Western Province made a winning start to the 2022 U20 Cup and there was a runaway victory for the Vodacom Bulls to place them at the top of the log.

The competition got under way in Pretoria on Friday morning, with the Bulls powering to a 74-28 win over the Leopards on the Loftus B-field.

The home side opened the scoring and dominated the first half, scoring eight tries to a solitary five-pointer by the visitors to enjoy a 50-7 lead at the break. The Bulls did not rest on their laurels, adding a further four tries in the second half with wing Quewin Nortje bagging a hat-trick of tries.

In the second match, also played on Friday, the Lions U20 led 42-0 at half time against Eastern Province when a nearby thunderstorm paused the match for a period of 20 minutes to allow for the lightning to move away from the stadium. It was eventually decided to call off the match as the storm closed in on Ellis Park, with the result awarded to the hosts.

On Saturday, the WP U20 side produced a close-fought 20-17 victory over the Sharks in Durban, with Junior Springbok flyhalf Sacha Mngomezulu securing the points for the Cape side with a late drop goal.

Two tries in the first half and an impressive goal-kicking display from Mngomezulu had the visitors pick up an important away win to start the season.

The KZN outfit struck first with an early try, while WP wing Paschal Ekeji, was forced to leave the field early after taking a knock to the head. However, WP regrouped well and scored 17 unanswered points through two converted tries and a penalty goal in between.

First round results:
Bulls 74 Leopards 28
Lions 42 Eastern Province 0
Sharks 17 Western Province 20

Second-round fixtures on Saturday, 5 March:
11am: Leopards vs Lions – Olën Park, Potchefstroom
12am: Eastern Province vs Cheetahs – venue TBC
1pm: WP vs Bulls – City Park, Cape Town

Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images