Deja vu at Ellis Park as Whitehead clinches Currie Cup title for Griquas
MATCH REPORT: Griquas stunned the Lions to win the Currie Cup title dramatically by 27-25 at Ellis Park on Saturday.
The Lions would’ve had PTSD after the title had been snatched from their grasp in the same fashion for the second consecutive year through a late penalty kick.
Griquas broke a 55-year drought to claim the coveted title in the professional era.
It was a Final for the ages, and will be spoken about for decades to come.
*To recap all the action, CLICK HERE!
The Lions showed their intent to run the ball as soon as they got their hands on it in the opening minutes.
The Griquas, however, scored against the run of play after just two minutes.
A loose pass by the Lions was kicked ahead by Gurswin Wehr and collected by Cameron Hufke to go over the line and converted by George Whitehead.
Returning Springbok prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye knocked the ball on inside his own 22 metre area to gift the Griquas an attacking scrum.
Griquas kept matters tight with their forwards before Whitehead got a wide ball away to Wehr, who dotted down in the corner.
After a TMO consultation, it was ruled that he had been tackled into touch by Quan Horn, and the Lions got out of jail.
Hufke nailed a 50/22 kick moments later and gave his side another attacking opportunity inside the Lions’ red zone.
The visitors formed a rolling maul before launching an attack and earned a penalty for offside in front of the posts.
Griquas declined the three points and opted for the five-metre line-out, and it backfired as the Lions stole the ball.
The visitors, however, earned a second bite of the cherry after a poor exit by Chris Smith.
Griquas opted to maul once more and used their forwards to bash it up, but a heroic play by WJ Steenkamp to get hands on the ball and win the breakdown penalty saved the day once more.
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Currie Cup Winners!! pic.twitter.com/TS51Do6IFJ
— Griquas Rugby (@GriquasRugby) September 20, 2025
Back-to-back penalties allowed the Lions to strike back, and they earned another penalty for no release in the tackle in front of the posts.
The Lions opted for a goal as Smith slotted the first points in the 20th minute with a penalty kick.
A counterattack sparked by captain Horn saw him get his pass away to Kelly Mpeku, who went over in the 24th minute to score the Lions’ opening try. Smith added the extras.
The Lions knocked the ball on off the restart thanks to a solid chase by Maart, and Griquas earned the attacking scrum.
Griquas bashed it up again and got over the line, but was held up.
They went back for a Griquas penalty with the Lions being offside, and the visitors opted for the tap-and-go play.
The decision paid off as Lourens Oosthuizen barged over to get the lead back in the 29th minute, with Whitehead adding the extras.
Gustav Erlank lost the ball in contact after the restart, and the Lions got an opportunity this time around to strike back.
The Lions attacked strongly, but a knock on in the tackle by Griquas gave the hosts another attacking set-piece.
They earned a penalty advantage off the scrum, but it wasn’t needed as Richard Kriel sliced the Griquas defence open in the 35th minute to score. Smith added the conversion.
Griquas had a final attacking opportunity before half-time through a line-out, but a penalty for obstruction made it all undone.
Smith tapped the ball and kicked it into the main stand to end the first half battle.
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The Lions lost playmaker Smith three minutes into the second half after getting his head on the wrong side of the tackle he made on Erlank, and was replaced by Lubabalo Dobela.
Griquas won a penalty soon after in front of the posts and this time opted for the points.
Whitehead slotted the kick to level matters in the 45th minute.
The Lions struck back immediately after a miscommunication by Griquas under the high ball when Henco van Wyk grabbed the bouncing ball and went over in the corner in the 46th minute. Dobela missed the conversion.
Griquas won a penalty moments later after the restart for a tackle in the air, and Whitehead kicked to the corner.
The visitors formed the maul before going wide to Maart, but he got held up over the line.
Later, the Lions won a scrum penalty and opted for the five-metre line-out.
The hosts earned another penalty and rolled the dice once more, which led to another penalty and a team warning to Griquas.
The Lions opted for the line-out again, and this time it backfired as a crooked throw by Morné Brandon resulted in a free kick to Griquas.
Back-to-back penalties gave Griquas an entry into the Lions’ red zone.
They earned another penalty and opted for the line-out drive before breaking away.
Griquas kept matters tight until the ball became unplayable in the breakdown, and the visitors earned the attacking scrum.
The visitors gave it another go and conceded another penalty, which resulted in a team warning to the Lions.
Griquas opted for the tap play again and bashed it up before going wide to Mnombo Zwelendaba, who scored out wide in the 73rd minute.
Whitehead added the conversion to take the lead for his side.
The Lions almost struck back through Angelo Davids, but a heroic defensive effort by Maart saw Davids tackled into touch centimetres from the line.
The Lions attacked and earned a penalty inside Griquas’ half and opted for the shot at goal.
Dobela slotted the kick with just over a minute to go to reclaim the lead for the Lions.
Griquas had one last chance to snatch the win as the full-time siren went off.
They attacked wide before Renzo du Plessis came up with the big play to win a penalty, which many would’ve thought was the end of the match.
Referee Christopher Allison consulted TMO Egon Seconds to check for a possible deliberate knock-on by Ruan Delport, which resulted in a penalty to Griquas.
Whitehead stepped up and slotted the winning kick to win the Currie Cup in dramatic fashion.
Player of the match: George Whitehead’s flawless display off the kicking tee proved to be crucial, but our player of the match goes to Dylan Maart. The winger’s work off the ball and with the ball in hand made life difficult for the Lions.
Scorers:
For the Lions:
Tries: Mpeku, Kriel, Van Wyk
Cons: Smith 2
Pens: Smith, Dobela
For Griquas:
Tries: Hufke, Oosthuizen, Zwelenedaba
Cons: Whitehead 3
Pens: Whitehead 2
Teams:
Lions: 15 Quan Horn (captain), 14 Kelly Mpeku, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Richard Kriel, 11 Angelo Davids, 10 Chris Smith, 9 Nico Steyn, 8 WJ Steenkamp, 7 Ruan Venter, 6 Jarod Cairns, 5 Ruan Delport, 4 Dylan Sjoblom, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye (vice-captain), 2 Franco Marais, 1 SJ Kotze.
Replacements: 16 Morné Brandon, 17 Juan Schoeman, 18 RF Schoeman, 19 Darrien Landsberg, 20 Renzo du Plessis, 21 Haashim Pead, 22 Lubabalo Dobela, 23 Rynhardt Jonker.
Griquas: 15 Cameron Hufke, 14 Dylan Maart, 13 Zane Bester, 12 Mnombo Zwelenedaba, 11 Gurswin Wehr, 10 George Whitehead, 9 Caleb Abrahams, 8 Gustav Erlank, 7 Carl Els, 6 Lourens Oosthuizen, 5 Albert Liebenberg, 4 Derik Pretorius, 3 Cebo Dlamini (captain), 2 Janco Uys, 1 Eddie Davids.
Replacements: 16 Tiaan Lange, 17 Leon Lyons, 18 IG Prinsloo, 19 Marco de Witt, 20 Phumzile Maqondwana, 21 Thomas Bursey, 22 Tom Nel, Connor Mahoney.
Referee: Christopher Allison
Assistant referees: Cwengile Jadezweni, Stephan Geldenhuys
TMO: Egon Seconds
