Griffons stun Boland, Eagles get off the mark

ROUND TWO WRAP: The Griffons delivered arguably the performance of the week by edging the Boland Cavaliers 38-35 in a nail-biting Round Two SA Cup match in Welkom to entrench themselves in the top three along with Griquas and the Pumas.

The defending champions from Kimberley and last year’s runners-up from Nelspruit both maintained their winning record.

Griquas beat the Falcons 68-15 at home, and the Pumas beat Eastern Province 61-22 in Gqeberha.

The Cheetahs bounced back to winning ways when they outplayed the Leopards 69-0 in Bloemfontein.

The SWD Eagles also got their first win of the campaign courtesy of a 48-22 victory over the Border Bulldogs in George on Friday afternoon.

After two rounds, three teams are deadlocked on 10 log points, but Griquas lead the standings with a better points differential over the Pumas and Griffons.

Boland is fourth on seven points, followed by the Cheetahs on six, and the Eagles and Falcons on five each.

The top four teams at the end of the single-round league phase will qualify for the Currie Cup.

Next week will see three matches staged on Friday – SWD Eagles host Eastern Province in George, Border Bulldogs entertain Griquas in East London and the Pumas face the Cheetahs in Nelspruit.

Saturday’s two fixtures involve the Leopards against the Griffons in Potchefstroom, while the Falcons welcome Boland Cavaliers to Kempton Park.

Match details and scorers follow below…

Griffons 38-35 Boland Cavaliers

In a nail-biting encounter at the North West Stadium in Welkom, the Griffons gained a thrilling 38-35 victory over the Boland Cavaliers on Saturday.

Both teams scored five converted tries, but the hosts’ successful comeback in the second half, spearheaded by wing Andrew Kota, swung the game in their favour.

Kota scored a try, five conversions and a crucial penalty goal for a personal contribution of 18 points.

The Cavaliers took an early lead, heading into half-time with a 28-7 advantage, which included two tries by former Springbok centre Cornal Hendricks.

The team from Wellington started the second half positively by scoring their fifth converted try, but other than that, the Griffons controlled the second stanza.

They mounted a remarkable comeback, scoring four tries in the second period, with Kota heavily involved.

Centre Chris Hollis scored the winning try in the dying moments to clinch a thrilling contest for the Welkom outfit.

Scorers:

For the Griffons:
Tries: Westraadt, Kota, Hollis, Banda, Mbiko
Cons: Kota 5
Pen: Kota.

For the Cavaliers:
Tries: Hendricks 2, Davids, Opperman, Nxele
Cons: Davids 5

Teams:

Griffons: 15 Keanuy Vers, 14 Quan Eymann, 13 Chris Hollis, 12 Jandre de Beer, 11 Qamani Kota, 10 Duan Pretorius, 9 Richman Gora, 8 Rian Olivier, 7 Thomas Ongera, 6 Mingo Piti, 5 Matt Gray, 4 Lungi Mbiko, 3 Buhle Nojekwa, 2 Simon Westraadt, 1 Xolani Jacobs
Replacements: 16 Willem van den Hever, 17 Mthokozisi Gumede, 18 Junior Banda, 19 Curtly Thomas, 20 Calla Pienaar, 21 Ulrich Stander, 22 Aphiwe Stemela, 23 Kyle Cyster

Boland Cavaliers: 15 Darian Hock, 14 Duren Hoffman, 13 Xavier Mitchell, 12 Cornal Hendricks, 11 Lunathi Nxele, 10 Ashlon Davids, 9 Chriswill September, 8 Thurlow Marsh (captain), 7 Khwezi Mafu, 6 Keenan Opperman, 5 Marlyn Williams, 4 Michael Benadie, 3 Doctor Booysen, 2 Sidney Tobias, 1 Wayrin Losper.
Replacements: 16 Neil Rautenbach, 17 Lamla Nunu, 18 Dayan van der Westhuizen, 19 Schalk Oelofse, 20 Gift Dlamini, 21 Godlen Masimla, 22 Garth April, 23 Jurick Lewis.

Referee: Stephan Geldenhuys

Pumas 61-22 Eastern Province

The Pumas convincingly beat Eastern Province 61-22 in their away game Saturday afternoon at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha after leading 33-10 at the halfway stage.

The men from Mpumalanga, last year’s finalists, outscored their Eastern Cape hosts by nine tries to three, which included a penalty try.

