Defending Champs Griffons, Heyneke Meyer's Eagles set the pace

WRAP: The Griffons and SWD Eagles are still unbeaten after an action-packed second round of the Currie Cup First Division, which produced three contrasting results on the weekend.

The round kicked off on Friday, when Eastern Province claimed their first win of the campaign with a 45-5 victory over the Border Bulldogs in East London.

On Saturday, the defending champions from Welkom edged the Leopards by 39-38 at home, and the Eagles beat the Falcons 45-24 in George.

After two rounds, the Griffons and Heynake Meyer’s SWD Eagles have set the early pace with two wins for a full house of 10 log points, with the Griffons remaining top on points’ difference.

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Allister Coetzee’s team’s 45-5 bonus-point victory over Border moved them into the chasing group, up to third on six points, level with the Falcons in fourth. The Leopards have four points and Border are still in search of their first win.

Eastern Province claimed their first win in two matches with a dominant 45-5 victory over the Border Bulldogs at Police Park in East London on Friday, producing a clinical seven-try performance in this Eastern Cape derby.

The visitors started sharply as Lwandile Mapuko and Richman Gora crossed inside the first 10 minutes, with Maxwell Klaasen converting both. Border responded through Lwazi Monakali, but EP regained control through a CJ Velleman brace and Kamvelihle Fatyela to lead 33-5 at halftime.

They stayed in charge after the interval, with Athenkosi Khethani adding a second-half try before Velleman completed his hat-trick late on. Klaasen finished with five conversions as the visitors closed out a convincing away win. To compound matters, Border had two players yellow-carded – Sivuyise Mabece in the 39th minute and Thembela Folo five minutes before the end.

On Saturday in Welkom, the Griffons held on for a dramatic 39-38 victory over the Leopards at Down Touch Investments Stadium, securing their second successive win to say top of the standings.

The Leopards led 26-12 at halftime after tries by Siniothando Tshontsyi, Shaun-Christian Baxter and Brandon Keevy, with Jandre Burger adding the conversions, while the Griffons stayed in touch through Simon Westraadt and Clive Kruger before lifting their intensity after the break.

Jandre de Beer and Chris Hollis crossed early in the second half before Chad Tshimanga’s hat-trick swung the contest the hosts’ way. The Leopards struck late through two Ghudian van Reenen tries, but the final conversion drifted wide to leave the Griffons one point clear for a crucial win.

In the third fixture played in George, the SWD Eagles made it two wins from two with a 45-24 victory over the Falcons at Outeniqua Park, underlining their strong start to the campaign.

The hosts dominated the first half, racing to a 35-0 halftime lead through tries by Ulrich Wahl, Janus Venter, Xavier Swartbooi, Ulrich Stander and Nathan Meilhon, with Divan du Toit converting all five. The Falcons were reduced to 14 men when Zander van der Merwe was yellow-carded in the 19th minute.

The Falcons improved after the break as Thabo Ntunja and Lindokuhle Seteni crossed early in the half before late tries by Theuns Pretorius and Blaine Golden. SWD kept control through second-half scores from Matt Gray and Venter to secure another bonus-point win.

Next Saturday in round three, the Griffons host SWD in a top of the table clash in Welkom; EP face Leopards at home in Gqeberha; while Falcons entertain Border in Kempton Park. All three fixtures will start 15.00 SA Time.

Griffons 39-38 Leopards 38

The scorers:

For Griffons:
Tries: Chadrack Tshimanga 3, Jandre de Beer, Simon Westraadt, Chris Hollis, Clive Kruger.
Cons: Adriaan Carelse 2

For Leopards:
Tries: Siniothando Tshontsyi 2, Ghudian van Reenen 2, Shaun-Christian Baxter, Brandon Keevy.
Cons: Jandre Burger 4

Border Bulldogs 5-45 Eastern Province

The scorers:

For Border:
Try: Lwazi Monakali.

For EP:
Tries: CJ Velleman 3, Lwandile Mapuko, Richman Gora, Kamvelihle Fatyela, Athenkosi Khethani.
Cons: Maxwell Klaasen 5

SWD Eagles 45-24 Falcons

The scorers:

For SWD:
Tries: Janus Venter 2, Ulrich Wahl, Xavier Swartbooi, Ulrich Stander, Nathan Meilhon, Matt Gray.
Cons: Divan du Toit 5

For Falcons:
Tries: Thabo Ntunja, Lindokuhle Seteni, Theuns Pretorius, Blaine Golden.
Cons: Sergio Stalmeester 2.