Griquas give Cheetahs a rugby lesson in Bloem
MATCH REPORT: Griquas will be a force to be reckoned with in the Currie Cup play-offs after they showed off their title credentials with a 40-10 win over the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein on Friday.
Pieter Bergh’s side outscored their opponents by six tries to two in the Round Six showdown, and they find themselves on top of the standings ahead of Saturday’s fixtures.
Five of those tries came in the first half as the visitors produced an attacking masterclass to race to a 33-5 half-time lead.
Griquas have now won five matches in a row since their Round One defeat to the Pumas in Nelspruit.
They will end the league phase with a match against the Lions at Ellis Park next weekend.
It’s a disappointing result for the Cheetahs after they entered the match at the top of the standings. They will face the Bulls in Pretoria in the final round.
It was a fast start from the visitors, and some swift attacking play resulted in flyhalf George Whitehead running into space to score his team’s first try in the third minute.
There was some more brilliant rugby after that, and it was sparked by Griquas’ back three. After a quick tap penalty and some great interplay between the outside backs, centre Zane Bester was put into space to run in for his team’s second try in the sixth minute.
It got even better for the visitors in the 15th minute when scrumhalf Caleb Abrahams caught the Cheetahs off guard at a scrum before accelerating down the blindside to score Griquas’ third try,
After being under the pump for most of the first half, the Cheetahs finally got their first points in the 26th minute when Marko Jansen van Rensburg found his way to the tryline after a powerful driving maul.
However, Griquas were just sensational with ball in hand, and the bonus point was secured in the 30th minute when wing Gurswin Wehr collected the ball from a skip pass before swerving past Clayton Blommetjies to run in for a five-pointer.
To rub salt into the Cheetahs’ wounds, Griquas also had the final say in the first half, with Cameron Hufke going over for his team’s fifth try after his teammates ran the home side ragged once again.
It became a bit of an arm-wrestle in the first 20 minutes of the second half before the Cheetahs’ hopes were well and truly crushed in the 63rd minute when Wehr raced away for his second try.
Griquas were reduced to 12 players with nine minutes left on the clock after Leon Lyons, Abrahams and Albert Liebenberg all received yellow cards in a five-minute window for cynical play and repeated infringements.
The hosts made the numerical advantage count in the 72nd minute with Daniel Maartens going for a try after another driving maul.
Man of the match: The award goes to Griquas flyhalf George Whitehead, who was outstanding on attack. He terrorised the Cheetahs with ball in hand and played a big role in several tries.
The scorers:
For Cheetahs:
Tries: Jansen van Rensburg, Maartens
For Griquas:
Tries: Whitehead, Bester, Abrahams, Wehr 2, Hufke
Cons: Whitehead 5
Yellow cards: Leon Lyons (Griquas, 67′ – cynical play at the line-out); Caleb Abrahams (Griquas, 71′ cynical play, offside); Albert Liebenberg (Griquas, 72′ – repeated infringements, offside)
Teams:
Cheetahs: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Prince Nkabinde, 13 Marco Janse van Vuren, 12 Carel-Jan Coetzee, 11 Cohen Jasper, 10 Franco Smith, 9 Rewan Kruger, 8 Neels Volschenk, 9 Mihlali Mosi, 6 Gideon van der Merwe, 5 Victor Sekekete (captain), 4 Juan Venter, 3 John-Kelly Okonkwo, 2 Marko Jansen van Rensburg, 1 Hencus van Wyk.
Replacements: 16 Vernon Paulo, 17 Cameron Dawson, 18 Frankie Dos Reis, 19 Pierre-Raymond Uys, 20 Daniel Maartens, 21 Jandré Nel, 22 Ali Mgijima, 23 Michael Annies.
Griquas: 15 Cameron Hufke, 14 Dylan Maart, 13 Zane Bester, 12 Mnombi Zwelenedaba, 11 Gurswin Wehr, 10 George Whitehead, 9 Caleb Abrahams, 8 Gustav Erlank, 7 Carl Els, 6 Lourens Oosthuizen, 5 Albert Liebenberg, 4 Malembe Mpofu, 2 Cebo Dlamini (captain), 2 Janco Uys, 1 Eddie Davids.
Replacements: 16 Tiaan Lange, 17 Leon Lyons, 18 Ntobeko Shezi, 19 Derik Pretorius, 20 Marco de Witt, 21 Thomas Bursey, 22 Tom Nel, Connor Mahoney.
Referee: Christopher Allison
Assistant referees: Hanru van Rooyen, Hernus Coetzee
TMO: Egon Seconds