Scrumhalf Ross Braude helped himself to a hat-trick of tries for the Lowvelders, while pivot Clinton Swart kicked five conversions

Scorers:

For Eastern Province:
Tries: Damons, Cupido, Bantom
Cons: November, Humphries
Pen: Humphries

For the Pumas:
Tries: Braude 3, Xamlashe, Van Niekerk, Van der Merwe, Visagie, Msenge, penalty try does not require a conversion.
Cons: Swart 5, Visagie 2

Teams:

Eastern Province: 15 Jayden Bantom, 14 Rodney Damons, 13 Sherwin Slater, 12 Troy Delport, 11 JD Jooste, 10 Chris Humphries, 9 Shirwin Cupido, 8 Athi Manentsa, 7 Laken Gray, 6 CJ Veleman, 5 JJ Scheepers, 4 Stefan Willemse (captain), 3 Zukisa Sali, 2 Deon Plaatjies, 1 Siyakubonga, Nzuzo
Replacements: 16 Masikane Mazwi, 17 Endinako Kuse, 18 Andile Ngonyama, 19 Hannes Huisamen, 20 Keano Botha, 21 Wayne Ngubane, 22 Masixole Banda, 23 Ayabonga Oliphant

Pumas: 15 Jaycee Nel, 14 Stefan Coetzee, 13 Sango Xamlashe, 12 Wian van Niekerk, 11 Darren Adonis, 10 Clinton Swart, 9 Ross Braude, 8 Kwanda Dimaza, 7 Ruwald van der Merwe, 6 Ntsika Fisanti, 5 Tiaan de Klerk, 4 Jeandre Leonard, 3 Sampie Swiegers, 2 Jan-Henning Campher, 1 Dewald Maritz
Replacements: 16 Llewellyn Classen, 17 Stephan de Jager, 18 Eduan Swart, 19 Hanno Theunissen, 20 Andre Fouche, 21 Conor van Eden, 22 Danrigh Visagie, 23 Lundi Msenge

Referee: Sean Muller

Griquas 68-15 Falcons

In Kimberley, the Griquas gave a commanding performance against the Falcons on Saturday, securing a resounding 68-15 victory for the holders.

They set the tone early, racing to a 33-10 lead by half-time due to their five tries and four successful conversions, while the Falcons could only reply with a converted try and a penalty goal.

Their relentless attack continued in the second half, adding another 35 points via five more converted tries to their tally.

Former BlitzBok Gurswhin Wehr scored three times, while Dylan Maart and Gustav du Rand each went over twice.

Tyler Sefoor was on target with five conversions, and his replacement George Whitehead hit the mark with four.

The Falcons managed to score two tries, but it was not enough to challenge the dominant Griquas, who were in fine form throughout the match.

Scorers:

For Griquas:
Tries: Wehr 3, Du Rand 2, Maart 2, Hufke, De Witt, Bester
Cons: Sefoor 5, Whitehead 4

For the Falcons:
Tries: Volschenk, Tshabalala
Con: Fortune
Pen: Fortune

Teams:

Griquas: 15 Cameron Hufke, 14 Dylan Maart, 13 Zane Bester, 12 Tertius Kruger, 11 Gurswin Wehr, 10 Tylor Sefoor, 9 Thomas Bursey, 8 Carl Els, 7 Marco de Witt (captain), 6 Thabo Ndimande, 5 Albert Liebenberg, 4 Dylan Sjoblom, 3 Corne Weilbach, 2 Dandre Delport, 1 Corne Lavagna
Replacements: 16 Gustav du Rand, 17 Leon Lyons, 18 Cebo Dlamini, 19 Athenkosi Khetani, 20 Stephan Smit, 21 Bobby Alexander, 22 George Whitehead, 23 Mnombo Zwelendaba

Falcons: 15 Sergio Stalmeester, 14 Valentino Wellman, 13 Musa Tshabalala, 12 Zeilinga Strydom, 11 Adrian Joubert, 10 Keagan Fortune, 9 Wernich Aucamp, 8 Abulele Ndabambi, 7 Godfrey Muzanargwo, 6 Zander van der Merwe, 5 Andrew Volschenk (captain), 4 Mihlali Stamper, 3 Thabo Ntunja, 2 Pierre Rabie, 1 Kayden Kiewit
Replacements: 16 Joshua Eras, 17 Lindokuhle Seteni, 18 Blaine Golden, 19 Phillip Apea-Adu, 20 Zingisa April, 21 Kelvin Kanenungo, 22 Luciano Elias, 23 Waqar Solaan

Referee: AJ Jacobs

Cheetahs 69-0 Leopards

The Cheetahs recovered from their opening loss last week in Wellington to secure a runaway 69-0 win over the Leopards in Bloemfontein on Friday evening, racing to a 34-0 lead at the break and scoring 11 tries in total, of which seven were converted.

Livewire scrumhalf Jandre Nel was the standout player as he dotted down four times, while Louis van der Westhuizen went over twice.

