second try with a much larger defender draped all over him.

SA Rugby Transfers praised the 21-year-old center who made the initial push:

"

Rohan Janse van Rensburg. Sooner rather than later the Bulls will kick themselves for letting him leave

— SARugbyTransfers (@TransfersRugby) October 24, 2015"

Another Boshoff penalty made it 22-3, before Du Preez scored his side's first try and the final one of the half, taking on the line straight from the lineout and finding enough space to touch the ball down.

Momentum seemed to be in Western Province's favour, but that quickly changed at the start of the second half. The powerful Van Rensburg powered his way through a forest of players, including a team-mate, to restore the 19-point lead, and the title appeared all but won at this point.

The visitors finally started to find a rhythm, however, and Nizaam Carr's first try of the afternoon reduced the deficit to just 12 points. Boshoff pushed it back out to 15 with another penalty, but a Western Province rolling maul saw flanker Sikhumbuzo Notshe score from the back, bringing the defending champions to within eight.

The Currie Cup's official Twitter account noted the visitors started to really threaten:

Golden Lions were pushed back in the final 10 minutes but defended extremely well, avoiding close calls or costly penalties. Western Province had a kickable penalty with less than a minute left but reversed it, and when Rasta Rasivhenge cleared, the match was all but over. Lock Chris van Zyl picked up a late yellow card for charging into a ruck.

Radio host Alex Jay congratulated both teams for serving up such a fine final:

With the win, Golden Lions avenged last year's 19-16 loss and became the first team to finish the season with a perfect record since the Natal Sharks did it in 1996. Incidentally, Sharks won the final that year by beating Golden Lions.

It's the 11th title in Golden Lions history, and after such a dominant campaign, one has to assume they'll be the favourites to win the Currie Cup in 2016 as well. Western Province remains the most successful Currie Cup side ever with 33 titles.

Post-Match Reaction

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