Bulls-bound Maart stars as Griquas outgun Boland
MATCH REPORT: The Griquas continued their hopes of securing silverware with an incredible 59-35 win over Boland in the SA Cup semifinal in Kimberley on Saturday.
With the teams locked at 28-all at half-time, the Griquas produced an emphatic second-half display to book a spot in the final.
The men from Kimberley will now face defending champions the Pumas for the trophy.
*Also read: Pumas edge plucky Cheetahs
Bulls-bound winger Dylan Maart delivered a stand-out performance, scoring a brace of tries for the Griquas.
George Whitehead orchestrated proceedings superbly, controlling territory and tempo.
The second semifinal lived up to expectations, with five tries scored in the opening 20 minutes.
Racing to a 14-point lead, the Griquas stunned the visitors, racing to a 14-0 lead after Cameron Hufke and Dylan Maart dotted down, with George Whitehead slotting both tries.
However, the lead was short-lived as the experience and creativity of the Boland led to three tries courtesy of James Tedder, Jade Stighling, and Domenic Smit. Tedder succeeded with all three conversion attempts, handing the visiting side a 14-28 lead.
The home side would have the final say in the opening half when referee Dylen November awarded a penalty try to the Griquas, levelling matters on the scoreboard as the players headed into the sheds, 28-all.
Firing on all cylinders, both sides came out in the second stanza with the home side calling the shots through passages of relentless attacking phases, leading to a try for Marco de Witt.
A brilliant individual passage 10 metres away from the tryline by Jurick Lewis saw the inside centre canter in for what proved to be the only points for the Sanlam Boland Kavaliers in the second half.
It was a series of errors and missed tackles, leading to the Griquas capitalising and building a substantial lead heading into the final 20 minutes of the match.
Tries for Sako Makata and Lourens Oosthuizen deep in the second half, and with Whitehead’s accuracy off the tee, aided the home side in keeping the scoreboard pressure on the men from Wellington.
The scorers:
For Griquas:
Tries: Maart 2, Hufke, penalty try, Alexander, De Witt, Makata, Oosthuizen.
Cons: Whitehead 7
Pen: Hufke.
For Boland:
Tries: Tedder, Stighling, Smit, Marsh, Lewis.
Cons: Tedder 5
Teams
Griquas: 15 Cameron Hufke, 14 Dylan Maart, 13 Damian Markus, 12 Sako Makata, 11 Gurswin Wehr, 10 George Whitehead, 9 Bobby Alexander, 8 Phumzile Maqondwana, 7 Marco de Witt, 6 Lourens Oosthuizen, 5 Albert Liebenberg (captain), 4 Malembe Mpofu, 3 IG Prinsloo, 2 Janco Uys, 1 Leon Lyons
Replacements: 16 Tiaan Lange, 17 Corne Lavanga, 18 Ntobeko Shezi, 19 Derik Pretorius, 20 Carl Els, 21 Caleb Abrahams, 22 Zane Bester, 23 Connor Mahoney
Boland: 15 James Tedder, 14 Xavier Mitchell, 13 Lunathi Nxele, 12 Jurick Lewis, 11 Jade Stighling, 10 Chris Smit, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Thurlow Marsh (capt), 7 Sibusiso Sangweni, 6 Sauliegh Arendse, 5 Marlyn Williams, 4 Jeandré Leonard, 3 Dayan van der Westhuizen, 2 Joshua Eras, 1 Dewald Maritz.
Replacements: 16 Sidney Tobias, 17 Mthokozisi Gumede, 18 Andrew Beerwinkel, 19 Michael Benadie, 20 Kwanda Dimaza, 21 Chriswill September, 22 Thurlon Williams, 23 Domenic Smit.
Referee: Dylen November
*Additional source: Boland Cavaliers