Fullback Cohen Jasper was among the try scorers and added the seven successful conversions for a personal haul of 19 points.

Scorers:

For the Cheetahs:
Tries: Nel 4, Van der Westhuizen 2, Maartens, Nkabinde, Jasper, Oranje, Britz
Cons: Jasper 7

For the Leopards:
No score

Teams:

Cheetahs: 15 Cohen Jasper, 14 Prince Nkabinde, 13 Raegan Oranje, 12 Jooste Nel, 11 Banie Britz, 10 George Lourens, 9 Jandre Nel, 8 Neels Volschenk, 7 Pierre Uys, 6 Daniel Maartens, 5 Pieter Jansen van Vuren, 4 Carl Wegner, 3 Aranos Coetzee, 2 Louis van der Westhuizen (captain), 1 Hencus van Wyk
Replacements: 16 Vernon Paulo, 17 Matome (Dux) Manyama, 18 Robert Hunt, 19 Mzwanele Zito, 20 Jeandrè Rudolph, 21 Litha Nkula, 22 Ali Mgjima, 23 Michael Annies

Leopards: 15 Lwandile Mapuko, 14 Sino Tshontyi, 13 Andre Grobler, 12 Mihlali Nchukana, 11. Clyde Lewis, 10 Charles Williams, 9 Sylvester Hassien, 8 Gcino Mdletshe, 7 Ghudian Van Reenen, 6 Uzile Tele, 5 Chris Van Heerden, 4 Imaad Phillips, 3 Ig Prinsloo (captain), 2 Jason Alexander, 1 Tatenda Chayayi
Replacements: 16 Liyema Mgwigwi, 17 Dima Lebelo, 18 Michael Ryan, 19 Lead Prins, 20 Arminn Posthumus, 21 Just Verster, 22 Izak Smith, 23 Shaun Baxter, 24 Hanro Potgieter, 25 Ronaldo Fortune

Referee: Paul Mente

SWD Eagles 48-22 Border Bulldogs

The SWD Eagles handed the Border Bulldogs their second defeat of the competition with a 48-22 victory in George on Friday afternoon.

It was a tight affair in the opening half with Border still very much in the picture, with the hosts leading by 19-15 at the break.

The Eagles pulled away in the second stanza as they eventually scored eight tries overall plus three conversions, while Border replied with three tries, two conversions and a penalty goal.

The East London side could not match the intensity of SWD, adding only one more try after the break.

The Eagles turned on the heat in the second stanza to add 28 more points to their tally for a comfortable bonus-point win and their first victory of the season.

Scrumhalf Sachin Toring led the way with two tries and a conversion for the Eagles.

Border flyhalf Maxwell Klaasen had a steady game and slotted two of the three conversion attempts in addition to landing a penalty goal.

Scorers:

For the Eagles:
Tries: Toring 2, Ntsane, Cloete, Stuurman, Basson, Kruger, penalty try does not require a conversion
Cons: Abrahams 2, Toring.

For Border:
Tries: Fatyela, Zozi, Pantyo.
Cons: Klaasen 2
Pen: Klaasen

Teams:

SWD Eagles: 15 Roshwin Abrahams, 14 Rosco Syster, 13 Clive Kruger, 12 Edwin Sass, 11 Mpho Ntsane, 10 Marlo Weich, 9 Sachin Toring, 8 Leighton van Wyk, 7 Dian Basson, 6 Damon Royle (captain), 5 Mncendisi Dwelengu, 4 Ethan Stuurman, 3 Hlomla Zondani, 2 Duke Jantjies, 1 Tandolwetu Matolengwe
Replacements: 16 Wayne Khan, 17 Cole Haggard, 18 Cecil Rittles, 19 Gaywin Smith, 20 Michael Cloete, 21 Quaide Langeveldt, 22 Kurwin Cupido, 23 Jordan Beukes, 24 Stefan Grundling

Border Bulldogs: 15 Mbasa Nkonki, 14 Simthembile Zozi, 13 Awonke Sondishe, 12 Humelo Zitha, 11 Sakhe Dingile, 10 Maxwell Klaasen, 9 Hlumelo Pantyo, 8 Sokuphumla Xakalashe, 7 Hlomla Payi, 6 Oyisa Balekile, 5 Ayabonga Nomboyo, 4 Camagu Dlisani, 3 Hlumelo Nondonga, 2 Mangaliso Zixesha, 1 Luxolo Koza (captain)
Replacements: 16 Kamvelihle Fatyela, 17 Sibusiso Lali, 18 Siphetho Manakaza, 19 Caleb Radcliffe, 20 Uyathandwa Fana, 21 Abdur Ismail, 22 Aphiwe Sidloyi, 23 Ryan Maree

Referee: Dylen November