Griquas punish sloppy Lions to go top

MATCH REPORT: Griquas outscored the Lions by four tries to three to record a 31-19 win at Suzuki Stadium in Kimberley.

The result sees the defending Currie Cup champions temporarily go top of the table with three matches remaining this weekend, which can change the picture at the conclusion of Round Four.

Griquas’ breakdown work was excellent, disrupting the Lions and winning crucial penalties at times.

The Lions’ inability to finish off 22-metre entries, set-piece woes, and discipline issues were their Achilles’ heel and would be at the top of their coaching staff’s list of issues to address with three rounds remaining.

*To recap all the action, CLICK HERE!

The Lions started off with the initial momentum, but it was Griquas who opened the scoring in the eighth minute through Gurswin Wehr.

Gilmero Mentoe’s restart going over the deadball line proved to be costly, as Griquas attacked from the midfield scrum to set Dylan Maart up for their second try in the 12th minute.

George Whitehead slotted a 28th-minute penalty after missing two conversion kicks to extend the hosts’ lead to 13 points.

Griquas conceded a breakdown penalty straight from the restart and camped inside the Lions 22 for five minutes but failed to convert once more as they did with their four previous red zone entries.

The visitors scored their first try in the 35th minute through Tando Biyela, who sliced the Griquas defence open following a crisp pass by Asad Moos as Sam Francis added the extras to reduce the deficit to six points.

The Lions had a final attacking opportunity on the stroke of halftime after winning, but Francis kicked the ball dead to send the team into the sheds for oranges.

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Whitehead extended Griquas’ lead with a 43rd-minute penalty to extend the score to 16-7.

The Lions were denied a long-range try due to excellent scramble defence by Stefan Coetzee to deny Mentoe the score in the 49th minute.

The visitors, however, stole the Griquas’ line-out ball and earned a penalty with the Lions opting for the five-metre attacking scrum, but conceded a free kick on their own feed.

Griquas scored their third try of the afternoon through Janus Venter on debut in the 55th minute.

Zane Bester’s kick regather from a Maart chip saw the centre grubber the ball through to set Bobby Alexander up for a sensational try to secure the bonus point in the 59th minute as Whitehead added the extras.

Griquas went down to 14 players with Zane Bester sent to the sinbin in the 63rd minute for repeated offside infringements.

The Lions scored seconds later through captain Jarod Cairns from close range, with Francis’ conversion making it a 14-point game.

The Lions missed four consecutive line-out throws which cost them an opportunity to close the gap in the final 10 minutes of the match.

George Whitehead’s 76th-minute drop goal put the cherry on top of a commanding Griquas display.

The Lions had the final say with a late score by Exauce Kevani in the 79th minute, but left Kimberley empty-handed.

Scorers:

For Griquas:
Tries: Wehr, Maart, Venter, Alexander
Con: Whitehead
Pens: Whitehead 2
DG: Whitehead

For the Lions:
Tries: Biyela, Cairns, Kevani
Cons: Francis 2

Yellow card: Zane Bester (Griquas, 63′ – repeated infringements: offside)

Teams:

Griquas: 15 Stefan Coetzee, 14 Dylan Maart, 13 Zane Bester, 12 Mnombo Zwelendaba, 11 Gurswin Wehr, 10 George Whitehead, 9 Bobby Alexander, 8 Carl Els, 7 Carel van der Merwe, 6 Lourens Oosthuizen, 5 Albert Liebenberg (captain), 4 Malembe Mpofu, 3 IG Prinsloo, 2 Tiaan Lange, 1 Leon Lyons.
Replacements: 16 Janus Venter, 17 Eddie Davids, 18 Ntobeko Shezi, 19 Derik Pretorius, 20 Dillon smith, 21 Jack Hart, 22 Sako Makata, 23 Connor Mohaney

Lions: 15 Gilermo Mentoe, 14 Keagan Smith, 13 Likhona Finca, 12 Rynhardt Jonker, 11 Jason Hugo, 10 Sam Francis, 9 Asad Moos, 8 Morné Venter, 7 Jarod Cairns (captain), 6 Thando Biyela, 5 Dylan Sjöblom, 4 Tiaan Wessels, 3 Conraad van Vuuren, 2 Mahle Sithole, 1 Morgan Naude
Replacements: 16 Ruan Welman, 17 Cecil Parsons, 18 Ruan Swart, 19 JD Hattingh, 20 Renzo du Plessis, 21 Layton Horn, 22 Exauce Kevani, 23 Luke Cannon

Referee: Stephan Geldenhuys
Assistant referees: Griffin Colby, Stiaan Marx
TMO: Egon Seconds